(Reporting with Tracie Washington)
On the show from New Orleans last night, Rachel Maddow issued a kind of challenge for the ongoing recovery from Hurricane Katrina. "This isn't just New Orleans," she said. "This is America. And if we do not feel like we are all in this together, we'd better have a damned good excuse for that."
Feeling left out, left behind, forgotten and on your own has become a way of life for people in this city. So has the determination to make it, with humor and bravery in a very new world. We'll be back tonight with another live broadcast from New Orleans. For now, voices from Thursday's show:
James Perry, the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center:
You know, again, the people are extremely resilient, right? They're here because they're fighting to be here. Folks aren't asking for a handout from government, but just a help up, right? And that's all that folks are saying.
Tracie Washington, the Louisiana Justice Institute:
There's been this cross-pollinization of people. People -- I was a trial lawyer five years ago. I didn't work with, you know, the grass eaters and, you know, people who eat tofu. . . . I had a hippie-free life. Now they're all in my office. . . . And I love them to death.
Billy Sothern, author of "Down in New Orleans: Reflections from a Drowned City":
The main thing that I see here in New Orleans is that all of these problems, whether it's the crime problem, the housing problem, the schooling problem, this is the razor's edge of problems that exist everywhere in America. And to the extent that they remain unresolved in New Orleans, I think that there's very little hope that they're going to be resolved elsewhere.
Garland Robinette of WWL radio:
I spent months in a place in Vietnam where you could barely walk and they could land a helicopter. And five days, president of the United States or nobody else could fly in water or food to people that were dying?
And now BP with the oil spill -- that took them a while to get going. And we've still got people worried about how they're going to survive on the coast. It's kind of like we're not part of the United States.
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Rachel, as a Louisiana native, I cannot thank you enough for the attention you are drawing to this still-devastated city. While we have seen some progress, we still have a way to go. Again, thank you for showing this to the rest of America. Cheers!
"This isn't just New Orleans," she said. "This is America. And if we do not feel like we are all in this together, we'd better have a damned good excuse for that."
Truer words have never been spoken. New Orleans and what happened after Katrina (and is still happening) should be seen as a symbolic microcosm of what's actually going on in this country right now. People would prefer to deny it's happening but it is. I know a lot of people want to believe that President Obama is this beacon of light shining upon us after eight years of reckless abuse but if you don't think he'll follow through on his plan to privatize public housing all over the country, you are naive. What will the poor do then? Who will stick up for them? Will we look the other way and allow the poor to continuously be pushed out and ignored? Or will we stand up for them when no one else will because one day that could be us.
Rachel, you prove again why you are the best in the business. You talk to real people who see firsthand what's been happening. You hold no punches, don't sugar coat things and it's obvious your compassion and adoration you have for the people of New Orleans, and I think it's awesome. People remember New Orleans when disasters happen or they are reminded of disasters on milestone anniversaries. Our country needs to make rebuilding the coast a priority, for their economy and for the people that live there. Our country should quit squabbling about the damn "Ground Zero Mosque" and focus on what's really important, starting with our own citizens who are suffering daily.
There is a problem with gentrification that is just squeezing out the have nots. The fact is there were people that owned their home outright, no mortgage. I do not know how I can help because my brother could use help with his mortgage, too.
The problem is these folks did nothing wrong, but just have little money. They had to leave or stay and watch their home be declared unsafe and told they must do expensive repairs.
Habitat for Humanity is on the right track, but am I understanding that FEMA is not rebuilding? Can we call FEMA? We are being told FEMA is inept and government is bumbling and should be done away with. Really? I think we can demand more.
What is the solution? Private philanthropists or citizens could make a loud statement (perhaps a sustained one) at the Lincoln Memorial. Our voices should become louder than the moronic rantings of socialism we keep hearing.
Compassion for our fellow citizens that have next to no power, being poor. James Perry needs some back up right now, to have these homes repaired so the HOMEOWNER can move back into their home.
Tracie Washington, Billy Sothern, Garland Robinette spoke up, thanks for giving them the mic. Now, we should incessantly call and write FEMA, the President, Habitat for Humanity, whatever can be of help. I know there are those that think only private sector and no government, but perhaps we need BOTH.
One guy says don't count on Obama, but Obama long ago said he needs US. That message has been lost. The voice of the people needs to be heard. The votes of the people need to be tallied. No Obama is not able to do this alone, the people that put him in office have to speak up and put aside their disappointment and cynicism. We are not powerless, we are a nation that needs more unity and become proud of something we did together.
