Check this on BET

[sandnsea]

I'm looking for something else, and ran across this article. I've been a strong advocate (big mouth) that Katrina happened largely due to race, not class. Then I read this, and as a white person, I am both shocked and hit with the knowledge that if the white media wrote this, the writer would be slaughtered as racist. So how do we bridge these kinds of gaps? And what do you think of this article being written by anybody, because I can guarantee you it wouldn't be written if Carmel or Cape Cod had been evacuated.


http://www.bet.com/News/criminalkatrina.htm?wbc_purpose=Basic&WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublished&Referrer=%7BE8B573E5-316E-4783-A9C9-F6B208DD3966%7D

[undergroundrailroad]

1. Thanks for posting this article.

I think we need to read as much as we can to have a better understanding of what happened. There are so many stories that have not been told because they are isolated.

As for bridging gaps, well, obviously we have a LOT of work to do.

Thanks again for the link.


Undergroundrailroad :hi:

[politicasista]

2. Thanks for posting this sandnsea!

Mary J. Blige and Erykah Badu killed it on there. :hi:

[msgadget]

3. That was interesting,

sandnsea and a problem many will have a hard time articulating without being branded a racist as you point out. And, optimistic fool that I am, I DO believe it would be considered if the court and legal papers of ANY city had been destroyed. It's not racist to acknowledge that every single person stranded and evacuated didn't have an immaculate past, though it makes them no less victims of a failed system. To label it racist is actually racist since it assumes all the parolees are Black!

Eventually we could find ourselves in the uncomfortable position of defending continuing aid to evacuees after one or two have attempted fraud or who have spent their aid money inappropriately. As our government has proven in Iraq and now in the contracts for the rebuilding of the Gulf, its inevitable. Never mind that rebuilding a life is a daunting task no one should be expected to complete to perfection, these news items will garner great attention and much cluck clucking. In fact, I saw a NY Daily News columnist refer to evacuees as 'low lives' for using their $2000 debit cards at Louis Vuitton and other high-end stores. Unwise and probably in deep denial regarding their situation, but low lives?? Of the thousands receiving the cards I'm pretty sure the majority didn't spend their money like it was a lottery win but I guess the author has perfect judgement every perfect day of his perfect life. I'm bracing for more of that sort of thing and, sad to say, some of it may be merited.

There's a momentary calm but future empathy may wear thin as news stories grow more infrequent and as we learn every single evacuee isn't heroic and 'good'. We just have to accept reality and push for what's needed no matter what happens or how these events are blown out of proportion.

[sandnsea]

5. We've had other emergencies

Articles are still online. I encourage you to try to find articles addressing criminal evacuees, say during the California floods or Colorado wildfires. I don't remember ever reading an article wondering what happened to all the criminals. Ever. I don't know where you live, but it might be interesting to know what you're accustomed to reading in newspapers for a comparison and how that could be shaping what you've come to accept as routine reporting.

[msgadget]

6. I still say its reasonable, we'll just have to politely disagree

but none on this scale. I read about homes being evacuated and people being relocated but nothing about vital records being thoroughly destroyed. I mean, this is the computer age, right?

And, sandnsea, I didn't respond to you with hostility. Since you ask, I read a wide variety of news sources, something I encourage everyone to do. I don't exclusively seek out reporting that aligns with my current outrage because that would be shortsighted and limiting.

I only asked that you examine the merits of wondering where the hell the criminals scampered to while maintaining full support for the evacuees. Yes, I realize the people in NO were trapped there, held back by armed police from walking across the bridge out of desolation into Gretna as if their blackness automatically made them dangerous and suspect. I know that and still I can acknowledge its always important to know where parolees have gone, regardless how they got away or whether they are poor and black or rich and white. It is a very legitimate concern and in no way impairs my response to the failings of the state and local government.

Its insulting to me when people assume a lowly status justifies a lower standard.

[sandnsea]

7. Boggling post

"Its insulting to me when people assume a lowly status justifies a lower standard."

Hmmm, I don't judge anybody's status based on income or race anyway. But it is insulting when one acknowledges the differences society places on income status, then denies the differences society places on race status.

And when I asked about your news sources I said I wondered if news from region to region is different. Maybe the media on the west coast self-censors and just wouldn't write an article about criminals in this situation because it is so obviously insensitive. If it isn't within your culture, wherever you are, then you wouldn't even know the difference. That was the point of my question.

I am still surprised the first place I read about people worrying about criminals in evacuee centers, etc., is BET.

[msgadget]

8. Yes, it was surprising

BET first reported the criminal record concerns. And, I certainly found it a wee bit ominous that Sensenbrenner was the one immediately pushing for Justice Dept. help regarding them, making it a 'Protect the children of Katrina' thing as if all the parolees are child molesters. I mean, come on, unless they know for sure they let Hannibal Lechter escape, I think other issues deserved at least as much attention. Believing as I do and being incensed by the attitude and priority placed on rounding up criminals doesn't mean it isn't an important issue or one that should not be openly acknowledged by everyone. That's why I'm glad BET reported it on their website because not doing so says a different set of standards applies for poor black people. It says, well, they're poor, what do you expect? They don't live like us or respect the law like we do so what the hell. Besides, it could even, if ya think about it, allow the criminal element a greater opportunity to victimize destitute citizens, making their plight even worse.

Even as I type this I worry that the evacuees will always be thought of sorta like the Marielitos sent over by Castro. Based on what rightwing radio hosts are saying and the 'dome images that scared the hell out of white america, evacuees from Nawlins have a lot to overcome.

From what I noticed the coverage has been more partisan than regional. It seems to depend on which way the editorial boards leaned because one would expect the Northeastern papers to be more empathetic but that isn't the case just as one would expect the Southern papers to be more defensive of the administration and I haven't found that to be uniformly true either.

[msgadget]

4. Not a bad idea

even though I have to squash down a reflexive defensiveness. This is a real problem and it's not necessarily racist to address it head on. I wish the dems would get in front of some of this sticky stuff though.



This amendment directs the Justice Department to provide technical assistance to help law enforcement with locating and monitoring the thousands of sex offenders that have been relocated from Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama as part of the relief efforts.

Commented Sensenbrenner, "It is critical that we protect our children while disaster relief is being provided. Criminal records are in many cases not available to law enforcement or the community to track these offenders as they move to new areas."