The Secret History of Hurricane Katrina
There was nothing natural about the disaster that befell New Orleans in Katrina's aftermath.
Fri Aug. 28, 2009 3:00 AM PDT
Confronted with images of corpses floating in the blackened floodwaters or baking in the sun on abandoned highways, there aren't too many people left who see what happened following Hurricane Katrina as a purely "natural" disaster. The dominant narratives that have emerged, in the four years since the storm, are of a gross human tragedy, compounded by social inequities and government ineptitude—a crisis subsequently exploited in every way possible for political and financial gain.
But there's an even harsher truth, one some New Orleans residents learned in the very first days but which is only beginning to become clear to the rest of us: What took place in this devastated American city was no less than a war, in which victims whose only crimes were poverty and blackness were treated as enemies of the state.
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It started immediately after the storm and flood hit, when civilian aid was scarce—but private security forces already had boots on the ground. Some, like Blackwater (which has since redubbed itself Xe), were under federal contract, while a host of others answered to wealthy residents and businessmen who had departed well before Katrina and needed help protecting their property from the suffering masses left behind. According Jeremy Scahill's reporting in The Nation, Blackwater set up an HQ in downtown New Orleans. Armed as they would be in Iraq, with automatic rifles, guns strapped to legs, and pockets overflowing with ammo, Blackwater contractors drove around in SUVs and unmarked cars with no license plates.
"When asked what authority they were operating under,'' Scahill reported, "one guy said, 'We're on contract with the Department of Homeland Security.' Then, pointing to one of his comrades, he said, 'He was even deputized by the governor of the state of Louisiana. We can make arrests and use lethal force if we deem it necessary.' The man then held up the gold Louisiana law enforcement badge he wore around his neck.''
The Blackwater operators described their mission in New Orleans as "securing neighborhoods," as if they were talking about Sadr City. When National Guard troops descended on the city, the Army Times described their role as fighting "the insurgency in the city." Brigadier Gen. Gary Jones, who commanded the Louisiana National Guard's Joint Task Force, told the paper, "This place is going to look like Little Somalia. We're going to go out and take this city back. This will be a combat operation to get this city under control."
Ten days after the storm, the New York Times reported that although the city was calm with no signs of looting (though it acknowledged this had taken place previously), "New Orleans has turned into an armed camp, patrolled by thousands of local, state, and federal law enforcement officers, as well as National Guard troops and active-duty soldiers." The local police superintendent ordered all weapons, including legally registered firearms, confiscated from civilians. But as the Times noted, that order didn't "apply to hundreds of security guards hired by businesses and some wealthy individuals to protect property…[who] openly carry M-16's and other assault rifles." Scahill spoke to Michael Montgomery, the chief of security for one wealthy businessman who said his men came under fire from "black gangbangers" near the Ninth Ward. Armed with AR-15s and Glocks, Montgomery and his men "unleashed a barrage of bullets in the general direction of the alleged shooters on the overpass. 'After that, all I heard was moaning and screaming, and the shooting stopped. That was it. Enough said.'"
Malik Rahim, a Vietnam veteran and longtime community activist, was one of the organizers of the Common Ground Collective, which quickly began dispensing basic aid and medical care in the first days after the hurricane. But far from aiding the relief workers, Rahim told me this week, the police and troops who began patrolling the streets treated them as criminals or "insurgents." African American men caught outside also ran the risk of crossing paths with roving vigilante patrols who shot at will, he says. In this dangerous environment, Common Ground began to rely on white volunteers to move through a city that had simply become too perilous for blacks.
In July, the local television station WDSU released a home video, taken shortly after the storm hit, of a local man, Paul Gleason, who bragged to two police officers about shooting looters in the Algiers section of New Orleans.
"Did you have any problems with looters," [sic] asked an officer.
"Not anymore," said Gleason.
"Not anymore?"
"They're all dead," said Gleason.
The officer asked, "What happened?"
"We shot them," said Gleason.
"How many did you shoot?
"Thirty-eight."
"Thirty-eight people? What did you do with the bodies?"
"We gave them to the Coast Guard," said Gleason.
Gleason told his story with a cup of red wine in one hand and riding a tractor from Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World.
Although the government's aid efforts were in chaos, those involved in the self-generated community rescue and relief efforts were often seen as a threat. Even so, Common Ground, founded in the days after Katrina hit, eventually managed to serve more than half a million people, operating feeding stations, opening free health and legal clinics, and later rebuilding homes and planting trees. But they "never got a dime" from the federal government, says Rahim. The feds did, however, recruit one of Common Ground's founders, Brandon Darby, as an informant, later using him to infiltrate groups planning actions at the 2008 Republican National Convention.
And while the government couldn't seem to keep people from dying on rooftops or abandoned highways, it wasted no time building a temporary jail in New Orleans.
Burl Cain, the warden of the notorious Angola Prison, a former slave plantation that's now home to 5,000 inmates, was rushed down to the city to oversee "Camp Greyhound" in the city's bus terminal. According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the jail "was constructed by inmates from Angola and Dixon state prisons and was outfitted with everything a stranded law enforcer could want, including top-of-the-line recreational vehicles to live in and electrical power, courtesy of a yellow Amtrak locomotive. There are computers to check suspects' backgrounds and a mug shot station—complete with heights marked in black on the wall that serves as the backdrop."
In the virtual martial law imposed in New Orleans after Katrina, the war on the poor sometimes even spilled over into the war on terror. In his latest book Zeitoun, published in July, Dave Eggers tells the story of a local Syrian immigrant who stayed in New Orleans to protect his properties and ended up organizing makeshift relief efforts and rescuing people in a canoe. He continued right up until he was arrested by a group of unidentified, heavily armed men in uniform, thrown into Camp Greyhound, and questioned as a suspected terrorist. In an interview with Salon, Eggers said:
Zeitoun was among thousands of people who were doing "Katrina time" after the storm. There was a complete suspension of all legal processes and there were no hearings, no courts for months and months and not enough folks in the judicial system really seemed all that concerned about it. Some human-rights activists and some attorneys, but otherwise it seemed to be the cost of doing business. It really could have only happened at that time; 2005 was just the exact meeting place of the Bush-era philosophy towards law enforcement and incarceration, their philosophy toward habeas corpus and their neglect and indifference to the plight of New Orleanians.
Through all the time that the federal and local governments, in concert with wealthy New Orleanians, were pitching their battle, there was virtually no one fighting on the other side. Reviewing the "available evidence" a month after Katrina, the New York Times concluded that "the most alarming stories that coursed through the city appear to be little more than figments of frightened imaginations." The reports of residents firing at National Guard helicopters, of tourists being robbed and raped on Bourbon Street, and of murderous rampages in the Superdome—all turned out to be false.
Since then it has become increasingly clear that the truth of what happened in New Orleans—vigilantism and racially tinged violence, a military response that supplanted a humanitarian one—is equally sinister.
Comments
Katrina
Submitted by JoeNOLA (not verified) on Fri Aug. 28, 2009 5:26 AM PDT.
