Houston's new residents

Update: The letter below turns out not to be most likely untrue. See comments for details.

Kevin (my coworker) sent me this letter, which appears to have been making the rounds via email.

Here is the real truth. I went to volunteer on Saturday, September 10, to help Hurricane Katrina evacuees in Houston for two reasons.
1. I wanted to help people.
2. I was curious.
I have been watching the news lately, like everyone else, and I have seen some scenes that have made me physically ill. No, it was not the death and the destruction that made me ill. It was PEOPLE'S BEHAVIOR that bothered me the most.
So many of the displaced people were DEMANDING help. They were not asking nicely, but were demanding it - as if society owed them something. Well, the honest truth is society does NOT owe them anything! Help should be asked for in a kind manner and then appreciated after received, but this is definitely not what the different news organizations were witnessing and reporting.
What most of us have seen, on television and in the print media, have been individuals/groups who are yelling, demanding, looting, killing, raping, and even SHOOTING back at those who have arrived to help. MSNBC even showed one news report of several New Orleans policewomen looting a Wal-Mart!
I am thinking to myself, This cannot possibly be true - or can it?!?! Truthfully, I did not want to believe this could be true of the people who so desperately need help during this crisis. I now tell my story, and you can decide.

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I arrived at the Astrodome only to find out there were too many volunteers at that location. Volunteers were needed elsewhere - especially at the George R. Brown Convention Center.
As I walked up to the Convention Center, I noticed a line of vehicles that wrapped around for blocks. These were "ordinary" Houstonians coming with water, diapers, clothes, blankets, food, every type of needed item; lots of it was NEW. As I helped to unload these vehicles, I felt such great pride that the wonderful residents of Houston would be so generous.
I then went inside the building and noticed approximately 100,000 square feet of clothing, toys, all types of needed items, that were organized and ready for the people in need. I signed in as a volunteer, received a name badge, and was on my way, eager to be useful.
I toured the place to become familiar with my surroundings. The entire Center is probably about 2 million square feet. I noticed rows, as far as the eye could see, of mattresses - not cots - but blown-up mattresses, that had nice pillows and plenty of blankets. There were also two or three bottles of water resting on each bed. These full-size to queen-size mattresses, by the way, were comfortable. I briefly rested on one of them, just to see for myself!
Next I went to look at the medical area, and I could not believe what I was seeing. A makeshift hospital had been created in 24 hours! They even had a pharmacy.
As my tour continued, I also noticed that other volunteers had worked hard to create showers...with hot water! Then upstairs, on the third floor, I found a huge cafeteria that had also been established in 24 hours. There were rows and rows of tables and chairs and food everywhere! There was enough food to feed an army, and I am not talking about crappy food either! They had Jason's Deli food, fresh fruit, snack foods, sandwiches and lots of beverages. By the way, the beverages were put on ice and chilled!! All of this "mini-city" - including a library and a theater room - had been created in about 24 hours by volunteers, so the evacuees would have a comfortable shelter.
Here is what further happened during my time there. I started by handing bottles of COLD water to evacuees, as they exited their bus. Many took the water, but only 20% or less even said, "Thank you." Lots of the evacuees would shake their heads and ask for sodas! This went on for about 20-30 minutes,until I was weary of being an unappreciated servant. I then decided that certainly these folks would appreciate some food! So, I went upstairs to serve these evacuees with some GOOD food. (Food that I wished I could have had at the moment!)
Evacuees came slowly to receive this mountain of food, worthy of a king, that was being served. I explained to them that we had two types of great deli sandwiches to choose from: ham and turkey. Many looked at the food in disgust and DEMANDED burgers, pizza, and even McDonalds! (Let me tell all of you folks who may read this, that Jason's Deli is better than McDonalds any day!!) Even many of the children were demanding and rude! Only one out of ten people who took something would say, "Thank you." The remainder took items, as if it were their God-given right to be served, without a shred of appreciation. Some even asked for beer and liquor! Many complained that we did not have "good-enough" food. Some went so far as to refuse the offers of food and laughed at and/or cursed at the volunteers. This was not true of all of them, but at least 70% of the evacuees treated us volunteers with total disrespect. Maybe 20% were appreciative, 10% took the food without any comment, and the remainder had some disgusting comment to say.
We volunteers then began to observe that many of the people would eat their food and leave their mess on the table. Oh sure, a few would clear their tables, but the majority left their tables for the volunteers to clear and clean. Needless to say, I was in utter shock at their behavior.
From the food area, I went down to help set up some additional mattresses. That is when I observed something else! I saw many young ladies carrying mattresses, but WHERE were the hundreds of able-bodied young men evacuees who could help?! When I asked a group of young evacuees in their teens and early twenties to help, they cursed at me!! One said, "We just lost our ****ing homes and you want us to work?!?!" The next one said, "Cracker, you got a home...we don't.
"I looked at them in total disbelief. Here were women carrying THEIR beds and these young men would not lift a finger to help themselves!! I started to wonder, WHY SHOULD I HELP PEOPLE WHO DO NOT WANT TO HELP THEMSELVES?!?!?!
As I turned away, they laughed at me and made obscene and distasteful comments. This is when I began realize that I did not need to waste my time on a bunch of pitiful losers in this area of the shelter.
Next, I went to a nearby restroom where I noticed a man shaving. I used the restroom, washed my hands, and then saw this same man throw his razor towards the trash can. He missed. He also walked out, leaving his dirty razor on the floor for someone else to pick up!
I could call these people ignorant ("lacking knowledge"), but they were not ignorant. They were arrogant ("proud and overbearing through an exaggerated feeling of one's superiority")! To put it bluntly, the majority of them are thugs...and lazy!
We are inviting the lowest-of-the-low to Houson and, like idiots, we are serving the people who will most likely soon steal, rape, murder, and attempt to destroy our beloved city. We are funding our own destruction!
Please note, I am absolutely NOT referring to a specific race of people!! People who WANT to help themselves should be helped in every possible way. Those who do not want to help themselves should be left to destroy themselves, but they should not be allowed to destroy Houston at the same time.
I do not believe in being poor for life. My family immigrated here. We came here very poor and now, thank God and due to HARD WORK, we are doing well.
If immigrants who come here - and do not even initially know the language - can work and become successful, why can't the majority of the other poor "homegrown" citizens do the same thing?!
I have personally just witnessed selfish, arrogant, unappreciative behavior by the very people who needed the help the most. These same people cursed me and other volunteers. They refused my city's generosity. They refused to help themselves. They pranced around as if they deserved to be waited on. When they did receive something, they said it was not good enough. As far as I am concerned, from now on, these people can fend for themselves!
Writer's Name Withheld

