[SunnySide]

"Lawlessness in New Orleans is a national disgrace"

No it isn't. The disgraced are the ones who are acting criminal. They know who they are and so does the world.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

and when calling a Spade a Spade ( telling the truth like it is ) you are somehow in their minds, a racist.

[RKV]

I have to agree with you. What is happening in NO is NOT a national disgrace. The people of NO have disgraced themselves. Plenty of other cities have suffered in this hurricane - Biloxi to name one. You don't read reports of looting from there do you?

[savedbygrace]

I understand what you're saying, and I agree with you. However, there's another issue involved here: This is the result of the Welfare State, biting NO in the butt.

The gangsters have largely been raised by other gangsters, with a totally insufficient parental influence in their lives. This happened because of the Welfare State, which bases welfare and other payments on the lack of a father in the home, and on the lack of a family income.

So, yes, the gangsters themselves are to blame, but their lawlessness is on the tail end of a State mandated cycle. Even so, they, the gangsters, should be held totally responsible for their actions, regardless of this welfare cycle. Clear?

[gitmo]

If this were typical of our nation, it would be a disgrace. New York made us proud. The victims of Andrew and Hugo made us proud. Those who responded to the CA quake made us proud. There are heroes in New Orleans, the rest of LA, MS, & AL but they are overshadowed by this aberrant behavior.