Dont get me started... People will be documenting the debacle of Katrina for the next century.
The ineptitude of Mayor Ray Nagin, Governor Blanco, President Bush, and all other government officials at every level, cost many lives. But all of the blame cannot be laid at their feet. Citizens were warned many days in advance. The pervasiveness of the "well I did alright during Betsy, I should be OK" attitude made many feel like Katrina would not be a serious threat. Many ignored warnings begging them to evacuate.
The city, Parish and State government provided all sorts of free transportation for the needy before the storm, but many ignored the offers. Alot of the blame has to be placed on the individuals who did not leave.
Once the Levee's broke and all hell broke loose there were people drowning in their homes. Criminals took over because for a period there were no police. It was litterally every man for himself, take what you can get. Just for fun gang members and others shot at innocent flood survivors huddled on rooftops and whatever else was not submerged. They even shot at the brave coast guard helicopter pilots who throughout tried to pluck people off rooftops and take them to safety.
Many members on the NOPD raided and stole cars from a local Chevrolet/Cadillac dealership and took part in the looting of businesses throughout New Orleans, (A-la the Rolling Stones Sympathy for the Deveil "every cop is a criminal, and all the sinners saints...") They were AWOL when it came to doing their jobs.
The real crime was that it took many days to get the Louisiana National guard in here because of a silly controversy as to whose juridiction did they fall over, the governor or the military. The Feds wanted them in immediately but Governot Kathleen Blanco delayed them. (it's funny Dollar Bill Jefferson had no problem rounding up an armend escort of National Guardsmen to rescue hes $90,000 in his freezer!)
The bottom line is that it was total pandemonium for about a week... The whole world was watching on TV yet nothing got done. And it wasn't in a third world country, it was right here in the good ole USA!
TO JoeNOLA - IT IS A LIE
Submitted by American Teacher on Sat Aug. 29, 2009 11:58 AM PDT.
You said: The real crime was that it took many days to get the Louisiana National guard in here because of a silly controversy as to whose juridiction did they fall over, the governor or the military. The Feds wanted them in immediately but Governot Kathleen Blanco delayed them.
Someone's been telling you lies. My son-in-law was in the LA National Guard at that time, and he was IN New Orleans - IN THE SUPERDOME. He arrived before the storm hit, and stayed until the arena was evacuated, so Blanco didn't delay the National Guard. The Feds didn't want anything, except, perhaps to see New Orleans destoyed, and they got their wish.
I know it is hard to believe that the Bush administration lied about anything, but the fairy tale you heard simply wasn't true. Were they outnumbered? Yes. Did they have supplies? No. But they were there.
"They even shot at the brave
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed Sep. 2, 2009 1:32 PM PDT.
"They even shot at the brave coast guard helicopter pilots who throughout tried to pluck people off rooftops and take them to safety."
Guess u didn't read the part of this article that said that was all found to be false huh?
Where are all the right wing
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri Aug. 28, 2009 5:49 AM PDT.
Where are all the right wing Posse Comitatus folks crying about this travesty? When i think about how badly our nation failed at rebuilding one of our greatest cities it drives me crazy and makes question even more how we believe we can rebuild whole nations!!!
Katrina
Submitted by JoeNOLA (not verified) on Fri Aug. 28, 2009 6:16 AM PDT.
"...Where are all the right wing Posse Comitatus folks crying about this travesty? "
They are standing silently next to the silent Bleeding heart Liberals. It's Louisiana's problem, no one up north cares. If something of this magnatude happened to DC, NYC, or Boston they would move heaven and earth to make thing right but as it is no one cares. But that's another arguement
Both parties were equally inept and corrupt. You cannot blame this on 'W' when Gov. Blanco ("Blank-stare") and Mayor Nagin (Chocolate-city) were just as bad.
This is government for you... They cant even wipe their own asses ...and some people want them to be in control of healthcare. They F-up too many things already. I apologize for being so discouraging, after the last 20years anyone with half a brain should be disgusted with our government and want to throw out both parties, on all levels...
LIES, LIES, LIES - The Secret History of Hurricane Katrina
Submitted by WHITE in ST. BERNARD PARIS (not verified) on Fri Aug. 28, 2009 6:32 AM PDT.
I am white. I was wiped out by Katrina in St. Bernard Parish just down river (right next door to) the Lower 9. This article is crap. Recovery has NOTHING to do with being poor and black. We are STILL recovering in St. Bernard Parish. Get over being black people. It was a long, long, long time ago that your ANCESTORS were wronged. Mine were wronged too, but I don't whine about it. Geez, get a life.
It's funny how you claim the
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat Aug. 29, 2009 6:34 PM PDT.
It's funny how you claim the article is lies, but the way you write makes me believe the article more! I'm white too, but I don't pretend that skin color wasn't used to deny people due process or equal representation, not only in recent memory, but still today. The simple fact is that people of color are sometimes afraid that the color of their skin is going to place them in danger.
Just because your mind dwells in the ancient past doesn't make the present swell for everyone else. The article isn't even primarily about the fear people felt. It's about the breakdown of human rights, due process, and respect. This is america, hired guns aren't supposed to shoot people on sight just because the hired gun imagines they might loot. And obviously any hired guns that did so should be rounded up, and we have to look at the chain of command too. If people have the power to deputise, and they use that power to deputized blood thirsty pychos, then they should have the use of their power reviewed.
WHITEinST.BERNARDPARIS
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat Sep. 5, 2009 7:43 PM PDT.
I'm so sorry that your stupid white male ass, survived; while hundreds of other perfectly, decent human beings died.
They never got a second chance, to "Get a Life"you piece of shit cracker.
Look, I know that it is a
Submitted by Tom Anonymous (not verified) on Fri Aug. 28, 2009 7:03 AM PDT.
Look, I know that it is a world of fun Monday morning quarterbacking hurricane Katrina. Oh those Louisiana crackers! They are so corrupt, they all hate blacks and left them to die in the streets and shot them down like dogs. Sure, the state could have been better prepared, but the real truth is that there has never been a hurricane like Katrina. It was so large that it wiped out everything from Grand Isle to the Alabama border. No one expected that. When you are standing in front of a speeding freight train you are going to get run over. I know, I live in Louisiana- my daughter lost her house in the storm. I went there after the hurricane and it was an unimaginable disaster. You should thank God that you were not involved.
Your excuses are junk.
Submitted by JST (not verified) on Fri Aug. 28, 2009 11:43 PM PDT.
Tom Anonymous: "It was so large that it wiped out everything from Grand Isle to the Alabama border. No one expected that."
