Are the people in Texas who are evacuating really abandoning their posts?

[proud2BlibKansan]

If they live in Houston and have been ordered to evacuate, how can they be accused of abandoning their posts? The talking heads on TV are all over this fact that 200 airport screeners in Houston did not show up for work today. Were they ordered to ignore the evacuation directive and show up for work? Were they just supposed to abandon their families and report to work?

Same question regarding the cops in New Orleans. Are they expected to ignore their families and show up for work? I can sort of criticize the cops for leaving because they are public servants expected to help protect the rest of us. But are the airport screeners also considered public servants?

If I was an airport screener in Houston, my family would come first. I imagine that some of these screeners are single parents or maybe they have elderly parents who depend on them. I completely understand why they aren't at work today.

Am I crazy to say I understand why they chose to abandon their posts and take care of their families?

[Boomer]

1. When you think about it

Poor people are the most likely residents of flood-prone urban areas. And screeners are NOT high paid workers, so they're the ones most likely to be living in the areas that are to be evacuated.

I certainly don't blame them for taking care of their families first. But I DO shake my head at the mindless enforcement of security laws in the midst of a crisis that requires moving large numbers of people very quickly.

So the stranded passengers may die in a hurricane BUT THEY'RE SAFE FROM TERRORISTS!!

[Robertwf]

2. Double Standard

Come on--the TSA people make crappy money--the govt. screwed them out of their right to join a labor union. Who knows what their instructions were. I bet a lot of them live in the kind of houses Perry was talking about that would not stand up to hurricane winds, so what are they supposed to do? What about their families? I'd go for putting some National Guard people through TSA training and let the employees get out of town as their governor told them to do.

[global1]

3. I Talked To A Disaster Planner And He Indicated That They Plan....

for 20% attrition of police, fire, and other emergency personnel during a disaster like a hurricane, etc.