New Orleans

[MJ5150]

I could go on and on about what's really happening down here, but I'm so damn tired of it by now I don't even want to get started.

I agree. When it works out that I can go down, I go and work. I don't get caught up in the controversies and politics of what's going on.

My first trip down, I was all upset about how things were being handled. Now I realize that nearly two years later, little has changed. I just focus my efforts on improving the lives of the three or four families I am able to help while I am there. I'll listen to the stories of the locals I run in to while I am there, but there is not much I can do beyond hang and finish some sheet rock.

-Mike

 

[amistybleu]

Nice to hear you are lending a helping hand to those cought up in Govt. red tape, my wife is heading down soon to help out. It will be interesting to hear her first hand account.

 

[Diggler]

All the preparation in the world doesn't add up to much when the house has 8 ft. of water, 1.5 ft of crude oil and there's no sign of life for weeks at a time.

That's true. But there's more to the mindset than keeping a stock of rice and water in your basement.

That's why I'm getting close to paying off all debt, so that the only thing left is my mortgage; I do keep lots of food available and rotate it (I don't just keep a week's worth of food in the house to be replenished each week; we normally have at least a month or more of stuff that we eat. Plus buying in bulk saves money). All of my family knows where to go if disaster strikes to meet up, and where we can stay out of the area if the need arises. I usually have 30 gallons of gasoline stored in containers (rotated continuously, as the cars get low I use the gas out of them) in my shed.

It's not just about natural disasters, either... losing a job, a severe injury or sickness, anything could make the above preparations very worthwhile and I encourage everyone to do the same.

 

[Spector_Ray]

We've been lucky in this part of Texas as far as Katrina evacs. We've been blessed with some very nice people who have decided to make Texas their home. One family relocated his restaurant here and he's doing very well. The man can cook!

 

[jrthebassguy]

We've been lucky in this part of Texas as far as Katrina evacs. We've been blessed with some very nice people who have decided to make Texas their home. One family relocated his restaurant here and he's doing very well. The man can cook!

What part of Texas are you in?


Things have gotten better here in Houston, but there are still parts of west Houston I refuse to drive through in now that used to be relatively safe. Luckily for me that's the complete opposite side of town, but the same can't be said for one of my band members

But like I said, things are getting better....just not at the point where it needs to be. Also, I want to make it clear I know it's a very small minority here that's causing all the trouble, but it's still a problem.

 

[Relic]

That's true. But there's more to the mindset than keeping a stock of rice and water in your basement.

That's why I'm getting close to paying off all debt, so that the only thing left is my mortgage; I do keep lots of food available and rotate it (I don't just keep a week's worth of food in the house to be replenished each week; we normally have at least a month or more of stuff that we eat. Plus buying in bulk saves money). All of my family knows where to go if disaster strikes to meet up, and where we can stay out of the area if the need arises. I usually have 30 gallons of gasoline stored in containers (rotated continuously, as the cars get low I use the gas out of them) in my shed.

It's not just about natural disasters, either... losing a job, a severe injury or sickness, anything could make the above preparations very worthwhile and I encourage everyone to do the same.

You know, years ago I would have scoffed at that sort of thing as panic-mongering or paranoia, but now that I've grown older and seen some funked up stuff in my lifetime, I truly couldn't agree with you more. Good post

 

[mlowe]

Our perception over here is so different from media to what you guys have said. Of course not suprised. Our media sucks too.

The one thing we don't experience here is the safety thing you guys mention. I can honestly say that there isn't a single part of Australia that you couldn't walk alone at any time of the night an be in danger.

Sure there's the crime but it's not like walking from one part of town to another and your looking behind you.

I'd imagine that would be a hard thing to live with if your not aware or used to it.

A firend of mine visited New Orleans about 6 years ago and mentioned that there was a tram line (trolley car?) where if you were white you walked one side and black walked the other. He said he walked on the wrong side and everyone looked at him like he was going to get a beating. Is this real or was he full of it?

