When I was out in Black Rock City, the first I heard of Katrina was Tursday night hopping a tandem ride. The lady who gave me a lift had to get it off her chest, had heard bad stories about mobs and rapes and murders.

Turns out these there were greatly exaggerated:

Orleans Parish District Attorney Eddie Jordan said authorities had confirmed only four murders in New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina - making it a typical week in a city that anticipated more than 200 homicides this year. Jordan expressed outrage at reports from many national media outlets that suffering flood victims had turned into mobs of unchecked savages.
...
Four weeks after the storm, few of the widely reported atrocities have been backed with evidence. The piles of bodies never materialized, and soldiers, police officers and rescue personnel on the front lines say that although anarchy reigned at times and people suffered unimaginable indignities, most of the worst crimes reported at the time never happened.

I think it's important to recognize this, both because it speaks to the dignity and humanity of the people of New Orleans, and because it forces all of us to confront the question in our own minds, "did I really believe everything I heard? If so, why."

It also speaks to the ability of people to live in peace without authoritarianism. The philosophical anarchist in me would like to remind people that while the state can play a role in criminal and social justice, it is a very poor apparatus through which to supply law and order directly.