In the run up to Hurricane Sandy, Floridians and residents of the Gulf Coast were probably laughing at us like how I laugh at southern cities that completely shut down and declare states of emergency the second a snowflake touches the ground. But now that the storm has hit, and it was much, much worse than we expected, people acting like pricks in the run up to the storm seem even worse now.
Let’s meet this natural disaster’s Frankenstorm of jerks.
21. Crystal toting hippies who thought this storm wanted to be their friend
There are some reasons that a person in a mandatory evacuation zone may have hesitated to leave their house when a natural disaster bears down on them. Perhaps they were sick, or afraid of looting, or maybe they have an antisocial pet that they can’t stomach abandoning. There are also terribly stupid bullshit reasons to refuse to evacuate as a hurricane approaches. Believing that this whole ordeal was a way for Mother Earth to point and wink at you from across the atmosphere is just one of those stupid bullshit reasons.
The Observer contained the story of several New Yorkers’ reticence to evacuate before the impending storm, and found one particularly crunchy lass who was super psyched for the deadly weather event.
Ms. Laurel had ventured down from her apartment on Bedford Avenue to read and reflect, to take in the scene and the energy.
“Mother Earth is so powerful,” she continued. “I love to connect with her; I wanted to come down before the storm and feel the energy. And I want come out in the storm, too, and see what that feels like.”
Ms. Laurel was wearing a white- and rainbow-colored knit cap with white tassels and a green down vest. She had a chain around her neck with a crystal hanging from it.
20. The irritated dogwalkers
As the storm gathered strength outside of my apartment, I kept seeing miserable-looking dogs being dragged along the sidewalk by their irritated owners. No one in the scenario was happy. Not the dogs, not the jerks mad that their dogs were dogs who needed to do dog things. How dare you have to pee, dog?! HOW DARE YOU?
19. The enslaved worker bee
The New York Stock Exchange and all city public schools shut down for a few days this week, which should have beeen a pretty solid indication that other New York-based businesses that require their workers be physically present in their offices during work hours should feel free to go ahead and shut down so their employees don’t have to figure out how to get to work in a city with no operating public transportation. But some businesses still required their employees to figure out how to get to the office on Monday, and I even heard horror stories of people who had to slog off to work on Tuesday or Wednesday! A gainfully employed comedy writer friend was picked up by a car service Monday morning and ushered to work in Midtown, leaving his wife doubting whether she’d see him return before Sandy hit. Luckily, he made it back before things got really hairy.
And poor people, per usual, were shat on. The bodegas are all still open and staffed with worried-looking clerks. The Dunkin Donuts at the end of the block is also open, picked nearly clean of donuts and completely devoid of customers. Hotel employees, restaurant workers, and nurses and firefighters, who are most likely not taking month long sabbaticals to Argentina anytime soon, were the ones stuck working during the storm.
18. The concerned Midwestern relative
On one hand, my mother’s requests that I send her frequent updates of whether or not I have drowned or eaten my cat are sort of cute. But on the other, I am trying to conserve my phone’s battery in the event that I lose power. WHICH I AM STILL CONVINCED COULD BE AT ANY TIME.
17. The overprepared
Okay, I get it, you smug Y2K remnant with a color-coordinated pantry full of cans, a secure bunker with an emergency backup generator, a closet full of brand new rugged yellow rubber shit you bought at the REI store, and a hurricane-proof wetsuit that poops D batteries. You were prepared. You took all the notes and highlighted the relevant parts. But none of this could save the power in Manhattan, or stop anything from flooding and none of this will matter when we discover that the Mayans were right. Where’s your apocalypse go bag, jerk?
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