Why Ordinary Citizens Are Acting as First Responders in Houston
It’s not necessarily a sign that government has failed—in a disaster as large as Harvey, authorities turn to volunteers like the Cajun Navy by design.
Harvey hasn’t even finished dumping rain on Texas, but it has already produced an honor roll of heroes.
There is, for example, the video of the boat-owning man telling CNN, “We got eight people that done called for us already. So we’re going to go and get them eight, come on back, and try to save some more.” On a larger scale, there’s the so-called Cajun Navy, a Dunkirk-like mobilization of volunteers in fishing boats and pleasure craft that is out working to rescue people.
The ethos behind these efforts is straightforward and admirable: Clyde Cain, who runs a Cajun Navy Facebook page , “The reality of the Cajun Navy is everybody out here