No, Tom, it's not as though they had satellite photos or meteorological data to let them know what was going to happen...there's never been a serious hurricane before. Who could have predicted that a large, powerful hurricane would severely damage the area where it struck?
b**ch get off ur soapbox! ur
Submitted by lizzie (not verified) on Fri Aug. 28, 2009 7:43 AM PDT.
b**ch get off ur soapbox! ur not from here so why are u speaking on things u know nothing about! its true that the gov doesnt care about us, but WE care about each other! black, white, hispanic, whatever. why is it that ppl who arent even from here give their opinion about something they didnt even experience. you will NEVER know what this is like. i am white and spent over a year living in a construction site of a house with no kitchen, no walls, and no use of our downstairs at all.... during most of that time i was pregnant as well. should i say that those ppl whoz;s job it was to fix my sh*t were being racist cuz they dragged azz? nobody is saying there isnt racism that exists, but to say that the event that ruined my life was a WAR on black ppl????? how stupid u are. u are negating the hell that we have endured and continue to endure daily for the last 4 years with this piece of trash u call journalism. before u use the people of my city to project ur anger over the racism uve seen in ur own life, remember that we all share a bond down here that u will never be a part of or understand!!!! my black neighbors dont blame me for katrina anymore than i blame them. get a life n write abt what u know, hoe!
Re: b**ch get off ur soapbox! ur
Submitted by Debra (not verified) on Sat Aug. 29, 2009 6:09 AM PDT.
Several things about your comments disturb me. First, the profanity; secondly, you write as if you are uneducated in spelling; third, your expectation of "those ppl whoz;s job it was to fix my sh*t"; and last, your attack on the journalism that has brought attention to the injustices done during the "susposed" reconstruction of New Orleans.
If you want to be taken seriously, use your social graces, your education, pull yourself up by your bootstraps and do your own repairs any way you can, and be thankful journalist are continuing to write about the 'victims' of Katrina.
I was 'Rita'. We were overshadowed by the press about Katrina. We didn't wait for the government to do anything for us. We utilized our skills, worked with our neighbors and we recovered what we could. We did it all without hollering racism, government injustice and conspiracies, etc. and very little journalism coverage.
So stop expending so much energy on anger, do something productive about your situation, and quit relying on the government for handouts. That's real life!
let me explain something to
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon Aug. 31, 2009 1:03 PM PDT.
let me explain something to you and lets see if you can comprehend this.... when you are a renter, and you are low income, and you live in an apartment complex it is NOT your job to pay to fix a place that you do not own! how does anyone not understand that its very simple. it is the job of the owner of that unit to fix it. ive never gotten a handout in my life, so if YOU want to be taken seriously, speak on what you know and not on incorrect ASSumptions! bitch.
and rita wasnt shit compared to katrina. totally different situation so to compare the two is as idiotic and uneducated as u claim me to be. everybody who been through a hurricane always wants to compare themselves to katrina victims like ya'll suffered the same as we did, like its a badge of honor or something. its not a contest.
wow. you sound intelligent.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat Aug. 29, 2009 4:10 PM PDT.
wow. you sound intelligent. nobody said white people didnt suffer. but you cant deny that a gov. backed private army called blackwater, made of a rank and file that is racist and blood thirsty committed attocities. You cant deny that the gov. was more concerned with controllling people as criminals than providing care. To deny that these ware mongers racist is retarded. And your post sounds retarded--hoe! yo yo yo
ur calling my post retarded
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon Aug. 31, 2009 1:09 PM PDT.
ur calling my post retarded and me unintelligent but u cant even spell war, or atrocities? hoe, SIT DOWN!
Might I remind the writer of
Submitted by trickykid (not verified) on Fri Aug. 28, 2009 7:53 AM PDT.
Might I remind the writer of this piece that at the time of Katrina, the mayor, chief of police and district attorney were all black. New Orleans is one of the poorest cities in the country and one with an African American majority. Before Katrina, the city was roughly 2/3 African American. Obviously, they were going to be on the television. The government did a deplorable job, but there was ample warning to get out of harm's way. To say that this was an attack on blacks is shortsighted, and obviously commentary from someone who isn't from New Orleans.
I am a working white middle class woman and Katrina was one of the worst experiences of my life. Just about every citizen, regardless of color, would say the same.
New Orleans is the murder capital of the nation, and when Katrina hit, it was open season for the criminals to act carte-blanche and do as they pleased. The criminal element in this city is vicious and not to be taken lightly. Drug addicts lost their access to drugs and began detoxing. The police department failed the citizenry by abandoning their posts and left the criminals with an open opportunity to loot and terrorize the city, which they did.
People at some point need to take responsibility for their own situation. I didn't wait around for the government to help me, I went out and helped myself. The elderly and the handicapped that died as a result of governmental and bureaucratic ineptitude are the real victims here, not black people.
it s funny how the people
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat Aug. 29, 2009 4:17 PM PDT.
it s funny how the people who deny racism are always ignorant white racists. The article is not simply crying racism--its highlighting innapropriate behavior by a sinister organization like blackwater in the aftermath of katrina and the inddiffernce of the gov, concerned only with policing the city as if it were a occupied country who they have no value for--like Iraq. The USA gov doesnt care about american citizens at all--in fact they see us ast the enemy. Black or white or brown or red. And thi would have happened in almost any city. When the imperialistic army is battle-hardened and finnally pulls out of its occupied territories it will turn its wraith on th eamerican people--especially if we start acting like a democracy instead of the usual cattle they have so successfully brainwashed.
I am a Louisianian of
Submitted by Noume (not verified) on Fri Aug. 28, 2009 9:19 AM PDT.
I am a Louisianian of Afro-Creole and Cajun ancestry. Our people, Cajun and Creole, Black, White, etc., were hit hard by Hurricane Rita. Many lost everything. Yet we did not experience the media swarming in Acadiana as they did in New Orleans. Nor did the nation see our people complaining that the government did not do enough or act quickly enough. I guess that there was no political paydirt to be made in airing our struggles.
You see, we are a hearty people who believe in self-reliance and taking initiative. Most of us do not believe in waiting on the government to do what we should do for ourselves. When many of my family were flooded out in Delcambre, we simply buckled down and helped each other out. Help eventually came, but our recovery was and is not dependent on the state or FEMA. Mind you, we were hit again by Gustav and Ike. We had to work hard, but we did what we had to do. Now a majority of our homes and churches are back in working order.
What annoys me most about Katrina talk is that it seems to always devolve into racial politics. As a Black person from Acadiana, I am offended by this constant invocation of race. It is counter-productive and only benefits certain types of politicians who tell the people that they really care. I strongly believe that what we saw exposed in Katrina ,and the plight of the people who stayed behind in the 9th Ward, was the ugly underside of the Welfare State. I believe that it has robbed people of their initiative, self-respect, and the ability to take responsibility for their own lives. Of course, the system is not the only factor, as there are familial issues and lifestyle choices that also increase the likelihood that some people would remain poor and dependent on the state.
Coming from Acadiana, I realize that I come from a different culture than that of the 9th Ward of New Orleans. But I am not blind to the influences in that community. My Dad's family came from Algiers, 9th and 7th Wards. Many of our relatives left the area for the North Shore and Westwego in the 70's and 80's.
I still remember meeting many refugees from Katrina who were housed in shelters in Lafayette and Opelousas and I found it striking how different our outlooks were. I think that as we continue to recover, we need to get over our political correctness and get real when it comes to addressing the influences in the community that are actually self-destructive. Keep the racial politics out of it.
Your comments are right on!
