Sunday, May 21, 2006

P.S.


I love livin' in a city with a mayor this hot.

Proud to Live in C. Ray's Chocolate City

You know, all of this obsessing about race by the ever-frothing talking heads neglects the reality of life in New Orleans, a reality shaped by blacks and whites, Cajuns and Creoles, Vietnamese and Central American, do I have to type "etc." here? living side by side, rather than segregated in different sections, the true norm in melting pot America, a country that routinely castigates the South for its racism, as if racism is that simple or condensed. While there are parts of the South that make me cringe, New Orleans is not one of them. A place like Baton Rouge, where evacuees were subject to threats of being shot by the mayor upon their frazzled arrivals, thanks to a small cadre of criminal looters fifty miles away, is.

That's why a lot of us didn't take C. Ray Nagin's "chocolate city" comments all that seriously and why some of us lampooned them, albeit to the point of redundancy. The truth, which these comments reflect, is that New Orleans is a black majority city. Yet, akin to our American roots, blacks consistently receive the worst schooling and the most punishment. And there are those local whites - you know, jive turkeys - who have been emboldened by their new literal majority and made despicable comments about how we were better off without "them," as if, per another American tradition, our culture, our cooking, our music - the things "they" get credit for, plus a lot of others - could even exist without them.

It makes sense that in a black majority city, a large percentage of the crimes are going to be committed by black people, just as, for whatever reason, most serial killers in America are going to be white; they have the time, money and luxury, I suppose, to savor their crimes. But these same jive turkeys take these numbers and wave their flag of indictment; it's because they're black! Funny how I never hear them say they feel they have the right to castigage huge segments of the community because they're white! i.e., at the top of the national power structure - well, the men at least.

The biggest difference between Mitch Landrieu and C. Ray Nagin, especially given their overlapping answers and similarities at the mayoral crime debate, is their skin color, followed, of course, by the fact that Mr. Mitch is part and parcel of a political dynasty. Doesn't make him a bad guy. Doesn't make him one with any credibility, either. The favored argument of Landrieu supporters seemed to be that he had better federal connections and was more respected in national circles - minus any evidence beyond his father and sister. For me, this shades a little too close to voting for the white guy because he's white and I am glad that, unlike a lot of inexplicably angry, white out-of-staters who parroted the AM radio wisdom that "New Orleans' black mayor is racist," we overcame that bit of fear mongering.

Speaking of overcoming, what of the activists? Well, there are those that do good, but we don't seem to hear much about them. When we heard that there would be a march across the bridge, some of us were excited, Jesse Jackson's mumbo jumbo not withstanding; the way the Jefferson Parish police blocked access for the poor, starving, racially mixed though black-dominated masses striving to survive was despicable. I don't buy the fear excuses; There was nowhere for them to go here! Yes, there was - away from the flooding and drowning. The barrier was the one you erected, not one they were trying to overthrow by virtue of walking across a bridge that belongs to all of us (poor people pay taxes, too, and it represents more of a hardship). Imagine if the Brooklyn PD had closed that bridge on September 11. This is not the precedent to set in times of crisis.

What that march turned into - unbelievably - was not one to reclaim the right of passage, which it accomplished inadvertently, but to protest the election, the election that had already been pushed back. I don't know more than a handful of people here - black, white, you get it - that were passionately in favor of that. So, here comes Jesse tromping across the Mississippi, the Cos making speeches, the arrogant outsiders proclaiming how we silly, racist Southerners should live our lives. I like mine outside a vacuum, but hey. The outside activism would be a lot easier to take if their own communities weren't so divided and if there weren't much larger local issues to protest, such as project residents, including a lot of elderly citizens, being barred from returning to their homes after seven months - until they literally broke down those barriers with the help of a local activist group.

Please think before you speak. We know you don't get us and some of you think we're all a bunch of loons; that's okay. What isn't okay is all your judgment going one-way only. And we shouldn't have to whore for federal support, either; California didn't after the earthquakes, neither did New York after September 11, though Bush has cut the latter's funding repeatedly. You are not better than us. So, we do not beg. We do not degrade ourselves. Sadly, according to a recent poll, 58% of you, who still do not think New Orleans should be rebuilt, are happy to do that for us.

We do appreciate your support. A lot of us do not gush over it because, hell, yes, as fellow taxpayers we expect and deserve it, just as you have, too, and will in the future when disaster strikes. So, please, let's move on from this paradigm. It got old a while ago.

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Scary Americans, take 2006

Families should grow on trees!

"In New Orleans, you've got high crime, you've got a bad educational system. Because of all the tourists, it's hard to keep the city clean. It's just hard. It's entirely two different markets," said [Hornets owner George] Shinn, who moved the team from Charlotte to New Orleans in 2002, to the AP. "They couldn't survive without tourists. The whole city is built on it, and (Oklahoma City is) not. You're built to draw people that want to grow families. I'm a person of faith, and I love this country. I've seen more flag-wavers here (Oklahoma City) and more people that are God-fearing than any part of the country."

Fear God!
Wave flag!
Feed on flesh of tourists!
Survive!