I guess stuff like this needs that circle of resentment to be broken before thing can get better. We have the same issues here to a degree with our native Aboriginals. Our founders did some bad stuff in the past and its a very sensitive issue to improve and move forward.

 

[karrot-x]

Our perception over here is so different from media to what you guys have said. Of course not suprised. Our media sucks too.

The one thing we don't experience here is the safety thing you guys mention. I can honestly say that there isn't a single part of Australia that you couldn't walk alone at any time of the night an be in danger.

Sure there's the crime but it's not like walking from one part of town to another and your looking behind you.

I'd imagine that would be a hard thing to live with if your not aware or used to it.

A firend of mine visited New Orleans about 6 years ago and mentioned that there was a tram line (trolley car?) where if you were white you walked one side and black walked the other. He said he walked on the wrong side and everyone looked at him like he was going to get a beating. Is this real or was he full of it?

I guess stuff like this needs that circle of resentment to be broken before thing can get better. We have the same issues here to a degree with our native Aboriginals. Our founders did some bad stuff in the past and its a very sensitive issue to improve and move forward.

Some things like you mentioned happen, just because of the way people act. There are some places you don't want to be in, especially at night. For example, the nations capital, South East DC. That's a bad place to be, especially if you are white. I doubt anything painful would happen, but you would definitely be questioned.

 

[Relic]

Our perception over here is so different from media to what you guys have said. Of course not suprised. Our media sucks too.

The one thing we don't experience here is the safety thing you guys mention. I can honestly say that there isn't a single part of Australia that you couldn't walk alone at any time of the night an be in danger.

Sure there's the crime but it's not like walking from one part of town to another and your looking behind you.

I'd imagine that would be a hard thing to live with if your not aware or used to it.

A firend of mine visited New Orleans about 6 years ago and mentioned that there was a tram line (trolley car?) where if you were white you walked one side and black walked the other. He said he walked on the wrong side and everyone looked at him like he was going to get a beating. Is this real or was he full of it?

I guess stuff like this needs that circle of resentment to be broken before thing can get better. We have the same issues here to a degree with our native Aboriginals. Our founders did some bad stuff in the past and its a very sensitive issue to improve and move forward.

Your friend was correct to an extent.
There's a lot to learn about the US in regards to racial relations and such. We're still figuring it all out ourselves.
Racism is an evil evil ugly thing that exists in buckets here -BUT it's not reserved for or to one race only. It's minority/majority blind in this day and age. Don't ever make the mistake that it comes from one direction only - that's the surest way to ensure that it stays alive and kicking. You need to attack it from every aspect like a damn disease. We've come a long way I'm proud to say but we still have a ways to go.

 

[mlowe]

Your friend was correct to an extent.
There's a lot to learn about the US in regards to racial relations and such. We're still figuring it all out ourselves.
Racism is an evil evil ugly thing that exists in buckets here -BUT it's not reserved for or to one race only. It's minority/majority blind in this day and age. Don't ever make the mistake that it comes from one direction only - that's the surest way to ensure that it stays alive and kicking. You need to attack it from every aspect like a damn disease. We've come a long way I'm proud to say but we still have a ways to go.

The mutli angle thing rings true, that what I meant by breaking the circle. It has to stop everywhere. That's what's confusing to us about african americans and white americans. We see them getting along really great one time and then another it's bad.

What a waste of life to fight about skin colour. I think children are the answer. If we can teach our children not to be racist it's a great start. My next door neighbor is from Nigeria, I encourage my young kids to play with them as much as possible so they understand were all the same.

I grew up with friends from everywhere but here and I believe I'm better off for it.

 

[Relic]

What a waste of life to fight about skin colour. I think children are the answer. If we can teach our children not to be racist it's a great start. My next door neighbor is from Nigeria, I encourage my young kids to play with them as much as possible so they understand were all the same.

I grew up with friends from everywhere but here and I believe I'm better off for it.

