I like to read the New Orleans bloggers for my info, rather than the Times-Picayune or nola.com. They are certainly more passionate about the city, and have done an excellent job of documenting the experiences of the people in the city on the ground now, from their own point-of-view.
Right now of course, the the topic du jour is the Saints and the upcoming Monday Night Football game against the Falcons, which I am so proud to say I will be in attendance. My Dalton Hillard jersey is ready.
Oyster, from Your Right Hand Thief, put up a great post on the Superdome (or the Sacredome as he calls it) yesterday. He dispells some of the stories that I’m sure we will hear this weekend about the things that went on in the Dome during the storm, stories which gave the rest of the country reason to ignore the city:
New Orleanians are not “savages” nor “Somalians”. When everything breaks down we do not rape children and go on mass killing sprees like the media reported; we are not “animalistic” like our mayor said, we do not form “thug armies” in desperate circumstances, we are not anarchists…. But, after Katrina, America was ready to believe the worst about us, as if most New Orleanians were depraved criminals at heart.
The country needs to understand that this is NEW ORLEANS, and that neither hurricane nor flood nor FEMA can stop us from dancing.
This Monday will be a fascinating experience, I’m sure. The fact that the people of the Gulf Coast managed to buy every single season ticket for the first time ever is amazing. Sure, there are more important things to think about than football going on in New Orleans, but the Saints really have given the country another opportunity to look at New Orleans, this time in a positive light.
Hopefully. As long as the media gets the facts straight. Forgive me if I don’t have too much faith that they will, given their track record. Sorry Dave, I know you’re part of the media. How about giving this MNF game an editorial in your AJC blog?
Many thanks for the kind words and the link.
Differences between N.O. and Atlanta coming on Monday’s blog on AJC.com/gwinnettsports
Also, I don’t recall the media reporting that the incidents you mentioned were widespread. But is anyone doubting things like rape and murder actually occurred?
My dad has a friend who lived in the Garden District. A gang of armed thugs pillaged the empty houses around his, before coming to his door. He answered with a shotgun. The same situation occurred at Cooter Browns.
The fact is the majority of the people that were unable to evacuate the city were extremely poor and uneducated. They had been allowed to live at such at poor quality of life for so long that they were only one step away from animals before the storm.
Again, this is not the majority of New Orleans, just the majority of the people that were unable to leave. This is why I believe that forcing people to live a better quality of life is important if New Orleans is ever going to survive. That means raising the cost of living, unfortunately.
Hi. I am a student in Burlington Vermont. I am looking for people who have been affected by Hurricane Katrina to share their stories and possibly photos. I would like to raise awareness in my community about the fact that the US goverment has neglected much of New Orleans over many years and that the devestation in New Orleans could have been prevented. Thank you.