Bush’s vision of Mother Nature is still lily white and out of date.
As reconstruction and rebuilding move forward in New Orleans and the Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama Gulf Coast region, it is clear that the lethargic and inept emergency response after Hurricane Katrina was a disaster that overshadowed the deadly storm itself. Yet, there is a “second disaster” in the making-driven by racism, classism, elitism, paternalism, and old-fashion greed. The following “Twenty-Point Plan to Destroy Black New Orleans” is based on trends and observations made over the past three months. Hopefully, the good people of New Orleans, Louisiana, the Gulf Coast, and the United States will not allow this plan to go forward-and instead adopt a principled plan and approach to rebuilding and bringing back New Orleans that is respectful of all of its citizens.
Dr. Bullard is Ware Professor of Sociology and Director of the Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University. He’s served government, the private sector and educational institutions as an expert on the environment. His 20 point program is painted with a broad brush and I doubt if he expects 100% agreement from most; but, the questions raised are critical to the future of New Orleans.
Some consider our government’s rebuilding plans to be nothing less than ethnic cleansing — by ignoring low-and-middle income families who still are refugees from Katrina. The model is easy. Mostly Black, mostly Democrat voters have been removed from Louisiana — a state that still elects Democrats to Congress. Most of them have “temporarily” relocated to Texas and other southern states where their numbers aren’t great enough in any one area to tip the electoral balance away from Republikans. But, keeping them from returning to New Orleans would make a significant difference in the mid-term elections and probably the 2008 presidential race, as well.
Rove and Bush are expressing their thanks to Mother Nature — after the fact.
John, did you actually read through Dr. Bullard’s 20 points? Your barking not only is constructed around a straw man, you make no reference whatsoever to any of the questions raised. It’s like lambasting the “chocolate city” without ever having read any of the mayor’s detailed commentary about the concept — hoping for neighborhoods “lighter” and more intermingled than solid Black.
Not only are 13 or 14 of these points apt enough to already get coverage from the duller portions of American journalism, some are close enough to criminal to raise hackles in [our predominately hackle-less] Congress. Especially the fact of zero funds forthcoming to rebuild low and middle income housing.
Is that beneath consideration in your neighborhood?
This is a perfect example of racism on the part of New American Media (the authors of the column.) Insurance businesses are favoring those that have money over those that don’t. That’s not much of a surprise. That many of the poor are Black does not mean that they are less favored because they are black. This sounds more like gentrification aimed at bring in more money to New Orleans than a directed attack on the black community as this article implies. New York went through the same process. To chalk this up to grand Republican conspiracy is to play in conspiracy fantasyland.
I did some reading comparing the New Orleans rebuilding to that of Gulfport and other areas east of there. The unemployment rate and other statistics mentioned in these “20 points” are all worse for that area than for the New Orleans-Kenner area. The difference is that this is a predominantly Republican group of people, and they are working things out for themselves, not screaming to the world that they need a handout. This is not a case of racial bias. It is just typical Liberal screaming that enough is not being done to keep this poor group together under their thumb so they’ll vote for more Democrats.
The Katrina folks who came to central North Carolina (where I live) have found a warm welcome, better schools, better prospects for jobs, better healthcare, and no worry about getting flooded out in 5, 10, or 15 years. (Yeah, we have a hurricane or two every season, but damage is usually not significant this far inland.)
So, tell me truthfully, folks, if you had the actual experience of living in better housing with better opportunity to make something of yourself (more than remaining the vassal of a government that has kept you in swampy slums for generations) and a community that accepted you as a potential contributor, rather than just another vote for a Liberal slumlord, which would you choose? Would you really want to do the hard work of going in and dredging through the debris left by the biggest storm in history, just so you could work for minimum wage and food stamps at a local store or bar? Or would you rather stay in the place you’re in and just make do with what you’ve got, and make a new life? Would you really want to sit in construction mess while waiting for lumber delivery (this is going to be in short supply for months, and, because of supply and demand, very expensive), power connections, and all the rest of the headaches of getting your community infrastructure back on track? I can honestly say that if my town was torn by a huge fire or earthquake or flood, and I was relocated with my family to, say, Iowa, I’d just stay there and make a home. My family has lived in this region for ten generations, since 1699, and I love it. But the thought of digging out of the muck and mire after a huge storm just doesn’t interest me in the slightest.
By the way, I’m not a construction wimp. I’ve remodeled 3 houses while living in them. Everything from replacing flooring, kitchen re-modeling, completely replacing bathrooms and plumbing, digging up yards, and replacing roofs. I could do it, and will probably have to again, because our damage is never complete, only partial. But if the destruction was complete, I’d be happy to live elsewhere, if the prospects were the same or better.
Wow, all these Democrats wanting ‘their’ voters back. Perhaps they should have actually implemented the hurricane plans they had instead of leaving buses in lots. And perhaps they shouldn’t have done the typical New Orleans kickback levee construction that made it break in the first place. Even this issecondary to the bigger story. Look at the overall census numbers. It’s not just New Orleans and Katrina. Blacks everywhere are going to Republican areas from Democrat strongholds.