For sure.
Sometimes it's the smallest things that make you realize you're on the right track.
Last week, I promised my son (8 years old) that I would buy him an "action figure" toy he had seen previously. We walk to the toy dept, he stands and stares for a few mins, grabs the African-American version and tells me "Ok Dad, I got the one I wanted". Just out of curiosity, I asked him what was it about that one in particular - "cuz he's got the coolest uniform".
THAT is how I wish all kids: black, white, brown, yellow, and purple would think.
I'm proud of him!

 

[Benjamin Strange]

A firend of mine visited New Orleans about 6 years ago and mentioned that there was a tram line (trolley car?) where if you were white you walked one side and black walked the other. He said he walked on the wrong side and everyone looked at him like he was going to get a beating. Is this real or was he full of it?

No, your friend is full of it.

Honestly, I have always found New Orleans to be one of the least racist towns in America. Why? Because here we don't pretend that we are all the same. We don't pretend that we all grew up in the same place. We acknowledge our cultural differences, and in many cases celebrate them (Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club, anyone?).

We're all working together down here to make things better. What you're hearing on the news is doomsday journalism - you don't get to see the good stuff that's happening. I currently work rebuilding flooded homes, and I can't tell you how many times random strangers have pitched in to help. People on the street say hi to you and ask how you are doing - and are actually interested in your response. There is such a feeling of solidarity down here it's unreal. Everybody who is here is here because they truly want to be; it's very rare to find a naysayer at all.

As for Nagin, I don't think he's that bad. He did all he could during Katrina, and I don't think many other mayors would have fared as well. We didn't re-elect him due to race - the challenger was a career politician with tons of family connections and a slick image. He didn't seem real, which put many people off. Were there things that Nagin could have done better? Sure. Could he have evacuated every citizen? No way. There were TONS of buses going out of town before the storm, all of them full. Just because the news reported on a few buses that flooded doesn't mean that none were used. (Just you try to find about 1,000 bus drivers on short notice.)

New Orleans is a great place. It's both worse and better than the news makes it out to be. People are struggling to get some help from the government 2 years later not because they are black or white, it is because the government is huge and inefficient. They are hurting enough without the condemnation of the rest of the country. If you really want to help, come down here and pick up a shovel.

 

[Relic]

Benjamin, it's that kind of post that keeps me believing. Thanks for posting that.

 

[MJ5150]

We're all working together down here to make things better. What you're hearing on the news is doomsday journalism - you don't get to see the good stuff that's happening.

Amen brutha!

My first trip down, I went totally prepared to see racism all around me. I expected to be treated poorly by anyone who was not white. Boy, was I WRONG.

I was welcomed and accepted by every single person I came in contact with. I shared meals and tears with black folk, Cajun folk, French folk, and people from parts of the world I couldn't even pronounce.

I totally love going to New Orleans. My wife and I have seriously thought about moving there, or just down the road in Mississippi.

-Mike

 

[jonly]

NOLA was my absolute favorite vacation spot - and I have never felt any sort of racial tension while visiting. The town I live in, however, is probably the worst place that I have ever been as far as race relations are concerned.

I volunteered to go clean up in nola but never heard anything back from the people that I contacted. Best of luck to them, though.

 

[Gard]

No, your friend is full of it.

Honestly, I have always found New Orleans to be one of the least racist towns in America. Why? Because here we don't pretend that we are all the same. We don't pretend that we all grew up in the same place. We acknowledge our cultural differences, and in many cases celebrate them (Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club, anyone?).

We're all working together down here to make things better. What you're hearing on the news is doomsday journalism - you don't get to see the good stuff that's happening. I currently work rebuilding flooded homes, and I can't tell you how many times random strangers have pitched in to help. People on the street say hi to you and ask how you are doing - and are actually interested in your response. There is such a feeling of solidarity down here it's unreal. Everybody who is here is here because they truly want to be; it's very rare to find a naysayer at all.

