Enough IS Enough…

January 12, 2007 | 6:40 PM

[Updates]:

“I ain’t no nigga and I don’t know no niggas. I don’t know no crackers or no hoes. All I know is citizens of New Orleans. And if you ain’t gonna be a citizen of New Orleans, get the hell away from us!” -Glen David Andrews, New Orleans musician

This was one of my favorite quotes from yesterday’s rally. We have lots of problems here. Crime. Corruption. Trash. The city looks like a hurricane flooded it. (Who knew?) That’s why I go out and try to take pictures of the city in its beauty. Sometimes you just need a break from all the rubbish and filth everywhere (figuratively and literally). Anyway, yesterday’s rally was important. It’s frustrating, no doubt. The other night on Leno, I remember hearing Kiefer Sutherland refer to both Somalia and New Orleans in the same context- “It’s not like Somalia or New Orleans or anything.” I mean, what the crap? Anyway, the keynote speech yesterday at the rally came from Bart Everson, who blogs here. You can read his emotion filled speech here. Among the highlights:

Fueling our anger is the perception that our leaders do not share our fear and our sense of shame. And so today I want to say shame on you, Mayor Nagin, Superintendent Riley, District Attorney Jordan. You’ve really let us down. You have failed us. The criminal justice system and the government is broken. And I want to communicate to you the level of outrage that my friends and neighbors are feeling, because we don’t think you get it. Families that have lived in New Orleans for over 300 years are talking about leaving. People displaced by the flood are saying they are afraid to come back. That is the level of hopelessness and despair. They’d like you to step up and just do your jobs — but they don’t think you can. They’d like you to step down and resign — but they’re afraid you’d be replaced with equally incompetent people. Many of my neighbors believe that we need to see the federal government step in and literally take over New Orleans, or at least the criminal justice system. The feeling seems to be that even FEMA couldn’t screw up any worse than we have. At first I thought that was a joke. But it seems more possible every day, and there’s nothing funny about that. …

We know that law enforcement alone can’t solve these problems. We need long-term solutions too. We must have better schools. We must have an economy beyond tourism. We must pay workers a living wage. We must fight racism and classism. It will take all of us. It will take community involvement. Well, look around. The community IS involved. And we will stay involved. To our political class: You’re on notice. We will be watching.

Much more information at: NOLA.com, B.Rox, Silence is Violence, Anderson Cooper (CNN), WGNO (Story, Pictures), Matri’s VatulBlog

[Original Post]:

They tell us crime is back to pre-Katrina glory. Nine murders in 11 days (as of right now).

I’m not writing this because of Helen Hill. I’m not writing it because of the other eight murders. I’m writing it because this city needs to stop the murders. So I’m glad 3000 folks showed up downtown to speak out against the violence. I’m glad they didn’t let Nagin speak. I’m glad the people are heard.

No, I don’t think we can place the blame on one group. It’s the parents who didn’t raise their kids right. It’s the police who can’t patrol everywhere. It’s the murderers themselves who chose to murder. It’s a shared blame. It’s on us Christians for not truly showing people what it means to follow Jesus. It’s on us all. The parents. The people. Me. Us.

The Times-Picayune has more coverage than I can give. Read it.

Ironically, the CSI: Las Vegas episode “Fannysmackin’” was on TV tonight (Thursday, January 11, 2007). My roommate and I watched it, and I’m still just as amazed at the comments at the end now as I was when I first saw the episode last Fall.

Sara: You know, it kinda sounds like you guys are blaming everyone but these kids. I mean, you don’t get a bye just because you grew up here or your parents are on drugs or—those kids were perfectly capable of telling the difference between a wild night out and beating somebody to death.

Grissom: The truth is, a moral compass can only point you in the right direction, it can’t make you go there. Our culture preaches that you shouldn’t be ashamed of anything you do anymore. And unfortunately this city is built on the principle that there’s no such thing as guilt. “Do whatever you want, we won’t tell.” So without a conscience, there’s nothing to stop you from killing someone. And evidently you don’t even have to feel bad about it.

They were taking about Las Vegas, but they might as well have described New Orleans.

Posted in Ethics, Life, New Orleans, Social Justice