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed Sep. 2, 2009 10:03 PM PDT.
Your comments are right on! Everyone ultimately is responsible for themselves and those they care about. The government at any level is not the great savior.
I'm sure that many of the "innocent" victims of the aftermath of Katrina were not totally innocent. Having been in law enforcement for many years and dealing with people who get into trouble I can say that most, if not all of them minimize their part in getting into the situation they are in. I particularly noted the guy who was wounded as he was just walking through a neighborhood. I highly doubt he was as innocent as he claims to be. Of course we only have his side of the story.
I totally agree with your comment on the welfare mentality. When the government takes over responsibility for providing for people and they no longer have to they become dependent. If that is interrupted then the government is to blame for their plight. We as Americans have made this mess, and I don't know if we will ever figure a way to change it.
I'm particularly tired of the poverty/racism card being played. I know many black, Hispanic, and others who have pulled themselves out of poverty through hard work and determination to become middle class or more. I also know a lot of white people who are poor. Anyone can become a success if they put their mind to it and work diligently to make a better life.
I'm glad for your initiative and success in getting your life back together and you deserve recognition for helping your family and community. Thanks you!
I enjoy how all of the
Submitted by justinhubbard (not verified) on Fri Aug. 28, 2009 9:38 AM PDT.
I enjoy how all of the responses to this article decry the assumptions of the other, while only proffering anecdotal evidence. Betsie was a Category 4 storm, while Katrina was a Category 3 by the time it made landfall in New Orleans, so the logic that 'we can ride this out' was reasonable. Even the accusations concerning crime have been disproven, yet folks are still holding on to these ideas.
I expect to be criticized as an outsider, and yes, I'm not from NOLA, but I'm from the South, and I understand feelings of antipathy towards Northerners who think they're ahead of US in terms of progress in race relations, especially given that the poorest and most segregated cities in the country are all in the North. This however does not dispute the fact that there was a viscerally shocking element of racism and classism to the 'disaster.'
The whites in Chalmette curiously decided that following the storm they would enact what amounted to grandfather laws, and it was struck down. Rather than organizing against the rich who profit on the misery of Black and white, the response to the storm was a collective action against bodies of color. Why?
Surviving Hurricane Katrina; 4 Years Later...By: PhyllisMLeblanc
Submitted by Phyllis Montana-Leblanc (not verified) on Fri Aug. 28, 2009 11:13 AM PDT.
My name is Phyllis Montana-Leblanc, I was featured in Spike Lee's HBO Documentary; "When The Levees Broke." I have to say that after 4 years since surviving Hurricane Katrina I am sadly disappointed at the recovery and concern for the "unimportant" areas of New Orleans. I reside in New Orleans East and am still waiting for Methodist Hospital to reopen. This district's leaders lie and blow smoke up our behinds about waiting 2 more years(possibly) in the meantime, they are finding money to open a theme park or sports park. Methodist Hospital did not suffer so much damage that it could not be reopened. Yes, there are "9-5" clinics out here but if someone has an emergency they will have to drive themselves to Slidell,La or downtown. Or call an ambulance and depending on if there's no cars on the highway, we're looking at over 8 miles before having access to an emergency room. The people need to come together and demand a hospital that would serve a huge area out here. Mental health hospitals are being closed, schools demolished(every school I attended stands grass-filled and abandoned) and still we have nobody in our "leaders" position who is doing anything about it. Oh, I'm sorry, we're getting a library almost directly across from Methodist with top of teh line parking spaces. I thank God that I am being blessed in the coming future to hopefully participate in re-growing our city where our leaders have failed. I have a memoir published by Simon and Schuster in New York ( Not Just The Levees Broke" My Story During and After Hurricane Katrina and have been hired by David Simon in an HBO TV Series called "Treme." David Simon created HBO's "The Wire." We filmed the pilot here in New Orleans and HBO liked it and ordered 12/13 more episodes. We start back filming in the fall. I play Wendell Pierce's live-in girlfriend and look forward to giving back to my community. I am also looking to help stop the high crime in our city as well. I am not giving up on a city I love like I love breathing. New Orleans is Worth Saving. People are not looking for a hand out and we do not deserve what happened to us during Hurricane Katrina. I stayed and was treated like I was not human. I am not giving up. Phyllis Montana-Leblanc. I am on www.myspace.com/phyllismleblanc and www.facebook.com/phyllismontanaleblanc. Thanks for letting me air it out. Peace and One Love.
Just saw you in "Levees" last night
Submitted by William W. Wexler on Sun Aug. 30, 2009 12:36 PM PDT.
Hi, Ms Montana-Leblanc,
My wife and I just saw "When the Levees Broke" last night. We tuned in just by chance, as we were looking for something light to watch after a very trying week. Death has just paid us a visit.
After the first couple of minutes I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to watch the whole program, but I'm very glad we did even though it was totally heart-wrenching in many places and we were moved to both rage and tears.
To me, the most difficult segments to watch were of Herbert Freeman Jr., whose mother passed away at the convention center sitting next to him in a wheelchair. I remember seeing Mrs. Freeman's body on TV during the aftermath and being horrified by this symbol of how America suffered because of the indifference and incompetence of the Bush family. Seeing this man matter-of-factly telling the story of his mother's death was shocking and enraging. I was trying hard to choke back the tears but it didn't work. I haven't felt any emotion like that for a long time, maybe ever. Heartsick. My own mother was just here for a visit, 84 years old, and a bit more mobile but I could imagine her in the same situation. She would not have survived it.
Thank YOU so much for your articulate and 100% right on the mark comments in the film. I was so glad that there was someone in the film expressing exactly what I was feeling as I watched it.
We live near Cedar Rapids, IA, which had a 1000 year flood last year and it wiped out around 5000 homes. It was just a tiny piece of what you had down there, but this is a small town and everyone knows someone who lost everything.
http://www.iptv.org/series.cfm/20339/city_under_water_cedar_rapids
I have worked downtown and also at a nearby college and the damage was profound.
I believe that the Bush Administration is directly responsible for 10s of thousands of needless deaths and suffering in Iraq, Afghanistan, and NOLA. I am outraged beyond words to think that such an ignorant, callous, reckless, and criminal man could rise to the office of President of the United States and wreak death and destruction with impunity. It looks as if Obama is going to let Bush skate away from all of this with not even a backward glance. It's pitiful.
Thanks again for your part in the film, and if you ever run into Dr. Ben Marble, please tell him that he ought to visit Mr. Bush, too. Good luck in all your endeavors.
-Wexler
_____________________________________________________________
If I would have known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself.
~~~ Eubie Blake, as attributed by Mickey Mantle, and many, many others.
Ignorance
Submitted by E-6 (not verified) on Tue Sep. 15, 2009 9:56 PM PDT.
Yo Will,
open your eyes. Seriously, Its funny how all the people commenting on here are pointing the fingers at every one else, but fail to look AT the mirror and take ownership of their own actions. you commented on " Herbert Freeman Jr. mother" well side note- she would not take the insulin that we offered so Cause=Effect. I also had a Red Cross director who told me they plan for 4% of a devastated area, first responders, nursing homes & hospitals. Do you know how many people were in New Orleans...... 120,000. 42% Will, how can an organization plan for something that large.