Rachel is putting out the call, rally the troops, she gave us some names. Let's write to Congress, FEMA, Obama, whomever and not sit on our hands. 5 YEARS has passed a it still seems unfinished.
Gentrification is the result of those with money shoving aside and stepping upon those that have little money and power. I know America usually roots for the underdog.
The story of David slaying the Giant with a sling and a rock is told with pride. We need to focus on lifting people up more than lifting up giants trampling on the "small people".
I noticed that some folks like to think a wealthy person must have earned it and they will spread the wealth. Maybe some do, but maybe we can get some of that wealth spread over in New Orleans to rebuild some affordable housing there.
For what it's worth:
http://www.fema.gov/assistance/process/housingneeds.shtm
How can we keep New Orleans in the headlines every day until this is settled? Will we only see and hear the same story over and over every anniversary? We want to watch the train wreck and not rebuild the train.
There is another part of the story that Rachel didn't cover. It was reported in The Nation magazine that black owned houses in predominantly white neighborhoods were being burned down or condemned as public nuisances and demolished if the black home-owners refused to to let their housers be bought out. I will repost this entry on future threads.
The story Tracie & many others like her tells is a sad one. While people like her are fighting to save their city or for some other extremely great cause that's benefiting society as a whole their stories go untold. While some may say Tracie is doing great things for the city of New Orleans I find her story to be uplifting that someone would give so much of themselves to help a town in such desperate need of it. I also feel that her status should be lifted from mere local leader to local hero. Do we need to get her a cape w/ some fancy underwear and an invisible plane to make it any more clearer? People like Tracie, who give so much of themselves to benefit their fellow man are not only deserving of our admiration & respect, but they're the foundation of what this country was founded on. Let's hope she continues her work, while inspiring others as much as she has me.
Tracie Washington is amazing!
Great interview with Tracie Washington - Try Pascle Manale for BBQ Shrimp - Great NOLA restaurant
still lovin' the shoes...
I just have to say that it was incredible that the show covered the public housing demolition of New Orleans. It was so refreshing to see Public Housing portrayed in its reality (not just a vehicle to bash its residents). I work with public housing and other subsidized housing tenants and I get so tired of the usual way that these crucial programs are covered. The disaster of losing truly affordable housing only compounded the tragedy of this great city being hit with a natural disaster. I am glad that some light shined on the abysmal housing policies that forgo one-for-one replacement of affordable housing units, and the tough times still being faced by New Orleans residents.
"It's the ecosystems stupid"
America was first to realize that nature was ruled not by absolutes but by probabilities. What happened along the way to produce the confusion and moral turpitude of the present day? Why are so many held in thrall by vestiges of old beliefs of bygone days that have not been viable for about 1oo years, at this time of overwhelming crisis like what happened to New Orleans?
This condition took hold thanks to corporate tactics beginning with the wide spread acceptance of the theories by a coterie of economists at the University of Chicago who declared that it was "the free market" that was the source of all value. They were profoundly influenced by the notorious goddess of greed, Ayn Rand who wrote the still admired "When Atlas Shrugged" in which she opined that the titans of industry were the de facto rulers of all human endeavor and would ever be such. They must never give up their place at the helm of all human activity for fear that civilization would crumble should Atlas ever shrug and let the world toppl;e off his shoulders.
There is no question that Larry Summers and Timothy Geithner who are the president's economic tzars, absorbed this theory with their mother's milk. The president has seemingly had to work with this theory, the presumed bedrock of the economy, against his better judgment. Indeed it was Summers himself who first enunciated this theory (which he said came to him as a kind of epiphany) In 2005, speaking to a group of economists at the University of Toronto. He said his understanding of economics taught hhim that it was "the free market"was the only thing that created value. There would be no culture at all if it were'nt for the "free market". This theorem can be summed up in an equation:
More money-value exchanges = more market growth = more basic values.
Professor John McMurtry, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Guelph University, Ontario, calls this the ultimate neo-liberal (neocon) equation. He comments: "The social and ecological on which every life depends, are simply blinkered out. Perpetually turning leveraged money into more money for private possessors with no life standards, is in the end, a global cancer.
Some very direct,meaningful action must be taken by all still in possession of their senses, to deal with with the very real dangers arising from the intense global destruction of all ecosystems that has been caused by believing in the fallacy of the"free (unregulated market."