ZenPundit
Sunday, September 04, 2005
 
KESLER ON THE PLAYING THE RACE CARD IN NEW ORLEANS

I strongly agree with Bruce that looking for a racial angle here is wrong both in the normative sense as well as accuracy and those that go that route are opportunistic jackals. Losing an American city would be pretty high political price for any politician to pay to express personal prejudicial sentiments. Likewise most poor, African-American, citizens of New Orleans were not looters but were the victims of looters, thugs and systemic governmental incompetence.

Bruce Kesler on " Is it Racism in New Orleans " at The Democracy Project. An excerpt:

"Some on the left or among Blacks charge that the lack of attention and speed in helping the mostly Black victims we’ve seen on TV is due to racism. I won’t link to them, as I refuse to give their racism further currency. I, also, disagree with some on the right who charge that the fault resides mostly in a welfare or entitlement mentality of those in the Black community or its Black and liberal leadership not making New Orleans a richer city. Again, I won’t link to them, as I refuse to give their ideologically extreme filter further currency.

Both camps miss the simpler explanation. The fault, more simply, lays in both the limitations of any government to foresee and adequately prepare for all contingencies, compounded by the stubborn failure of the city and state leadership to more energetically prepare and their resistance to enthusiastically cooperate with federal authorities. Race and political affiliation has far less to do with either than sheer inadequacy and self-defensive CYA. It was not a Rudy Guiliani moment."


"It was not a Rudy Guiliani moment"

Of course, Bruce understates... but does it well.
 
Comments:
It's not an issue of race but of social make-up. Would Salt Lake City have broken down in the same way -- like a "city in Africa" accorinding to some European reports?

No.

1. Mormons stock food
2. Mormons have strong, young families (which in Boydian terms "subvert" the energies of young males into helping women, children, and the elderly)
3. Active churches provide alternate means of emergency social assistance (similar to the way Mosques no work in Iraq -- in spite of profound pressure not to work that way under Saddam)
 
The government did have ample time to prepare. People have been talking about a storm hitting New Orleans as just worse than a terrorist attack on NYC for years. This is federal incompetence, and to excuse it is incompetent yourself. If Bill Clinton was President and this happened, you think the response would have been the same? I'll even allow for the unlikely contingency that he would have ignored the possible cataclysm until after the storm actually hit. Even the, you think, Clinton would have waited that long to get involved personally or let it get that out of hand? Expecting so little from government or allowing yourself to believe that the Bush response is an average response to a natural disaster is to be incompetent yourself.
 
huh, sorry. should have read your other posts on New Orleans first. I'm an idiot.
 
Dan,

On the other hand, I'm not sure I'd enjoy attending a Mormon Mardi Gras. Somehow I don't think the chicks at Bringham Young are likely to be as lively as the ones on Bourbon Street ;o)

Jared,

Hey - it happens.

More or less the only person who deserves kudos during this crisis is the 17 year old kid who commandeered an abandoned school bus and drove 100 people to safety.

Naturally, the State authorities in La. who failed to do anything themselves are contemplating criminal charges against him for " stealing" the bus - thus combining evil with stupidity.
 
race a factor? To the extent that it is tied to poverty, yes. Anyone who could, drove themselves out before the storm hit and are with friends, family or a hotel.
As for incompetence...while it has certainly been extremely frustrating watching the suffering and screaming at the t.v. for someone to land a F@#$ing chopper with supplies, it is a little premature to point fingers. I would say that FEMA has some explaining to do.

Barnabus
 
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