"FEAR and those dangerous Blacks!"
For anyone who has lived in New Orleans or its surrounding areas, you know it's all about the neighborhoods. The images continually playing out on national television and the front pages of newspapers across the nation show it is the poor black people who are suffering the most. Primarily, federal and state agencies sustain the lives of most in these areas: the 9th Ward, Central City, Lower Garden District, the Irish Channel, Bywater and New Orleans East just to name a few.
Local and federal officials can say time after time that a mandatory evacuation was ordered for Orleans Parish, but those are just words, just like: "help is on the way", "we're sending this much water", "this much food", "deploying so many National Guard units", etc. The residents of these poor areas had no means to hop in a vehicle to evacuate. They rely on public transportation to get around the New Orleans metro area.
In 1993 my partner Greg and myself moved into a beautiful Victorian cottage in the Irish Channel. Our home was 3 blocks from the St. Thomas housing development. Many questioned the move because of the high crime rate in the area. Greg never hesitated. Sure we would hear gunshots at night, read about a robbery or murder in the "hood", but this was now home. The area from our street to the south is Tchoupitoulas St. and the river. This section housed some of the poorest residents in the area.
We joined the neighborhood association, participated in neighborhood clean-ups and attended meetings on reducing crime in the area. I attended St. Mary Assumption church in St. Thomas never FEARING for my life. I carried my Sunday Missal and made the walk across Jackson Ave. to worship with a very diverse congregation. As I walked, I was greeted with: "Good Mornings" and "Hellos" from my black neighbors. Sure, I could have attended the small chapel in the "Garden District" as many did in FEAR of attending St. Mary's beacuse of the dangerous "blacks." Oh my!
The President declared this morning that efforts in the area effected by Katrina were "unacceptable." If this disaster had occurred in Jeb Bush's state of Florida, would aid from the federal government have been so slow? I think not. There has been a massive breakdown in communication from the local to federal level.
The sober truth is that there was a third disaster after the hurricane and the flood that followed: FEAR! Much of the diaster relief and rescue effort came to a complete halt when panic started to ensue and vital lifelines of help retreated in FEAR from again: "the dangerous blacks." Since when is running the best line of defense in the face of disaster?!
Shame on our President for ignoring the impending warnings of what this killer storm was capable of doing. Shame on those that ran in FEAR leaving thousands to wade in their own rotting waste and dead. Shame on Mississippi governor, Haley Barbour for his shear ignornance in declaring that: "This storm was a category one when it hit Florida." "We did not know the threat we were up against until Sunday morning." Anyone who lives on the Gulf Coast knows that ANY storm in the Gulf of Mexico can turn into a monster overnight; 1995's Hurricane Opal is one such example. Shame on conservative "news" host, Bill O' Reilly for making the reckless assumption that the "dangerous blacks" did not evacuate INTENTIONALLY to take over the city. That comment is irresponsible journalism at its worst.
Amen to the brave that did not FEAR and remained to assist in an impossible situation. Amen to the FAIR media that aim their camera lenses at images that have stirred outrage at our govenment's slow response to this horrific event. And finally, God bless the many suffering in Louisiana and Mississippi. May God grant you the strength and patience to weather a greater, unaddressed threat: FEAR of those do not understand the harsh racial divide of one of the wealthiest countries in the world. My prayers and the prayers of millons are with you.
-Matt
Local and federal officials can say time after time that a mandatory evacuation was ordered for Orleans Parish, but those are just words, just like: "help is on the way", "we're sending this much water", "this much food", "deploying so many National Guard units", etc. The residents of these poor areas had no means to hop in a vehicle to evacuate. They rely on public transportation to get around the New Orleans metro area.
In 1993 my partner Greg and myself moved into a beautiful Victorian cottage in the Irish Channel. Our home was 3 blocks from the St. Thomas housing development. Many questioned the move because of the high crime rate in the area. Greg never hesitated. Sure we would hear gunshots at night, read about a robbery or murder in the "hood", but this was now home. The area from our street to the south is Tchoupitoulas St. and the river. This section housed some of the poorest residents in the area.
We joined the neighborhood association, participated in neighborhood clean-ups and attended meetings on reducing crime in the area. I attended St. Mary Assumption church in St. Thomas never FEARING for my life. I carried my Sunday Missal and made the walk across Jackson Ave. to worship with a very diverse congregation. As I walked, I was greeted with: "Good Mornings" and "Hellos" from my black neighbors. Sure, I could have attended the small chapel in the "Garden District" as many did in FEAR of attending St. Mary's beacuse of the dangerous "blacks." Oh my!
The President declared this morning that efforts in the area effected by Katrina were "unacceptable." If this disaster had occurred in Jeb Bush's state of Florida, would aid from the federal government have been so slow? I think not. There has been a massive breakdown in communication from the local to federal level.
The sober truth is that there was a third disaster after the hurricane and the flood that followed: FEAR! Much of the diaster relief and rescue effort came to a complete halt when panic started to ensue and vital lifelines of help retreated in FEAR from again: "the dangerous blacks." Since when is running the best line of defense in the face of disaster?!
Shame on our President for ignoring the impending warnings of what this killer storm was capable of doing. Shame on those that ran in FEAR leaving thousands to wade in their own rotting waste and dead. Shame on Mississippi governor, Haley Barbour for his shear ignornance in declaring that: "This storm was a category one when it hit Florida." "We did not know the threat we were up against until Sunday morning." Anyone who lives on the Gulf Coast knows that ANY storm in the Gulf of Mexico can turn into a monster overnight; 1995's Hurricane Opal is one such example. Shame on conservative "news" host, Bill O' Reilly for making the reckless assumption that the "dangerous blacks" did not evacuate INTENTIONALLY to take over the city. That comment is irresponsible journalism at its worst.
Amen to the brave that did not FEAR and remained to assist in an impossible situation. Amen to the FAIR media that aim their camera lenses at images that have stirred outrage at our govenment's slow response to this horrific event. And finally, God bless the many suffering in Louisiana and Mississippi. May God grant you the strength and patience to weather a greater, unaddressed threat: FEAR of those do not understand the harsh racial divide of one of the wealthiest countries in the world. My prayers and the prayers of millons are with you.
-Matt
posted by Matthew Cortez at 9/02/2005 08:39:00 AM
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