Posted on 12/09/2005 6:13:30 AM PST by LdSentinal
The victim mentality of New Orleans was on full display, aided and abetted by race hustlers, at Congressional hearings about response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster, giving the rest of the country yet another reason not to care about what happens to Louisiana.
This mentality, that somehow some insidious force beyond the individual’s control causes misery in his life and keeps him in a disadvantaged position in society, is a major reason why Louisiana in general, and New Orleans in particular, are among the poorest areas in the country. Ordinarily, the fruit of this attitude, that a person’s inability to make much of himself in life is not his fault but some “others,” could be seen encapsulated in the Orleans Parish School District, where learning was sacrificed on the altar of inefficiency and politics, few demands were made in learning, and many students and their families did little to change this situation or take control of their educational futures. As a result, it was perhaps the worst school district in America.
But with recent state activity to put education in the hands of those who actually mean it with the near-dismemberment of the district, now the best example of this attitude comes in hearings in front of the Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina of the U.S. House of Representatives. While the Committee has tackled serious matters previously, allowing self-styled “representatives” of New Orleans evacuees to testify was a sop thrown to the few Democrats on the committee.
Most House Democrats wanted to boycott the enterprise, saying they wanted a federal government-wide investigation, not just that of the House. This is because they knew that, since the Republicans control the House, that in the course of the investigation there would be no shielding to public view of New Orleans as a poster child for the failed liberal policies of the Democrats, where generally policy decisions made by Louisiana but specifically by New Orleans would illustrate the destruction liberal Democrats have visited upon, in particular, our most disadvantaged citizens.
Victimization is a big part of this ideology. We saw it with how the Gov. Kathleen Blanco administration handled the matter of getting troops and buses into New Orleans, depending on others to do it for them, flailing about waiting for help to show up. We saw it in the response in New Orleans, where Mayor Ray Nagin failed to implement plans, instead stalking around complaining he wasn’t getting help. In larger terms, politicians such as these are the product of an electorate that itself is less willing than others to do the things it needs – demand better education, access that better education, stop expecting government to take care of them – than those in other parts of the country. Liberalism excuses these attitudes, saying they’re not people’s fault, and it’s a snake oil that Democrats still try to peddle frequently.
Thus, we get the pathological need to ascribe unfortunate situations to some sinister motive beyond the person’s control, despite no evidence to back it up. In this instance, it’s the idea that “racism” had something to do with rescue operations. Note that for this charge to be credible it would have to be demonstrated that most rescuers (many who were black) were irredeemably racist in attitude and action and/or it was government policy to promote this behavior among them. Since no such evidence exists, only the most exaggerated, wildest accusations can be brought forward to support this claim.
Democrat leaders shied away from participation in this committee’s investigations because they wanted to avoid this welfare-state mentality on parade, of a party that conjures up imaginary impediments of institutionalized racism instead of seriously debating issues, even as they believe it. These beliefs are losers at the ballot box because the American people are smart enough to see that this is not reality.
But one of the party’s genuine kooks didn’t get, or ignored, the message. The main instigator behind this portion of the hearings, the nutty, racist Rep. Cynthia McKinney, eloquently stated from their start, “And the world saw the effects of American-style racism in the drama as it was outplayed [sic] by the Katrina survivors.”
She was followed by, in the main, people who make their living off of crying racism and “community activists” who could offer no hard proof any crazy assertions they made when challenged other than “says you.” Perhaps the most famous comment was the incredulous comparing of the evacuee situation to the Holocaust, but maybe more indicative of the mindset and credibility of the professional complainers is another (again, eloquent) remark made by one them: “It was an issue of race. Because of one thing: when the city had pretty much been evacuated, the people that were left there mostly was [sic] black.”
So, let me get this straight, in a city that mostly is black already, run mostly by black politicians who planned and supervised the (non)evacuation, where a large portion of the flooding occurred in an area of the city where almost all of the residents were black, where because of income differentials blacks disproportionately had reduced private means of evacuation, then the fact that mostly blacks needed rescuing is a sign of racism? Maybe it’s because I didn’t graduate from the typical Orleans Parish public school, but I can’t follow that logic at all.
And neither will the rest of the nation as it debates what kind of assistance the state will receive, and it won’t be too willing to send much to an environment where such moronic attitudes flourish. It doesn’t matter the expressed views aren’t held by all, unlikely even a majority, of Louisianans, but it is things like this or trying to cover incompetency in execution or refusal to reform themselves or relief-money looting which make indelible impressions in the minds of the country. Is there any place in America whose people, from its top officials on down, do a better job of shooting themselves in their own feet?
Quite the contrary, Snakes. It was widely reported shortly after the rescues stopped that certain groups invariably said thank you ... but the vast majority never expressed one whit of gratitude.
"Putting them in charge of NOLA would condemn the city to death by bureaucrat."
It's being put to death now by race-pimping morons.
Detroit hasn't voted to ban guns to my knowledge. That is not to say that if their africanhyphenamerican fuhrers told them to they wouldn't go along. They have a national sport in Detroit, drive by shootings. That is where tough guys drive by someone's house and shoot little kids off the porch. Very manly, and generally safe for the shooter because the kids usually don't have a gun to defend themselves.
Reported by who? Are you trying to tell me that when people were pulled off of rooftops and out of houses and into safety that they didn't say thank you to the rescuers? Sorry, I don't believe it. Again, reported by who? By the way, there were an awful lot of things that were "widely reported" that turned out to be completely false.
Well, I caught him last night, but do you think I remembered to send it? Noooooooooooooooo.
L.B. Landry HS, Algiers
He tried to take pictures, because he said no one would have believed it, but was stopped by 'security'?!
He is having a good bit of success finding folks scattered all across the country. He managed to wrangle a copy of some video of the storm...the 30' tidal wave coming in.
I don't think he ever understood what my brother and I went thru, until now. My brother lost his house in a hurricane, and half my town was destroyed a few summers later by another. My kids and I worked relief 14 hours a day for weeks. They were pretty young, but my God, they worked like horses. Then, it was months and months of starting over. I, still, am not able to discuss it without crying. It's going to be a long road back for the coast. I don't know how many people really understand what ya'll are experiencing. My brother and his family lived with my folks for 6 months before they were able to BEGIN to get back on their feet again. It's been quite a while since then, but he still doesn't like to watch video of it. We were headed out of state for a wedding when that hurricane hit, going four states north and the storm followed us all the way. We couldn't even stop to sit and eat... we had to stay ahead of the storm. We couldn't bring any peaches back, because the storm knocked them all out of the trees up there! But the strangest thing happens along the way... everything is more beautiful than it was before. And if ya'll run into some of those Baptist Men from their Disaster Recovery Teams, give 'em lots of love, they are one incredible bunch of folks!
Thanks. I've heard of that school but don't know anything about it.
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