New Orleans Didn’t Just Go Nuts -- It’s Been Nuts

New Orleans Didn’t Just Go Nuts -- It’s Been Nuts by Mac Johnson Posted Sep 6, 2005

Where to even begin in being one more idiot talking about Hurricane Katrina? I hate the subject. It should be a news item and a humanitarian cause --a huge recovery and reconstruction effort joined in by all. It should not be a political issue fit for “commentary.”

But the Hurricane tore at more than just the weaknesses in New Orleans’ inadequate levees. The shortcomings of the levee system were known to all who ever lived on the Gulf Coast, and in the end, all the levees really did was encourage expanded development in a huge geologic bowl sitting between a large lake, North America’s mightiest river, and the immense green waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The whole booby-trap was simply yet another triumph of government subsidized and directed development. And its failure was long anticipated.

First out of the gate were the Holy Men of the Cult of Global Warming, who couldn’t wait for the first dead to wash up before they declared the Hurricane irrefutable proof of Global Warming and a direct responsibility of George W. Bush.

Next up were the racial ambulance chasers, always looking for another grievous injury to add to their political caseload. Looking at the Sea of Black faces abandoned without transportation, food, water or protection, they somehow managed to look past the City’s Black Mayor, Black Police Chief, Black City Council members and all the other Black office holders that run the 67% Black city, and found that the whole thing was: white folks’ fault. Yet another example of racism at its worst.

This opened up a torrent of Bush-bashing, since he was the closest Republican that had any responsibility for the City. The Democratic Governor of Louisiana -- though white -- was merely a victim of the whole thing it seems, just like the Mayor of New Orleans. Nobody has any power in this world other than George Bush. Nobody has any responsibility. George Bush is now the navel of the world for his enemies. If a butterfly flaps its wings in Central Park, it’s George Bush’s fault. And the butterfly is racist. And it was blown there by Global Warming.

And at some point during the disaster, the most disturbing of all the infighting began. The thugs of New Orleans turned on their neighbors like a Mongol horde. Looting erupted, as did arson and robberies, shootings and beatings. Rape became an organized crime as gangs preyed on the defenseless stranded girls of New Orleans. Pharmacies were looted and hospitals were surrounded and invaded in a manic hunt for drugs. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin couldn’t stop such junkie armies from destroying much of what was left of the City’s medical infrastructure, but he could excuse them, explaining that it was all just people “looking for something to take the edge off their jones, if you will.” Actually, no, I won’t. (The mayor added a few minutes later in the same interview: “You know, I'm not one of those drug addicts. I am thinking very clearly.” And nobody said different, Mayor.)

Barbarians with an edgy jones shot a cop in the head, shot a national guardsman, halted life-saving evacuations by firing on helicopters and humvees. Police had to mow down a gang of six shooting at contractors who came to repair the levee breaches. A group of white civilians that came into the city in private boats to save as many refugees as they could -- giving lie to the racism howls of the media -- gave up and turned back because people began shooting at them, trying to take their boats.

Soldiers who should be concentrating on rescue operations are carrying full battle gear through the streets of an American City, opening doors with rifles at the ready. Overnight, it seems, The Big Easy had become Thunderdome, and Mad Max was nowhere to be found. In the middle of the worst American natural disaster in over a century, gang warfare, anti-authority psychosis and individual malevolence finished off the hope of tens of thousands that had survived the flood. It did more to demoralize the nation than the storm had done.

The storm may have triggered the violence, but it did not cause it. What we saw in New Orleans was what happens in America’s most murderous city when the criminals realize that all the cops have left.

It wasn’t desperation, or insanity, or protest. It was New Orleans, without police.

Many people believe that Washington, D.C., is the “murder capital of America.” And indeed it often is, but that is only because such rankings are limited to “major cities” –those with a population of 500,000 or more, and New Orleans has (or had) a population of 485,000. Were it not for this actuarial accident, Washington, D.C.. wouldn’t even have a shot at the murder title. The per capita murder rate in New Orleans is 16% higher than in “Murder Capital” Washington, D.C.; and nearly 10 times the national average. To have a murder rate equal to that of New York City, New Orleans would need to reduce its murders by 86%. No, that’s not a typo.

At a time when crime is plummeting in most of America, it has been steadily increasing in New Orleans. And one cause is simple: The New Orleans City Government has run its law enforcement apparatus into the ground. On a per capita basis, New Orleans has less than half as many cops as Washington, D.C.: just 3.1 police officers per 1,000 citizens. Turnover has become a huge issue, as young cops leave at the first opportunity. A report conducted for the city two years ago said that New Orleans was “bleeding police officers.”

The strain shows. Fewer than one in four murder cases in New Orleans results in a conviction. 42% of violent offenders have their charges dropped by prosecutors because the cases are “not suitable for court.” Many in New Orleans will not now testify against the thugs that they know -- more likely than not -- are going to be released Scot-free. People don’t even bother calling the police in New Orleans anymore. In 2004, academic Researchers conducted an experiment in which they had police fire 700 blank rounds into the air, in a single afternoon, in one neighborhood. No one -- not one person -- called to report the gunfire. It was background noise.

The report on police levels mentioned above stated that New Orleans needs 2,000 cops just to maintain order in normal times. When Katrina struck, the city had only 1,700. No more than 1,500 are on duty now, after dislocation, desertions, resignations, and two suicides.