"Shinn told the Associated Press that he figures a decision about the 2007-08 season would need to be made by December or January, so the team can start selling season tickets."

Georgie Shinn, person of faith.

Crime and

Accurate scholarship can
Unearth the whole offence
From Luther until now
That has driven a culture mad,
Find what occurred at Linz,
What huge imago made
A psychopathic god:
I and the public know
What all schoolchildren learn,
Those to whom evil is done
Do evil in return.

- W.H. Auden

Monday, May 01, 2006

Shortcuts to Thinking

Venom spilleth over in the Times Picayune's online forums, with today's sampling brought to you by the Crime & Safety forum.

Reader's Note: You will find very little - if any - information on actual crime or safety. The participants may or may not live here.


13968. New donation worthy of support

by pjh704, 4/30/06 19:41 ET
Fox News just ran a spot on women getting a new breast enlargement surgery to to my eyes looked to have good results. I suggest a national breast upsize day. Oh yeah. Solid.

13968.1. FEMA queens
by Immortal Bird, 4/30/06 19:57 ET
Re: New donation worthy of support, 4/30/06
The segment we watched on FOX depicted two young women from TX who I would assume either used their FEMA money to get the surgery or they saved up a lot of their unemployment money to get that.

13968.2.1. rest easy Jay

by pjh704, 4/30/06 20:04 ET

Re: New donation worthy of support, 4/30/06
The results were worth the money despite where it came. Bigger tits vs nukes. No more nukes, no more nukes.

13968.2.1.1. tipical p/o
by smoretti5, 4/30/06 21:27 ET
Re: New donation worthy of support, 4/30/06
you must be single and hard up to have to sit on the computer and talk about what you obviously can not get with or without the uniform. why dont you take your sarcasim and turn it into style and taste and then maybe a female would notice you. i refused to work with pigs like you and i worked in 4 districts in 15yrs. you're a disgrace to the uniform.

13968.2.1.1.3. Whoa
by Immortal Bird, 4/30/06 22:00 ET
Re: New donation worthy of support, 4/30/06
Smoretti, I am not sure why you would be so upset about this. It is all in good fun and if you can not go through life without some fun, then maybe you are the one no one wants to work with because you have something stuck so far up your wazoo that no one can tolerate you.

Thanks baby for that very sweet remark about me. I guess I am a horrible, bad .. BAD woman for being able to join in the fun. I guess my age allows me to because I grew up being able to say and do as I please as the daughter of two police officers.

13968.3. girls with big hooters
by panhead61, 4/30/06 20:12 ET

Re: New donation worthy of support by pjh704, 4/30/06

girls who have biggins become carpentures in later life--thats because their titz are in their drawers

13949.2. many who by Antny, 4/29/06 17:08 ET
Re: The new dark age? by bloodyghetto, 4/29/06
have an obssession for hate gather here to complain about black people in general, it is both sad and embarrassing that this mentality continues.

13949.2.1. I hate it
by pjh704, 4/29/06 17:13 ET
Re: The new dark age? by bloodyghetto, 4/29/06
but I got to agree with you Anty. That gets on my nerves. But I admit that that one comment was correct.

3949.3.1. Why blame? by bloodyghetto, 4/29/06 19:41 ET
Re: The new dark age? by bloodyghetto, 4/29/06
My post wasn't about who to blame but rather to point out that we are all suffering (here in Post K New Orleans) and attacking others and resorting to hate, racism and blaming of the "other" is not only cowardly, but won't help anyone. Also, I didn't start the topic of slavery, rather, I replied to a post which essentially defended slavery and claimed it was a plus for the Africans.

13949.3.1.1. if you are
by pjh704, 4/30/06 4:29 ET
Re: The new dark age? by bloodyghetto, 4/30/06
responding to my post about slavery you have a read comprehension skill problem. I posted the historical facts of indentured servitude to slavery. The movie Roots was a fabrication--slaves were like a animal to thier owners. How many farmers do you see beating, mutilating their livestock? Not that I a suggesting the practice was right but I am suggesting it was mor humane than what a certain political party has done through welfare from cradle to grave.

13946. boycott springsteen
by bitchallnigh, 4/29/06 13:06 ET
Bruce penned a song just for new orleans for jazz fest blaming white people for leaving all the "poor black folk" behind in the hurricane. You know how out of touch bruce is when he refers to a lady named "martha" as being one of the people left behind. Would any self respecting black parent ever name their child "martha"? Not when Sheneishykana sounds so much better. Maybe bruce can go on tour with jessie jackson to help keep in real. u'erd me?

13946.1. heres 1 4 ya
by panhead61, 4/29/06 13:10 ET
Re: boycott springsteen by bitchallnigh, 4/29/06
the mammas name was monique--the babys daddy(at that time) was demond---they named the illigit kid---DEMONISHIA----lol but hes dead now blasted uptown in 97

13946.2. Bruce needs to mind his own business n/m
by NiteOwl05, 4/29/06 13:34 ET
Re: boycott springsteen by bitchallnigh, 4/29/06

Start a new topic.