Way to Go, Milwaukee!

What a proud moment for Milwaukee!

For weeks, huge sections of the Midwest have struggled with flooding and its aftermath.

And where does a near riot break out when people hear rumors they can get a handout? Where else?

MILWAUKEE -- Pushing and shoving broke out among some of the 2,500 people hit hard by recent floods who lined up outside a county office early Monday in hopes of collecting free food vouchers.

Some residents told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel they heard from friends or at food pantries that they could get free vouchers to replace food lost in recent floods and power outages. But the Marcia P. Coggs Human Services Center was just taking names for a state voucher program.

Let's straighten something out: According to TV reports from the scene, by no means were all of the 2,500 people in line hit hard by the floods, not even close.

...Charline Britt was crushed against a door and passed out. She felt feet stomp on her back as people rushed into the center when the doors opened at 8 a.m., she said.

"They just went crazy down there, just totally crazy," said Britt, 52.

Paramedics gave her oxygen, but Britt declined a trip to the hospital. Instead, she waited to apply for assistance and said she would visit her doctor later Monday. Britt was seeking help after her basement flooded.

A woman being crushed to the point of passing out isn't a minor incident.

It is crazy that people acted this way.

...Some people at the center said they were told it would be a month or two before they received money or food assistance. Yvonne Love expressed frustration before running to catch a bus to a temporary employment agency.

"Now I have to try and get (to) a food pantry," said Love, who has children 8, 10 and 14. "I've got to feed my kids."

Thank God no one was critically injured or killed in the stampede.

It's not like any of these people would go hungry if they didn't receive the food vouchers they thought they could get immediately.

Instead of waiting in line for hours with thousands of people, going to a food pantry sounds like a good idea. Going to an employment agency sounds like a good long term plan.

Large areas of the city of Milwaukee were not under water or without power for days and days and days. It's not as if there's no safe water or food available. City officials insist the tap water is perfectly safe. There aren't food shortages. Other than concerns with the salmonella-tainted tomatoes causing illness around the country, there's no problem with the food supply.

There was no excuse for the scene this morning in Milwaukee at the Marcia P. Coggs Human Services Center.

Charline Britt should not have been crushed against a door and trampled.

People stepped on her back! A human being was passed out on the ground and people stomped on her.

Disgraceful.