And for that rumor about no public transportation at the Super Dome. Ive got several pics if you want. No one ever showed up so we sent the buses North at approx 11pm on Sun.
William, Louisiana to New Orleans to all surrounding areas. What happens when you mix ignorance and laziness.......... Aug 30th 2005 after effect. No one wanted to leave b/c they left for either Hurricane Ivan & Dennis and the storm(s) turned at the last second so it seemed like a waste of time to leave for Katrina. Also, individuals LOOT regardless if the storm hits New Orleans or not.
All Im saying Will is, as long as you keep relying on left wing media news to mold your character & beliefs you will be the IGNORANT one just like the ignorance in New Orleans
God bless you Honey.It's
Submitted by Lacey (not verified) on Sat Sep. 5, 2009 7:52 PM PDT.
God bless you Honey.It's been four years, and I have not forgotten, watching in horror,helplessness and anger, at what happened in New Orleans, and what is still going on, in the past four years.You and your community are in my prayers.
i don't see why
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri Aug. 28, 2009 11:50 AM PDT.
i don't see why sensationalist claims like gleason's are taken at face value. who did he kill? why are there no families looking for their loved ones? he just wants his 15 minutes
New Orleans native,
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri Aug. 28, 2009 11:56 AM PDT.
New Orleans native, caucasian, USMC veteran & forever sad at how my home will be remembered & how my neighbors and loved ones were treated. Just another legacy of the Bush years, a legacy the world will forever have to deal with. Hope Condi got some nice shoes.
Bit confused....
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri Aug. 28, 2009 12:25 PM PDT.
Why are all of the comments here rehashing pretty common counterpoints to a media accusation of racism, while ignoring the incredibly troubling reports of Xe/Blackwater disarming the population? Citizens being deprived of their firearms while mercenaries are called in to protect the property is very troubling- this is 18th century behavior at best, and does not speak well for the prospects of our civil liberties whether we are living in Boston or New Orleans.
Thanks for bringing up the
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat Aug. 29, 2009 12:03 PM PDT.
Thanks for bringing up the very same thing I was thinking.....disarming citizens who hold licenses for their weapons?...... and the mercenaries not having to show identification? This is very dangerous.....how would you be able to prosecute the individual (s) responsible for stripping you of your rights if you weren't even sure who was taking you into custody.....
Levy Katrina:
Submitted by Sati (not verified) on Fri Aug. 28, 2009 1:54 PM PDT.
Was the levy protecting the 9th Ward not compromised with explosives? The storm was clearly an act of nature. Yet many reports of explosions following the storms' winds bear inquiry and serious attention. Given the details of this article and the evidence of where the concentration of the area's recovery has occurred, common sense challenges the construct that what turned out to be a 9th Ward Land-grab was a planned crime of opportunity.
As for the pathetic comment from WHITE in ST. BERNARD PARIS, it is exactly this spirit and intolerance for all humanity to wrongfully interpret the exact words of the article and derive such a context from it. More to the point, WHITE in ST. BERNARD PARIS seems to suffer from the same strain of DNA of the folks from ROSEWOOD, OKLAHOMA, and Africa who resent that any person unlike and other than their own kind should posses any means equivalent to theirs.
Further, to deny the facts of this crime against poor black and white people in Katrina is equivalent to denying the crimes against most certainly the indigenous people of this continent which we now just call Indians, the Africans since 1555 (North Atlantic Slave Trade), the Incas and Myans, the people called Jews during the 1940's in Germany, Palestinians today, and countless others. And to have the arrogant gall to sit there and to have lived in this country all what appears to be you sorry-ass life by a code based on a system of unearned privileges and indict your ancestors is nothing short of cowardice of character.
In stead of spewing falsehood from your pie-hole and doing nothing like many of the "elected officials" in NO and the US, get up off your duff and make a concerted effort to make things better for those wronged folk. Have you called
Malik at Common Ground?
Katrina, 4 years later
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri Aug. 28, 2009 4:41 PM PDT.
The blowing up of the levee is a story straight from ex Congressman, now Felon William Jefferson. Many levees failed, not just the one in the 9th Ward.
There was a barge that hit the levee in the 9th Ward.
The Ms. Gulf River Outlet (MR GO) flooded all of St. Bernard Parish. MR GO was a short sighted disaster from the beginning, destroyed acres and acres of desperately needed wetlands, wasn't as functional as planned, and is now closed.
Please check your facts before commenting.
And also think about whether it is necessary to name call. Katrina was and is a very serious situation, calling for more maturity than is exhibited when people sink to the level of name calling.
Katrina
Submitted by Donald Paterson (not verified) on Fri Aug. 28, 2009 3:57 PM PDT.
Why am I not surprised? For those who watched President Bush's comments on live TV will remember him saying, not once, not twice, but three times, that "we will help those people from that part of the world." Not once did Bush mention anything about helping US citizens. Of course, you never saw or heard these comments again! So why should there be anything other response from the government than to send in Blackwater and operate as if in a foreign country.
disaters
Submitted by bob in exile (not verified) on Fri Aug. 28, 2009 3:57 PM PDT.
Forget all this racist B.S. ... Politicians have used it for years to control people.
This was a yellow warning light... when a disaster hits they will use it to take advantage of everyone. Look at 911... who lost the most RIGHTS.. U.S. citizens or Arab terrorists?? Wake up America..... You may be facing a firing squad some day.
Katrina
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri Aug. 28, 2009 5:52 PM PDT.
I am tired of hearing about the war on the poor blacks and the Lower Ninth Ward. The devastation of New Orleans was entirely due to the incompetence of the Army Corps of Engineers--unlike the damage on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and the flooding of southwest Louisiana caused by Rita. Unfortunately it is not legally possible to sue the Corps for the failure of flood control structures. If a private engineering firm had constructed such shoddy levees and floodwalls, it would have been sued to oblivion. The real war has been against the middle class of New Orleans, mostly white, but also African-American/creoles of color and Asian, living in Lakeview, Gentilly, New Orleans East, and St. Bernard Parish, the areas impacted by MRGO. and the breaches in the Industrial Canal levees and the 17th Street and London Avenue Canal floodwalls. The canal floodwalls in particular were brand new and are now known to have been poorly designed and constructed.
My house was a block away from the London Avenue Canal and in the immediate area of the breach at Robert E. Lee. It flooded to the roof and stayed submerged for nigh unto a month (including water from Rita). I can tell you that middle class homeowners, particularly the white residents of Lakeview and St. Bernard, got nothing but aggravation from the federal government, and those who had insurance had the devil's own time collecting their very legitimate claims. The Road Home program, as its name implies, distributed federal funds with an eye to repopulatiing New Orleans--not to making whole those whose property was destroyed by the negligence of the Army Corps of Engineers.
