Black and white
- Uhmm, hey, you spent some time here in New Orleans a few years back, didn't you?
- Yeah, I was here for a semester.
- So, uh, do you think things have changed a lot?
- What you mean after Katrina?
- Well, yeah?
- Actually, after Katrina for a couple of years things were a lot better.
- [suppressed gasp] Really?
- Oh yes, all the criminals were forced to leave.
- Oh... I see.
- Yeah. The criminal districts were destroyed. They should never rebuild them. I mean, they were built right next to the water. That's where the Ninth Ward is. What were they thinking?
- I see... I hadn't known that.
- Yeah, and so they were all destroyed, and the criminals had to leave. And things were great for two years.
- And then?
- Well, now they're all coming back. The criminals. They're all back. And in our parts of town. Right where my parents-in-law stay. Full of criminals now.
- Ah. I see. Hmm.
- Well, anyway.
- Yeah, I know.
- Yeah, I was here for a semester.
- So, uh, do you think things have changed a lot?
- What you mean after Katrina?
- Well, yeah?
- Actually, after Katrina for a couple of years things were a lot better.
- [suppressed gasp] Really?
- Oh yes, all the criminals were forced to leave.
- Oh... I see.
- Yeah. The criminal districts were destroyed. They should never rebuild them. I mean, they were built right next to the water. That's where the Ninth Ward is. What were they thinking?
- I see... I hadn't known that.
- Yeah, and so they were all destroyed, and the criminals had to leave. And things were great for two years.
- And then?
- Well, now they're all coming back. The criminals. They're all back. And in our parts of town. Right where my parents-in-law stay. Full of criminals now.
- Ah. I see. Hmm.
- Well, anyway.
- Yeah, I know.
posted by Tabula Rasa | 3/03/2008 06:38:00 AM
12 Comments:
Fucking breaks my heart.
I may have told you, I spent a bunch of days with some jazz musicians couple of years ago from NO (including one dude whose great- grandpa was a contemporary of musicians like Jelly Roll Morton!) They had lost their homes and their instruments in Katrina. They had gigs, but no instruments. Not much food and health insurance either.
To see such good, honest, hard-working people simply lose everything and be so blatantly ignored by the government is sad.
Heritage city of America indeed.
gah. this is the free world they want to gift the rest of the world.
you know the other thing that gets my goat? this business of obama going on about how he prays to jesus every night. like it's unconstitutional to be muslim and run for president (oh my god. is it? unconstitutional?)
Prof, brown wasn't judged faintly criminal? Delinquent, at least?
SB, POTUS does have to take an oath to protect Christian values. Such a laugh.
J.A.P.
Yeah, some attitudes don't change so easily..it's also, unfortunately, a self-perpetuating vicious cycle.
Adult black men have been stereotyped to the extent that they find it harder to get jobs and lead a steady life.. it's a cycle that's hard to break.
Did you see the NYT article on statistics on crime? Sad...
km:
i fully agree.
sb:
like jap said, it's "one nation under god". a non-criminal god, of course.
jap:
nope. in new orleans you can now see t-shirts that say "FEMA: Find Every Mexican Available" and "FEMA emergency plan: 'Run bitch, run!'"
lekhni:
i missed the article - guess i should be glad.
I read: - "Well, now they're all coming back. The criminals. They're all back." as "The criminals. they're all black."
Which caused a bit of a jhatka at first.
yeah, this was subtle.
Here it is.
Apparently, one in nine black men between the ages of 20 and 34 is in prison. Very sad..
ah, thanks.
i love the way the expert said - but ah look, crime rates are down!
well of course, if you lock all the criminals up.
You didn't try ghetto slang on him? Wimp!
Who's the criminal again? With the system like it is, I find it hard to tell.
aqc:
twas a her. whole different dynamic.
reno:
point well taken, indeed.
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