There is no wonder the place went chaotic. There should be no mystery. It is barely under control on a good day.

Why are the cops leaving? They are utterly demoralized. They face low pay to fight a losing war against crime in a city that will not commit resources to the battle. “We have to use our own shotguns," one patrolman was quoted in the New York Times. "This isn't theirs; this is my personal gun."

They are demoralized because they have to bear the reputation of working in what is widely acknowledged as the most corrupt police department in the country. More than fifty NOPD officers were sent to prison in the 1990’s, two of them to death row.

They are demoralized because they have to live in New Orleans, due to a strict residency requirement for police. And unless you are wealthy enough to live in the perpetual party of the Vieux Carre, New Orleans is not a nice place to live -- especially for those with children. 84% of officers with children reported sending them to private or parochial schools, at their own expense. That’s quite an endorsement of Mayor Nagin’s schools.

So they leave, and are not replaced. It is not just “white flight” either, for those that want to see the world through racial lenses. Most of those leaving are black officers.

All this is not to say that New Orleans has had no plan to reduce its high crime statistics. For a while, one police district tried lying about the statistics. It meant letting some violent thugs go (and with an edge on their joneses, I’m told), but it was cheaper than fighting real crime; and it kept the tourists coming.

Asked if such lying meant that perhaps the NOPD should have its stats audited by an outside agency, Police Chief Eddie Compass stated, “I don't need an outside agency coming in. I think we have proven that we are capable of taking care of our own house.”

This is the same Chief that now screams on camera for outside agencies to just take over. As soon as order is restored, you can bet the New Orleans City Government will rediscover its need for independence -- and privacy.

The overnight crisis we saw in New Orleans this week has been a long time coming. It was just the bursting of a purulent boil that has been festering for years.

Undoubtedly, that is Bush’s fault as well. Perhaps his Global Warming has been putting an edge on criminal’s joneses, unbeknownst to the City Government. Mr. Johnson is a freelance writer and medical researcher living in Cambridge, MA. His published commentaries can be viewed at www.macjohnson.com.

yeah, and thats not all poisoning things there. I'm out of my mind with what happened in the superdome. I mean what the fffeh?
And everyone is asking where was the security, where the were the people? the good people?
weren’t there enough to out number the bad ones? I heard one person shot one guy either raping or trying to rape a 12 year old.

I have intervened before to try and help people who were being victimized, usually the people who were victimizing them were so surprised and the situation defused. People who prey on other people do so cause they think they can get away with it for the most part, why did the people in the super dome let them get away with it?

And doesn’t the black community care enough about each other and them selves to start doing something about it even just being honest? Why are so many of them so demanding that a government they look at with suspicion anyway keep them on its teat? Where is personal accountability? Why are smart ,courteous, and constructive black people ostracized often by the black community? Called uncle tom or sell out? Yet those who leach off of society and the government more acceptable? I am surrounded by people every day who had nothing as a start, had every opportunity to fail, pass a buck, but live well because they worked hard to get where they are.

Now some are saying bush should have taken power from the state and city, yeah, that would have played out well...oh and they are also saying bush should have forcibly removed people from the city even before the storm, are you kidding? Most of the city is black, it would have been Rodney King times 10, 000 and cities all around this county would be burning, and jessie jackson and al sharpton would be fueling it.

I don’t know why the racial tension in this country is the way it is, I do know a lot of people with microphones make their money off of perpetuating it, I also know a lot of politicians stay in power by feeding it. Why is so much of the black populous in this country self destructive? Letting themselves become so dependant on a government they are sure is out to get them?

You know a picture that often returns to my mind is, one time a beautiful little black boy, maybe 4 years old, came to my apt door, he lived in the apartment next to me, in his little hands he held a glass. He said with his adorable innocent tiny voice, “can I have some milk please?” He was so cute, I said “awe, sweet babe, of course you can!” and I filled his glass up and he said thank you and walked back towards his apt. His mother opened the door just in time to see him walking up, saw me watching to make sure he got back, she took the cup of milk from his hand, threw the glass of milk in his face and said “you don’t take nothing from white people!” the milk ran down his face, I stood there in horror and pity for the kid, he had no chance.

The mother also complained about loudly on her porch of the fact she felt her welfare check should be more, and so should her food stamps. I guess those were paid for strictly by black tax payers? But that attitude isn’t rare and that is a mild example. I see that little boys face covered in the white milk, dripping down like tears in my mind often.

New Orleans was festering due to poor government, perpetuation of victim mentality among the black community, it being very easy to take entitlements, in fact demand them and more (out side of the fischer project youll see parked a bunch of cars a lot nicer than what I drive), the justice system a joke, the schools, even back when I was in them, just a joke, violence, no respect for anything, racism...shadeism (it’s a word!) even, since light skinned black people got abused by black er people too, no personal responsibility expected, everything that happened or that anyone did, quickly blamed on someone or something else such as history, conspiracy, poverty whitey what ever. No one wants to be honest, not enough in the black community care enough about the black community to be very honest and expect more from each other and themselves, rather they blame and take and want more from a government they think are out to get them anyway.

I don’t understand, I’m sick in my head and sick in my belly. Id like to be an optimist and say, maybe something good will come out of this, this dirty bath for new orleans that has left it naked, its most private embarrassing parts exposed might be an opportunity for drastic change, but I know, too many people in power in the Louisiana/NO government thrive off of the festering filth that we now see in stereo.

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