Interesting weekend. One post about race, another about racism. And a bunch of folks who don’t get either one.
There are some real doozies in that report. For instance, did you know it t was racist to rebuild on land that won’t flood again? Stupid me, I thought that was just common sense. This report is just a typical use of the race card by liberals. Instead of questioning why after 40 years of liberal social policies we still have the poverty we do, the issue is obfuscated with the difficult realities and decisions associated with rebuilding a totally devestated city. He wants to ignore the fact, that white or black, if you’re uneducated, unskilled, and unmotiviated, you’re going to be in for a long hard life.
Judging from the posts, I don’t think many, if any, have actually READ the article. IT IS SATIRE folks !!! You know, like as in IRONY !!!
Environmental Justice Resource Center is supported by Clark University, a mostly Black school. Part of the mission statement from the EJRC is:
To develop three-way partnerships among “impacted” communities, environmental justice groups, and historically black colleges and other minority academic institutions;
To link via the Internet people of color organizations that are working on environmental justice, brownfields redevelopment, empowerment/enterprise zones, minority health, transportation equity, livable and sustainable communities, Smart Growth, and related areas;
To facilitate the development of mechanisms, policies, and procedures for the inclusion of people of color, impacted communities, and underrepresented groups into public decision making.
Read the rest,:
http://www.ejrc.cau.edu/about.htm
And hey, I love chocolate. A chocolate city would be better then the witches house in Hansel & Gretal.
Milk chocolate especially.
You know if I apply for a ‘loan” My creditor has the right to be resonably assured I will pay it back. evan if that creditor is fema. this is called making sure loans go to people who can pay them back. this is what a responsable creditor does. these are LOANS not GIFTS.
Paul — in local politics, I get to do battle every week with my favorite NIMBY’s who offer up every kind of opportunism in the books — to keep their sacrosanct communities from being contaminated by low-and-middle income housing. Not unusual. Some city council members can always be counted on for “historic preservation”.
On the state scale, we have an annual battle with politicians who will fight to the death to protect cockfighting! Not because of a passion for bloodletting chickens; but, it guarantees votes from the most reactionary segment of “true locals”.
I’m willing to bet you confront similar examples of political opportunism to the detriment of the economic and social structure of your own community. If anything, life has shown that national-class politicians are even better at living up to Samuel Clemens’ standard — “Congress is America’s only native criminal class.”
Here we are with a presidential clique riddled with world-class corruption and cronyism — and you worry about whether or not Bush and his hucksters are accused — of what? Dr. Bullard isn’t ascribing the powers of a deity to the thug in the White House. He believes that no chance to profit from someone else’s misfortune is being passed up.
Where’s the surprise?
BOB
I don’t think you get it. These “loans” were supposed to be tailored to help those destroyed by the hurricanes to recover. That is why they are backed by the Government. The Government is expecting, though they don’t want, a high default rate just because of the circumstances. What YOU don’t get is that Blacks are being systemically denied assistance. The U.S. Government has a long history of this.
Example, After WWII, Congress enacted the GI Bill to help veterans go to college. The number of Black servicemen who got the loans could be counted on one hand.
The Department of Agriculture had loans and grants available for small farmers. The Blacks were turned down at tremendous rates or given much less money and much higher rates. A class action lawsuit was settled for over a billion dollars. Then there was a second class action suit because the Department of Agriculture didn’t pay out the money!!!
The Department of Labor had Small Business loans available to start up companies. Blacks were systemically denied and seldom accepted. White applications were accepted at almost 90%.
So this is not something new. It is the same racist crap Blacks have had all their lives. Don’t give me any crap about what other countries or even Presidents have done. This is America and this is now and Bush is President and has the power to stop this.
I have to agree with what Smitty said. A lot of the people displaced by Katrina are in better places now and will not be going back. Recently, my wife and I sold a vehicle to a family who were forced to relocate to our town. Though they were born and raised in New Orleans, they will not be going back.
A lot of the matters related to loans and rebuilding are based on common sense, not racism. Would you insure a property in the 9th ward knowing that it is below sea level, has flooded recently and that no measures have been taken to repair the levee system? Insurance is, afterall, about risk allocation. If a property is not insured, who is going to give someone a loan so that the same thing can happen again? Given that these neighborhoods are pretty much deserted and that it is foolish to rebuild them, New Orleans might be wise to let these neighborhoods be reclaimed by the water.
I wish people would stop trying to make this a race issue. Many people besides New Orleans residents were displaced by Katrina and many of them were white. This storm affected a huge part of the Gulf Coast, not just one city.
The wife and I were actually in New Orleans last weekend to run the Mardi Gras Marathon (we only did the half this year). During the run, we got to see a lot of the city first hand. It is an absolute mess. Even in some of the wealthy neighborhoods, there is still no power. There were still burned out cars everywhere and that was on the race course. Get off of the course and it was even worse. Pictures do not do it justice. There are parts of the city that are so deserted I felt like the guy in the movie 28 Days Later, who wakes up to find London deserted. On a positive note, the French Quarter is pretty much back up and running.