something to keep in mind, especially for folk who've never been there...

[lagilman]

New Orleans is (IS, damn it) a beautiful city, filled with culture and history and lovely, lovely structures. Great food. Wonderful people.

It's also The Big Easy. It's an unapologetic, un-PC harbor town that never let go of the past and still wasn't entire sure about this 'civilized behavior' thing. You didn't go to certain parts of town, period. You didn't assume the cops would give you a fair shakedown. You never, ever, ever acted as though you were in your own back yard (unless your back yard happened to be a gator-infested swamp).


Even in tragedy, New Orleans is a complicated place.


(I still say looters ought be bagged-and-ear-tagged. With neon tags reserved for law enforcement officers caught with their hands anywhere they shouldn't be. Bastids.)

Comments

[dianora2.livejournal.com]

I also think that what those people are experiencing right now is something that most (if not all) of us can't even imagine. No food, no water, no place to go to the bathroom, walking through toxic sludge water filled with waste and dead bodies...I would probably lose my shit pretty quickly. And if in the midst of all of this my baby needed diapers? I'd knock over a Rite-Aid, too.

That doesn't excuse the shooting, obviously, or the taking of things like television sets which will never be given an opportunity to work. But a lot of what's going on down there...I can't bring myself to cast a stone.

Isn't N.O. known for having just about the most crooked cops in the nation? The reports of the cops looting as well didn't surprise me very much.

UGH.

[amy37.livejournal.com]

"Even in tragedy, New Orleans is a complicated place."

Well said. Hi, by the way. I'm a friend of debg's, and I friended you. I've been really enjoying the NOLA reports you've been posting, and I love to read your comments in Deb's LJ.

[allaboutm-e.livejournal.com]

arrrgh

and I have to both have sympathy for people who are starving / missing critical medicine / living under a theoretically non-toxic cloud / drowning in undrinkable water when it comes to taking what's technically not theirs under extraordinary conditions
and anger for those who are just plain taking advantage of the situation and those who have spoiled some of the attempts to systematically distribute goods

I have to say, much of what's happening in the aftermath doesn't reflect well on us as a nation
starting with the behavior of our leaders
time to write another angry letter...

[neutronjockey.livejournal.com]

I'm seeing a lot of gray lines being crossed when it comes to the looting. On one hand, the dept of health will not allow grocery stores to resell food in stock and grabbing some needed food for your starving family is well...survival. However, on the other hand, flat screen TVs and gucci bags are another story. String those bastids up and shoot them.
I'm having a hard time finding sympathy for folks that were given an order to evacuate. Maybe it's 'cause I'm so used to following orders... or maybe I'm just a jerk. For those folks who honestly tried, but could either not afford to get out or physically manage to get out, those people have my sympathies.
-=Jeff=-