A big part of the answer to the writers question ("If immigrants can work and become successful, why can't the "homegrown" citizens do the same thing?") is of course the entitlement mentality which our nation has engendered through programs like Welfare and even Affirmative Action. However nice the idea is of providing for those who cannot provide for themselves, it is not an appropriate long-term solution for those able to care for themselves (even those who are not willing).

As the adage goes, "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish [or some versions say "give a man a fishing pole"] and he will eat for a lifetime." In the middle of a crisis, we must certainly give out lots of "fish". At some point in the not too distant future, however, we must start giving out "fishing poles" and some "fishing lessons", and then transfer the responsibility back to the displaced families. Despite what Cindy Sheehan thinks, the US does not guarantee prosperity, only opportunity.

There is another point which I think has been missed. It is often assumed that those providing help do not expect anything in return, and in some cases this is true. As the writer points out, many do expect something in return - an expression of gratitude and humility. The person without a home has suffered great loss due to circumstances beyond their control, and I can hardly blame anyone in that situation for being a bit grumpy. I would even expect that some among the displaced may have trouble expressing gratitude in normal situations, so having fewer thank-yous per person wouldn't upset me terribly.

It should not be ignored that the person providing charitable aid has suffered loss too. Though the catastrophe has not affected them directly, they have chosen to give up their time, vacation days, money, food, comfort, time with their family, and many more things. That these losses are voluntary deserves recognition, most of all from the direct beneficiaries of that aid.

I think "entitlement" has also contributed to this problem in another way. By teaching people that they can expect housing, food and medical care without any contribution on their part, they learn that their own efforts are not valuable and not valued. Generation after generation has learned that they should not work, should not try, should not take responsibility for their actions, because doing so doesn't make any difference - the checks keep coming. They have learned that their skills and their efforts and their personal value are zero. And so, with their house and possessions gone, they really do believe they have nothing at all until someone else gives them something, at which point their value rises from zero to the value of whatever it is they have been given.