As the stories of the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy begin to roll in, there are many lessons to be learned from this disaster. On the positive side, there have been numerous accounts of people coming to the aid of their fellow man, and contributing to the relief effort with incredible acts of love and kindness. There is a Facebook page titled "Hurricane Sandy Acts of Kindess", that gives you a glimpse of the grassroots charitable activities taking place.
But there is, of course, also a negative side to every disaster. There are always people that will be trying to take advantage of other people who are in desperation. At every level, from top government officials, down to your average lowlife in the street, crisis is used, by some, as an opportunity to do things they wouldn't normally be able to do, under normal circumstances. Here is a clip of Rahm Emanuel, former President Obama Chief of Staff, saying how "you never want a serious crisis go to waste". While there are already examples of government "officials" using Hurricane Sandy as an excuse to flex their executive muscle, by doing things like shutting down highways, and even implementing martial law, it is the average low-level criminal that seems to be the main concern of the still many east coast residents without electricity.