The media have decided that the Katrina story is racism directed toward poor blacks, but that is very misleading. That is a very limited view. The rest of the story is the draining of equity from the (mostly white) middle class of New Orleans, a city which only very recently even developed a precarious middle class, by the incompetence of the Corps and the refusal of the federal government to take responsibility for the failure of its agency. Back before Katrina, we had what was called the Hurricane Protection system. Now the word "Protection" has been excised from all descriptions of the levees and flood walls. Frankly I am amazed that anyone is brave enough to live in New Orleans and depend to any extent on any work done by the Army Corps of Engineers. Hit hard by my uninsured losses (I had insurance, but I was underinsured because I didn't realize how much my real and movable property had appreciated), I am now living in the desert, far from any possible hurricane. And, yes, I did evacuate in a timely fashion before the storm, else due to the rapid rush of water through the floodwall breach, I would have died, as did those neighbors, mostly elderly whites, who did not/were not able to evacuate.
Doubtless this is not what Mother Jones wants to hear, but "war on poor blacks" is very far from the whole story. I would not dispute the fact that the media emphasis on poor blacks in the Superdome (and you didn't see any pictures of desperate working class whites at the Chalmette boat slip, did you, but they were there) fed the disdain that much of the rest of the country had for New Orleanians--and that is racism. Perhaps if the whole story had been reported, the response, particularly from the government, might have been better. Who knows? I will never forgot George W. Bush's first response which was that the Columbia pipeline, Port Fouchon, and the refineries would be back up in a few days--this while my friends and neighbors were dying in their flooded homes. And I will never forget his mother's remarks at the Houston Astrodome to the effect that "these people" never had anything in the first place so it doesn't matter what they lost. Well, they lost whatever they did have in material terms, but more important, they lost their entire social fabric. I will never forgive the callousness and incompetence of the Bush administration's response to this great American disaster. (And, yes, Kathleen Blanco and Ray Nagin were in way over their heads, but at least they weren't callously dismissive, not where the cameras could see and hear them anyway.)
"If a private engineering
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat Aug. 29, 2009 7:03 PM PDT.
"If a private engineering firm had constructed such shoddy levees and floodwalls [they'd get sued]" but I'm not so sure. Blackwater changed the rules. Private firms just claim they are military to avoid being sued by civilian courts, and claim they are civilian to avoid being sued by military courts. Why couldn't a construction firm do the same thing? Why not just ask congress for retroactive immunity like the telecomms? Or they could try to lobby for some "tort reform[sic]" to make it so the people they hurt can't sue them.
Because that's the legacy of W. Seize power because you can get away with, do whatever you want and when others get hurt just ignore the fact that courts are *supposed* to allow people to redress wrongs.
I disagree that the story is "black people got wronged". It's about the escalation of unaccountability, and the fact that the super rich get to hire guns to do whatever they want and the rich get away with it regardless of who gets hurt. Have you even traced back the root cause of the badly made dams? That would be important to know, among other reasons because it might tell us something about other nasty surprses that are lurking around.
But lets get back to the why of the emphasis of this story. The whole country, man/woman/other, every race and almost every class should be concerned about the specter of hired guns being able to do whatever they want, consequence free. That's a big story. Because having hired guns disarm people is bad bad news. Having those with the most money seize rights for themselves because they think they'll get away with it is a serious issue, and frankly, one that isn't going to get enough coverage unless cloaked in the story of simple racism.
Blackwater didn't spring into existence after the Hurricane like the home grown aid relief organization did. It was made in advance so that disasters could be seized on. The patriot act wasn't written super fast after 9/11, it was a wish list that was voted on before congress could read it because the writers thought they'd have an excuse to USE. The story is how we are getting used, and we usually don't think about the middle class getting used, so this is again told through the cloak of the impact on poor minorities.
Unless you are super rich, your rights are being eroded and trampled and starved and neglected and repealed. The other part of this story is that the press that is funded by big advertising claimed that this didn't happen, just like everything else bad that people have pointed out.
Katrina was a wake up call
Submitted by George-Luis Dewey (not verified) on Fri Aug. 28, 2009 5:57 PM PDT.
I think that the article would have been better served by focusing on the violations of the Constitution and not turning into a generalized discussion of Black oppression. There is no doubt in my mind that there may have been many specific instances where racial hatred may have been a factor, but the real CRIME was the Bush Administration and it's army of mercenary thugs dubbed "law enforcement". Consider this: if more citizens had been properly respectful of their rights including the second amendment and violations of persons and property in general there would have been no need for thugs like XE/Blackwater. We all give the cops rights over us they do not rightfully possess. Militias formed in neighborhoods (armed or unarmed) prior to the event might have made things different. Please do not take what I am saying out of context by giving it your preferred spin because you do or do not "feel" people should or should not be armed. That really has nothing to do with what a militia really is. There was a standing army in 1776 and prior, but it was the common folk armed with primitive weapons primarily utilized for hunting that came to the aid of the army. That was one of the earliest experiences that led to the language later adopted as in "We the People". Constitutional focus and grounded behavior could have also led to the formation of groups of like minded citizens who could have concentrated on health and welfare and general defense of the neighborhoods in many different ways. Primarily they would have rallied, identified general disaster needs and met other so called "authorities" on the way in and simply said NO THANKS we already have defense circles set up and we are not only cognizant of our rights, but armed and ready to defend ourselves. People like xe/Blackwater and toilet governments like Cheney/Bush would have never grown up around the feet of such people. Rather than attacking ourselves and the Constitution to the litmus of our preferred political bias we, as citizens, should have been maintaining our civic-mindedness and our sacred common rights all along. Frankly I see no difference between the criminal government we had under the R's than the one we have now with our fellow D's under our "feel good" current President. These injustices preceded his administration, which I as an ex-Green Constitutionalist VOTED for, yet here we are with no justice for 911, no prosecution for public officials who conspired to murder their own citizens in order to fight a war on false pretenses and spread fear among the people, and we're opening new war fronts in Colombia, Mexico and another twenty-year war in Afghanistan, along with the interminable conflict in Iraq. What is wrong with you people - are you braindead or what? It all comes back to Constitution, Constitution, Constitution. If any of this had mean a damn thing to any of you really you would know this and you would know what "moral obligation" means. There are good white people and good black people and good Christians and good Jews and then there are bad folks of the same ilk. What I am appealing to you to think about is that the good people have got to get together under this standard and appeal to our current administration to do something definitive to defend justice and liberty right here at home from evil dark forces that conspire against us and divide us on the issue of race, drugs, poverty etc. etc. There has to be a groundswell of moral indignation and it can't be left up to the media network morons and double--speak pundits that daily chuck out the best press money can buy. We knew Katrina would happen long before it did, but good people did nothing. We now know that these problems exist and yet good people are doing nothing. People who profit from War should have NOTHING to say about when and why we fight. We should NEVER resort to war unless WE ARE ATTACKED as it states in the Constitution. When people have one eye on the stock market and no eyes on their rights then something ELSE has taken over. It didn't happen with violence, rather it crept in and surrounded us by NEGLECT. And if we can't know who back them and their secret bank accounts and how much money is in there and who they pay-off with it then the obvious conclusion is that a lot of bad democrats have a lot in common with a lot of bad republicans and a lot of bad federal employees and their illegal gangster buddies. When they plan wars for you and your children, when the budgets of the Pentagon and the Defense Department are not even known, when the most important thing to a father who sees his son go off to fight a war for oil and heroin turf and convenient economic expansion is the pickup truck he's going to get on credit, then you are all a bunch of really sick puppies and you better WAKE UP FROM THIS SELF-IMPOSED NIGHTMARE and FIX IT. Get rid of the Blue-Dog bastards that have literally TRILLIONS to spend on WAR, but no money for the sick and the poor. They are the problem - protest them continually night and day and don't go away - VOTE them out - expose them - shame them publicly and don't let your leaders waffle and drool out garbage any more. We need to dynamically release ourselves from worshiping the Golden Calf or the RELIGION OF MONEY that has planted its false DNA into the genome of our law. LIFE, LIBERTY and the PURSUIT of HAPPINESS. None of our founders ever enshrined MONEY at the top of the list of sacred things, that is something we choose to do. There should be a mass defection of the military from these false wars in the spirit of the Sunshine Soldier of yesteryear - they could lead instead of being the legions of the disencarnate and they could come home and rebuild our great nation by having a moral clue about the rightness of these principles. I am begging you all as your Elder brother - wake up, quit subscribing to evil, AWAKEN and save our great nation. The world wants to know why we don't remember our origins, our rights and our great institutions. AWAKEN!
