Many of my friends are absolutely certain that when Getna, LA's police blocked NOLA refugees, that this constituted "racism." They reached this conclusion before learning the facts. The facts disprove this conclusion:
1. Gretna erected the blockade after THREE DAYS of welcoming and accomidating NOLA refugees.
2. Getna is white-majority, but it has a sizable black population, about 30%. That population and the whites have a similar view of NOLA, and a smilar view of the decision to blockade.
3. Black Gretna cops participated in the blockade.
4. The blockade denied white refugees as well as black.
5. The decision to blockade was triggered by an explosion of looting (not for food) by NOLA refugees, which culminated with a mall catching fire, amid reports by NOLA cops on TV of massive looting and gang violence in NOLA.
6. Gretna did not go under water, but lost all water and electricity during this time, and was thus dealing with its own severe problems.
7. Whereas a large fraction of NOLA cops fled or quit, Grenta's cops stayed on-duty, though they were overwhelmed. A similar description applies to Gretna's mayor and city council (which includes blacks) and NOLA's mayor and council members; one stayed and operated, while the other disappeared. Can we now accurately judge how Gretna leaders EVENTUALLY responded to one of the few factors that they could control?
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5 comments:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/12/15/60minutes/main1129440.shtml
In retrospect, I think that perhaps Gretna on Day 4 should have applied its blockade only to males between the ages of 15 and 50, permitting children, women, and old men. However, did Gretna at this time have any resources for them? A very troubling question.
But Gretna's 35% black population overall supports the decision.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/13/katrina.bridge/index.html
Another article. I think you can make a case that Gretna and the other cities that also blockaded should not have done so, but no facts demonstrate that racism explains these decisions. Another incident of a few jackasses (the looters) ruining opportunities for everyone.
People were in need of help. Their decision to ignore that and to turn back people who had lost everything was informed by the exagerated claims of violence and looting in New Orleans coupled with their inherent racism.
The fact that Black cops participated doesn't preclude racism. There were Black overseers during slavery, and you love to bring up the fact that Blacks have owned slaves. Black folks have been known to oppress other Blacks because of stereotypical views.
The fact is, the gravity of the situation and the fact that these were American citizens and human beings in need of help should have superceded fears about a few isolated criminals.
I'm not siding with the Gretna and other cities in blockading NOLA refugees. I'm just saying that racism didn't play a role in their decision to blockade. Some have made the point that these blockading cops lacked authority to block Louisiana citizens from utilizing these state roads, though I don't know if indeed local cops lack such authority in these emergency situations. The NOLA cops on national TV, including the chief, exaggerated the crime reports, including violence. But at the time, the officials outside of NOLA did not know the accuracy of the desperate crime reports spouted by NOLA's chief on TV.
If you wish to debate the wisdom and morality of blocking NOLA refugees, that is a seperate issue from debating if racism explains these blockades. No evidence exists to support "racism" as an explanation, while much evidence exists countering such an explanation.
Nadir: the participation of black cops, and the exclusion of white NOLA refugees do not on their own nullify the claim of racism. However, these combined with other facts do. Gretna is far from a 100% black town, it helped and assisted NOLA refugees for three full days, blacks participated in the decision to blockade and in the implimentation of the blockade, and in supporting the blockade in retrospect. There is no reason to believe that if all the residents of NOLA were white that with the same circumstances Gretna and the other cities wouldn't have behaved the same way.
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