As for Nagin, I don't think he's that bad. He did all he could during Katrina, and I don't think many other mayors would have fared as well. We didn't re-elect him due to race - the challenger was a career politician with tons of family connections and a slick image. He didn't seem real, which put many people off. Were there things that Nagin could have done better? Sure. Could he have evacuated every citizen? No way. There were TONS of buses going out of town before the storm, all of them full. Just because the news reported on a few buses that flooded doesn't mean that none were used. (Just you try to find about 1,000 bus drivers on short notice.)

New Orleans is a great place. It's both worse and better than the news makes it out to be. People are struggling to get some help from the government 2 years later not because they are black or white, it is because the government is huge and inefficient. They are hurting enough without the condemnation of the rest of the country. If you really want to help, come down here and pick up a shovel.

Ben, thanks for posting that.

I don't live there any longer, nor do I ever really forsee going back to stay, but I consider the area (I'm from the Northshore, actually) "home". My sister is still there, and still fighting to finish up her house.

My brother in law worked FOR FEMA for a while, I could share stories about the stupidity and ineffiency of that agency that would turn your hair white (black if it's already grey).

Yes, there are problems, but not with the PEOPLE, the systems, ALL of them from local up to federal, are what is causing problems.

As far as I am concerned, the average PERSON in NOLA is as good as they come. There are "bad actors", but they are the exception, not the rule.

As for the situation in Houston, please - give me a break, I spent time there (gigging) pre-Katrina, and I was 10 times more nervous on Richmond St. than I was in any part of the Lower 9th in NOLA.

 

[jrthebassguy]

As for the situation in Houston, please - give me a break, I spent time there (gigging) pre-Katrina, and I was 10 times more nervous on Richmond St. than I was in any part of the Lower 9th in NOLA.

It's even more dangerous on Richmond now. I wish I was kidding.

I was at my band's old practice space close to I-610 about a year ago when a band mate and i heard gunshots, called the cops and everything.....long story short, ended up being a NOLA gang member vs. NOLA gang member (or so I ended up reading), apparently fighting for territory that was never either of theirs to begin with.


I'm not bashing NOLA, don't get me wrong, since even majority of those who stayed are beginning to contribute, but it's hard ignore the murder spike we've had since Katrina, especially when it starts hitting closer and closer to home.

 

[Rocker949]

I lived in New Orleans for 4 years. That doesn't make me an expert on it. But I do know something about it. I think people are making too much of the race issue. There are plenty of black people in New Orleans, but there are many white people as well. I just didn't detect much racism there. Maybe there are some people resentful now because of the lack of aid, but as someone here has already indicated, that may have more to do with the fact that poor people, regardless of race, tend to be discriminated against.

 

[mlowe]

Best replies on a issue like this for a long time. Asking about race withing a problem like this can be a feisty thread and it has remained really sensible and answered my query without going of on a tangent of race hate.

I'm sure this will be one the moderators are happy they don't have to close because of stupid comments.

Buying the action figure was indeed in a way to me like a really healthy milestone. Kids are so important to me in a sense to try and break the cycle.

I remember seeing a cricket match in England that had a team that was all white and one black player. The commentator noticed that the black player had his sleeves rolled up and said the player with his sleeves rolled up. That was about 20 years ago but I still remember it.

On points of the other post reply about people accepting that there are difference between us, I also agree. It's "those" differences that we can embrace as special and cultural. It makes life very interesting and without it we may as well all be robots.

The part I mentioned about teaching kids that we are the same was in a context of we should all be teated with respect etc. That because our skin colour is different doesn't mean certain respects should be any different.

Really impressed by the responses on this thread and I'm glad the recovery efforts aren't slow for the reasons our news implies.

As confirmed by the horses mouth.

Cheers,

 

[Relic]

Kind of a partial thread-hijack here, sorry
but I found this article this morning this morning. Interesting and fairly encouraging stuff:

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8OF7R3O0&show_article=1