Queens, NY – Patience is waning on the coast post-Sandy , and, while many have stepped up and stood out as heroes, there’s also a darker side to being a post-crisis American and darker stories of desperation coming on the heels of the super-storm. Case in point: A Queens man who was arrested for pulling a gun as tempers flared over fuel shortages.
The fight for fuel in New York is growing frightening, even violent. As many without homes, heat, and food desperately scramble for precious fuel to keep their generators running, demand dramatically spikes while supply struggles to meet it.
The few gas stations left open in the city are patrolled by police, and New Yorkers wait in line for hours to fill up, reports MSN . Indeed, things seem dire in The Big Apple.
To wit, 35-year-old Sean Bailey of Queens seemed to reach his breaking point, cutting in line at a gas station on Thursday and then pulling a gun on the person who called him out for it.
Bailey was arrested on charges of menacing and criminal possession of a weapon, reports The Kennebec Journal .
If Bailey is convicted, he will face 15 years in prison.
Our sympathies continually pour out to victims of Hurricane Sandy, and our hearts are with those involved in such sad stories. Meanwhile, praise is to be heaped upon those who have stepped up in the aftermath of Sandy, particularly our politicians who have largely laid aside partisan politics to come together as Americans.
No matter how desperate things are, nothing is worth the violence or 15 years in prison. Regardless, our hopes are with all those affected by Hurricane Sandy.
