A Time for Action, Not Outrage

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Not a lot was made of it, but in the wake of the World Trade Center destruction on Sept. 11, 2001, shops and restaurants on the retail concourse were looted. The looting, reported the New York Times, occurred in an area that it was virtually impossible for civilians to enter because of the security around the site. One of the two men arrested and charged with stealing watches was a former New York City corrections officer posing as a cop.

But why must this tragedy be viewed only through a racial prism? We are in a time of cascading crises.

The desolate faces seen in Darfur and Niger are now walking the roads in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Baghdad isn't the only city with unattended corpses. Calcutta's conditions, which brought me to tears when I saw them, have now come to the Crescent City.

Did you ever think we would speak of refugees in America?

Restoring authority and electricity, feeding and sheltering the homeless, are more urgent than indulging our racial fantasies and phobias.

I'd rather focus on the groups that are rallying to help the victims. I'm pleased to be part of a city that is opening up its D.C. Armory to serve as a temporary shelter for hundreds of victims. Our mayor is sending buses to pick up people being evacuated along the Gulf Coast. Doors are opening in the nation's capital even as homes are being closed forever down South. Mayor Anthony Williams said yesterday that he hoped other jurisdictions will follow suit. "If every city on the East Coast shelters 400 people, we can ease the suffering of tens of thousands of people," he said. Collectively, even with a late and faltering federal response, the nation can do a lot. The president of the United States, however, hardly warrants a footnote.

And outrage? It has its place. For that there are targets galore stretching from the New Orleans region to Washington. There will be plenty of time for fault-finding -- a task that we in Washington do oh so well. But not now. This is a time for action.

Katrina is a test for the nation, a critical examination for us all, public and private. That is unless you're inclined to sit this one out in the armchair and second-guess.

kingc@washpost.com

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