2006-04-23
Katrina Refugees "Movin' On Up"
I forget if the critics cite racism or Bush incompetence for the Katrina catastrophe. The racism aspect of the criticism has many facts that falsify it, including the massive damage sustained by white residents and white-owned businesses. Maybe the racists are incompetent? Ignoring NO's levee needs and responding slowly (ie, at the same pace as all previous FEMA responses) in order to harm blacks, at the cost of causing even greater property damage to whites? Worse (from a white-racist perspective), the resulting exedus has sent blacks into white areas, and generally areas with better opportunities, incomes, and school systems than that of their NO homes. In this NYT article, we learn that the average NO refugee has found refuge in areas with twice the income level and half the poverty level of their home neighborhoods. Few of these refugees plan to return. Where is the racism? Wouldn't racists want the pre-Katrina blacks to remain confined to a disfunctional, impoverished nether regions of New Orleans?
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Former black New Orlean residents have turned misfortune into opportunity. They have been able to start new lives in diffrent states. This reminds me of a bucket of live crabs, When it looks like on is escaping, the other ones will try and drag it back down. Nagin obviously didn't care if those people were subjected to abstract poverty and crime. All he cares about is that they are avialable to cast their vote for him. Why can't he just be happy that these people have found a better life, and they don't want to return.
If Nagin loses, he missed a great opportunity. He got elected with 90% of the white vote, but only 10% of the black vote. In the first round of the new election, the leading white candidate got 30% of the black vote, and most of Nagin's white base abandoned him. One of the reason that so many whites voted for him in the first place is that he didn't play the race card. He may have made a crucial mistake in playing the race card with his very unneccessary "chocolate city" comment. With this comment, his original supporters may have taken a critical look at the facts.
I wonder what fraction of the NO population believes that a much bigger portion than before of NO's flood protection falls in the hands of NO residents. To the extent that sound levees require federal funds, NO residents have a responsibility to aggressively and consistently persue those funds, as opposed to their previous conduct: ignoring the need, then complainging loudly that the fedl govt cared about their levees no more than they themselves did.
I get very frustrated by press reports that fail to address obvious questions, or to clearly layout the facts. This NYT article *seems* to indicate that blacks residing currently in NO voted at a lower rate than the whites currently residing in NO. It also *seems* to indicate that in the black neighborhoods that did not flood, Nagin failed to win a strong fraction of votes. Also, it appears that the second-place white candidate got a significant chunk of black votes.
If Nagin loses, naturally the race-baiters will attribute this to racism, involving the disproportionate displacement of black residents. However, many facts undermine that claim. Including:
- A very good chunk of the displaced blacks are happier where they've relocated than they were in NO, and they will not return.
- 90% of the black voters last time voted against Nagin.
- About 30% of current black residents are either voting for the number-two vote-getter, or spreading themselves amoungst the white candidates (the press accounts are unclear about this).
I thought that levees only broke as part of racist mechanations. But if the following levee broke without racist-inspired neglect, might not the NO levees have broke due to non-racist factors?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12460100/
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