Let's imagine a world
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat Aug. 29, 2009 7:12 PM PDT.
Let's imagine a world covered with benevolant militias. OK, then an evacuation order is made. Wouldn't the militias leave, just like most everyone else? I remember the talk about pulling out of Iraq, and the military claimed that with so much physical assests in Iraq it would take years to pack up all our stuff and go home. If order is imposed externally, then trying to leave while maintaining order ... will ... be ... difficult.
So it's not a lack of militias that is the problem, because it's not clear how any group that would have evacuated would have changed anything. Obviously Blackwater was willing (and funded and permitted by the government) to enter while everyone was being told to leave. That's the problem. While citizens and government accountable police (and hence ultimately citizen accountable police) were leaving, private hired guns were going in. Is that the model we are going to use for our country?
The article left out the
Submitted by downsteamJim (not verified) on Fri Aug. 28, 2009 8:22 PM PDT.
The article left out the part where Bush created Katrina in Crawford, Texas. It also omits the part about Bush sprinkling Kryptonite on Obama to keep him from pushing back the floods. MotherJones is to journalism what Joe
Biden it to history.
DownstreamJim is to comprehension
Submitted by William W. Wexler on Sun Aug. 30, 2009 12:51 PM PDT.
what shit is to Shinola.
I'm not sure what part of this you missed, Jimbo, but people were dying while your apparent buddy Dubya was playin' air geetar and his momma was claiming that people in the Astrodome were better off there because they were just a bunch of darkie indigents anyway.
I wonder if your real name isn't Karl Rove. Just sayin'. You sound a lot like him.
______________________________________________________________
If I would have known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself.
~~~ Eubie Blake, as attributed by Mickey Mantle, and many, many others.
RE: The Secret History of Hurricane Katrina
Submitted by Kyle (not verified) on Fri Aug. 28, 2009 8:28 PM PDT.
"Get over being black." Only a white person would say sh&* like that! Ugh! Sometimes I really hate this country and the people who would say (and think) some stupid sh&* like "Get over being black."
Oh, W. should definitely get his fair share of blame for this matter. History is being written with this disastrous event occurring on his watch.
Hurricane Katrina
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri Aug. 28, 2009 9:58 PM PDT.
If the governer of Louisiana and the mayor of New Orleans done what they were supposed to have done a lot of the people could have been saved before the storm even got there. Mayor Nagan was a joke. He let buses that could have saved people sit on a lot and go under water when the levees broke. The people in the streets acted like animals after the storm, there was no electricity but they stole flat screened tvs. I don't know where they were planning in plugging them in. It Is unfortunate that people died but the people acted like they were only out for themselves.
It is ashamed that they weren't like the people of Mississippi who pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and took care of themselves. You didn't hear all of the whinning that came out of New Orleans. I guess that happens when the government has taken care of you all of your life. Why should they even try to take care of themselves.
If the average person worked
Submitted by Anonymous John (not verified) on Sat Aug. 29, 2009 3:39 AM PDT.
If the average person worked ten hours a day and perhaps five on Saturday, he would live comfortably. Yes, there are not as many opportunities for minorities, but there are still an infinite number of opportunities available to them. It just takes a little imagination and a lot of hard work. Prime numbers are not as plentiful as even or odd numbers, but there are still an infinite number of primes. You just may have to put more time in to find them. How much sweeter the victory when a minority, against all the obstacles, still succeeds in life by the sweat of his brow. We watch sports and movies to see people overcome seemingly impossible odds. It's what makes a life worth living and defines who we are.
When we pointed to stuff like this immediately after Katrina
Submitted by Bruce A. Dixon (not verified) on Sat Aug. 29, 2009 4:09 AM PDT.
...we were dismissed as raving lunatics and liars. And of course there was a massive coverup of the number of dead in Katrina's wake. You will recall that no reporters were allowed to go with the teams which rounded up the bodies or counted them or disposed of them so there was never a varifable body count. No reporters were allowed at the sites where autopsies, if any, took place, and of course nobody has ever stood trial for any of this. But hey, that's life in America, right?
Gun confiscation during Katerina
Submitted by Bella (not verified) on Sat Aug. 29, 2009 5:51 AM PDT.
Right now, the Right is churning up all sorts of umbrage by spreading the rumor that Obama will take away everybodies guns. They act as if the corporate crooks in Dubyas administration were great champions of the 2nd amendment and forget that the mass confiscation of firearms during Katerina was under the Republicans watch, not by Democrats! So in essence the Republicans are accusing Obama of plotting to do what they actually did! The NRA was silent and uttered no protest when Republicans had NOLA's citizens guns confiscated, by Obama has done no such thing and he is being tarred with It. I aint exactly happy with everything Obama has actually accomplished, but the lies and misdirections of the Right disgust me.
Katrina - one of W's
Submitted by Earth Granger (not verified) on Sat Aug. 29, 2009 9:39 AM PDT.
Katrina - one of W's greatest F-ups: as if starting a wrongful war half way around the globe wasn't enough - he allowed one to take place upon his own people on his own turf (rich against poor) during a time of our nation’s greatest need in recent times. Though we will be cleaning up his mess for years to come, I am so grateful the Bush Era is behind us.
One Billion Dollar NORAD Shutdown
Submitted by femtobeam on Sat Aug. 29, 2009 11:03 PM PDT.
One of the greatest tragedies of New Orleans and Katrina is the missing 1 Billion Dollars from Katrina, the lack of information about what happened to the emergency communications system which was responsible supposedly for the lack of coordination of rescue efforts, a complete lack of information about the prisoners in the Fema Detention Facilities and a total lack of video and photographs. Where are all the confiscated photos and records of the event by victims? For that matter, where are the victims who were in detention?
