A Second Response to Zeitoun, by Dave Eggers

“The man disappeared in a haze and screamed like a scalded child. When the smoke cleared, he was cowering in a fetal position, wailing like an animal, trying to reach his eyes with his hands” (Zeitoun, 243).

This story made me so mad. I was sickened to think that the security guards would be so cruel to a mentally disabled man that they would punish him for doing something that he did not know was wrong. I also felt so bad for Zeitoun, who had to watch this atrocity take place without being able to do anything about it. For me, I cannot tolerate actions of cruelty against helpless individuals, especially cruelty against those who are mentally disabled because they are unable to stand up for themselves. I can understand that the security guards were trying to do their job, but how could they not have realized that this man was mentally impaired? If Zeitoun could hear the man’s nonsense ramblings several cages away, and over the noise of a generator, surely the guard watching him could have taken notice of the man’s mental state. So, why was he punished? It almost seemed like the guards were waiting for a chance to test out their new pepper spray. Even though I know the guards were physically human beings, their actions toward this man made them seem more like animals. This passage contains almost too much imagery; I can see the poor man in my imagination, and even now the picture almost makes me cry. I know this horrible event was only one of the many atrocities committed during Hurricane Katrina, and I shudder to think of what was happening elsewhere. I can only hope that our government will learn from the mistakes of Katrina and be more prepared to help, not hurt, its citizens.