“The Loved Ones”-10
8/9/2012
Tom Junod investigates the only people who have been officially blamed for the repercussions of Hurricane Katrina. Using the treatment of nursing-home proprietors Sal and Mabel Mangano as focal point, Junod shows the consequences of the disaster through lack of action and action while showing the reader the many issues that affect all of us. Through this article and real-life situations, legally and socially, the reader learns that people should be held equally accountable for what they do not do as for what they do.
From certain legal perspectives, people are held accountable for their actions like they should. For example, it is illegal to have knowledge of a crime and not report it. It is illegal because by not reporting the crime, the person is not only leaving the victim in danger, but is also aiding the criminal in getting away with their crime. This act is similar to the reason the Manganos ignored the mandatory evacuation. In the article, “The Loved Ones” when asked why they didn’t’ evacuate, “the Manganos ignored it for one reason, and for one reason only: money” (377). Due to the lack of expenses, like many of the other nursery homes, the Manganos were unable to save many lives. Since they did not evacuate, thirty-five people died. The act of ignoring crime and not reporting it along with not evacuating due to lack of expenses expresses how ignoring responsibilities causes other people to be in danger and could cause others to potentially loose their lives for something that you did not do.
Another example of a legal perspective where people are accountable for their actions is not paying taxes. When someone is caught, the best thing that will happen is that that person will be required to repay all of the taxes plus interest and penalties. Depending on how old the tax debt is, this could double the amount of taxes that that person owes. The worst-case scenario is that the person will be prosecuted for tax