The trailers were full of embalming fluid. The President was in Colorado Springs at Norad with Charlie Lambert just after the disaster at Katrina and Battelle/Bechtel were involved as were Blackwater in the aftermath. Like 9/11, when the airwaves were suddenly shut down, it seems there was a lack of communications operations, both resulting in death. A shutdown of communications, followed by tragedy, followed by unaccounted for bodies and funds, with no conclusion. The benefactors in both were the subcontractors but who shuts down Norad?
Katrina turned New Orleans
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat Aug. 29, 2009 11:21 PM PDT.
Katrina turned New Orleans into an area worse than any third world country. It was every man for himself, and martial law dominated. There is no right or wrong in this scenario; you cannot blame the government, the local police, or any citizens, looters or law abiding. There was a good and bad side to every faction involved; although most citizens were helpful and cooperative, obviously some were only looking to take advantage of the situation. The same goes for the law enforcement. As for the government, the time it took to respond is understandable (1) because the complete severity of the storm obviously wasn't known until after it had hit, (2) because precautions had been taken place (such as evacuations and deployment of national guard) and (3) because there was no prior reactionary actions in place to respond to a disaster of this type, because the likes of which had not been seen since the quake in San Fransisco. One cannot fault the government for going through a somewhat democratic process to decide the proper actions to take. If the Bush administration had simply taken matters into it's own hands, and taken any extreme measure, New Orleans certainly wouldn't have turned out any better. If there is anything to take from New Orleans (excluding the obvious-- don't build a city below sea level without a proper levy system!!), it's the knowledge that we have gained in natural disaster respondence. Local, state and federal government need to have a "worst case scenario" plan for each region in the US, corresponding with the possible types of disaster. Looking into the past to doll out blame for what happened is irresponsible, one cannot hold another responsible for the actions taken when there is no prototype or prior knowledge of what should have been done. If anything, Americans should be grateful that our government had ANY system in place, unlike the unfortunate victims in Sri Lanka's tsunami.
President I don't care about black people
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat Aug. 29, 2009 11:31 PM PDT.
If there was one thing I hoped this corporate stooge of a president would do once in office, it was that he would bring some relief and rebuilding to New Orleans.
But no, nothing but silence from the hopey-changey guy. Unless he's lecturing black folks on throwing chicken bones out the window or being better dads. If I want lectures, I'll go to church on Sunday.
Has there ever been a president since Herbert Hoover to do less for black people, for poor people, for working people, than (P)resident Obama?
All of the factors of
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun Aug. 30, 2009 12:02 AM PDT.
All of the factors of Katrina-- the levees, the local gov't response, the law enforcement, the social/racial issues raised-- are of no real issue here. Because of the typical stupidity of American media consumers, these issues are allowed to be portrayed as the problems of Katrina. in reality, however, they simply draw attention away from the real issue at hand: the abuse of power the high-up's in the political and economic sectors practice in response to any disaster of this sort; the constitution is blatantly ignored, as these money grubbing leeches get away with every wrong doing they commit, through various loopholes or sheer intimidation. And because of the massive amount of money and power they ALREADY possess, they are able to manipulate the media into twisting the story and turning Katrina into a social and racial issue. THERE IS NO ILLUMINATI, IT IS SIMPLY THE RICH AND POWERFUL WHO MANIPULATE THE WAY YOU SEE THE WORLD. These are the pope's of the religion of money, the Jim Jones' of the cult of currency, money drives the world, and they steer it in whatever direction they please. Wake up and realize that social issues are not the issues at all; see the big picture in every event like Katrina, and understand that there is an agenda to everything that happens in this world, and it will NOT be revealed in the news. Think for yourself, and do not allow the tentacles of corporations, governments, and media outlets get ahold of your mind.
Color change...
Submitted by C Earl Jr (not verified) on Sun Aug. 30, 2009 6:28 AM PDT.
It's about color, in my opinion, but the racial component only fed the desired political outcome. Just as I believe that the tragedy of Sept 11 was used by the Republicans to national political effect, I posit that the Katrina disaster was used to change the color of my home state from Democratic Blue to Republican Red. Yes, I say cynically, USED. Would anyone put it past Karl Rove at this point? Bobby Jindal anyone...?
As a quick side note: having grown up during the cold war (born in Baton Rouge in 1960), I've increasingly found it ironic how enthusiastically "RED" is embraced now. The concept of "purity" has made many people very dangerous throughout history, and the irony of the "red" party embracing McCarthy-like ideology is rich...
But I digress...
I lived in New Orleans and loved / love it deeply. It was one of our truly unique cities, and still is in many ways. Occasionally, when people seemed open to ideas that weren't ready-made, I would propose that "The Big Easy" was perhaps the most important city in the U.S. Does that amuse you? Well if you, like me, believe that creativity (not wealth or status or power) is the greatest tribute to our existence, you might agree that The Crescent City deserves such consideration because of the mark it has made on world culture.
Our rich European heritage is written in the architecture (Spanish and more), cooking (Cajun / French), etc., but our African heritage bubbles also in the cooking pot (Creole), the music (jazz and blues that morphed into rock and rap and more)... In New Orleans, Africa's influence was celebrated by artists, and musical influence in particular made its way to Chicago, New York, and around the world. It traveled to Europe, even, to be embraced in ways it was not here. In fact, it was often reviled by those forces that currently bring you the color RED, and they are smug about how the darker populations of New Orleans were scattered to the (hurricane force) winds...
Because I have no problem believing that Africa's role in genealogy and world culture is worth celebrating, of course I am largely reviled by many people "down home" because I have somehow betrayed my skin color. There's a term for people like me because I dare express such thoughts that allow for humankind to acknowledge and honor its deepest roots: "N*gger lover". There's probably nothing worse that you can be called "down home" (except, perhaps, a socialist / "red").
Many thanks to the artists who have worked to rescue and restore some of New Orleans' vibrant creative community. May it heal sufficiently to once again shine as a beacon of creativity in this country and around the world. The history of oppression and triumph over it will be recorded in artistic works as well as in history books. Perhaps I'll go listen to some spirituals now...
Rather Amazing
Submitted by satan on a stick (not verified) on Mon Aug. 31, 2009 2:28 AM PDT.
Just reading through the comments and it's obvious those attacking this article didn't read it or if they did read it, they didn't understand the article. They don't address any of the disturbing issues raised. They keep repeating "whites suffered also" or "my house hasn't been rebuilt", none are addressing the disturbing issue of illegal mercenaries taking control of an American city, none are addressing the murders committed by the mercenaries and racist vigilantes in the aftermath. Some are still repeating the (proven) lies about gangbangers, rapist, and looters roaming the streets.
They are apologist for racist vigilantes and mercenaries. Is this support based on blind stupidity or are the apologist sympathizers? What happened in N.O. is the canary in the mine, soon enough the sympathizers will be under the boot of the Blackwaters of the world.
Good luck.
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