A GENERATIONAL STORM THAT LOOTED OUR  PROGRESS

I originally was planning on continuing my look back into the History of Buffalo column which has been a months-long series, however, as I write this, the lower West Side is still buried under the snow from the Christmas Blizzard of 2022.  All my life I’ve heard the stories of the Blizzard of ‘77, and although I was born the year after, the Blizzard of ‘77 is a memory that has always stayed with me, from the pictures I’ve seen to the stories I heard.

When I look at my youths, the Blizzard of ‘85 was one I remember very well, and from what we have seen thus far from this storm, the blizzard winds blew the 1985 storm away as far as storms I’ve lived through. The wind and nonstop snow just caused a weekend of misery and after the snow ended, when the stories started hitting social and the news media, the strength of the storm was clear for all to see. Sadly, many folks perished due to the storm, either directly from freezing or storm-related cardiac issues. Unfortunately, the devastation wasn’t only tied to the snowfall totals and deaths that were recorded, but to the lack of morals many Buffalonians experienced.

Like many, I was embarrassed and disappointed with the way some of our citizens acted during the hours after the storm winds let up. Seeing images of people looting stores for non-essential items such as gumball machines and big-screen TVs just made me sick. Most shameful was the fact that some began looting convenience stores that are frequented by the elderly and others who may not have means of getting around to a bigger grocery chain due to transportation issues.

We knew well over five days that this storm was headed our way, so the excuse some may use for the looting, claiming that people were trying to get food, is hogwash. Tell that to the 7/Eleven convenience store on Niagara and Hampshire where people ransacked it for everything, including gasoline.

During the storm, with the use of my camera and a phone app, I was able to make a few dollars filming stringer videos, documenting the conditions of the lower West Side. My videos were picked up by Reuters and were aired on CNN, CBS, ABC, WGN, and FOX News.

Never did it cross my mind to go down the street to Sams to loot for stuff I didn’t need. This city already has an identity crisis, a negative complejo as it is, but seeing our neighbors act out in the most ignorant and disappointing ways was shameful and disheartening. We need to be better than this, but sadly, many just don’t want to hear it.

This storm was one for the ages, one that we’ll talk about for years to come. I hope people remember it for the good we saw, and not the looting that took place that put yet another stain on Buffalo’s identity