Wasn't New Orleans Bad Before Katrina?! (Lafayette, Kenner: crime, houses, college)

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by dusesean1986

Whites have endured their share of hardships. But, African Americans were pushed back 150 years in every aspect due to slavery. I.E. education, money, housing, effects of sharecropping. They started out from scratch after slavery ended.

I'm not saying they did not but they were not the only ones that started out "from scratch" at that time. I'm just trying to show what kind of life was "the norm" for the people of New Orleans and that area and how it caused many of the problems that came to kind of blow up when Katrina hit.

[dusesean1986]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

I'm not saying they did not but they were not the only ones that started out "from scratch" at that time. I'm just trying to show what kind of life was "the norm" for the people of New Orleans and that area and how it caused many of the problems that came to kind of blow up when Katrina hit.

Nice Quote, very interesting, I don't know the South at all, only by pictures and testimonies.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by dusesean1986

Nice Quote, very interesting, I don't know the South at all, only by pictures and testimonies.

Thanks. That is the sad thing in reality. There are so many people in this country that have no clue about the south or how New Orleans and their people lived. There is also this same discussion going on under the General threads in the political section and it is UGLY!!! So many of the myths and misconceptions are so widespread and so false it is not even funny. So many people do not understand that when Katrina hit that it was not that easy for these people to evacuate. Think about it, they survived the intial hit of the hurricane. It was when the levee faild and broke that the destruction hit. I know even here in Dallas there were PLENTY of people that kept saying the people of NO were stupid to not just get in their car and leave. They don't understand that many of these people did not have a car and never have had one. It was not as easy as we can make it out to be from afar. Then to think about the initial hit, they survived, everything was still standing, no large widespread flooding. What would anyone else have done? They would have stayed afterall the storm is by now, right? This mentality is not just in LA but it is all over the country when disasters strike be they natural or manmade. People think they have been thru one and so they stay and refuse to evacuate. Oh well. If you would like to see the "UGLY" side of this debate take a peek at the one under the political threads .

[dusesean1986]

Yeah, I try my best to stay away from generalizations and stereotypes, ecspecially when I am not going on much knowledge. This is how I feel towards Illegal Immigrants I have met, so many of them in my opinion just want money and a better life in America.

[dusesean1986]

I choose to stay away from the Political Aspects of this website, but you should keep educating people on the South and New Orleans, because I think much of the thinking is politically incorrect, ecspecially in California.

[Blue Grass Fever]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

So many people do not understand that when Katrina hit that it was not that easy for these people to evacuate. They don't understand that many of these people did not have a car and never have had one. .

I was telling my wife as they were piling people in the Superdome..."why don't they bus 'em out?"...i know how poor the south is in general! It's known that N.O.'s poor basically serves the tourism trade in the Big Easy!

[Hatless Wonder]

If you graduate highschool, and your family income is very low (like many A.A. families) then you will qualify for PELL grants that completely cover the costs of college. TOTALLY. No loans. Straight up money.

Pell grants cover about 35% of the average tuition bill, before books, room, and board. The community college I attend charges $106 per credit, and $45 of that is tuition.

Getting back to the original question, my sister spent 2 years at Xavier, and her stories of life in New Orleans were nerve-racking. Rampant corruption, cops robbing cabbies (sometimes with tourists in the car), 8-year-olds "stepping" (dancing) for tips at 10:00 pm on at Wednesday, and extremely high murder rates.

Does this mean the city shouldn't be rebuilt? No, but maybe this can be a chance to improve things.

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by Hatless Wonder

Does this mean the city shouldn't be rebuilt? No, but maybe this can be a chance to improve things.

Maybe, but the local political class is too busy fanning the racial flames and fighting any kind of progress.

[sockmonkey70]

Originally Posted by Hatless Wonder

[i]

Pell grants cover about 35% of the average tuition bill, before books, room, and board. The community college I attend charges $106 per credit, and $45 of that is tuition.

Well what about TOPS? If you do well enough in highschool to goto college, then you should qualify for TOPS, which DOES pay tuition and fees, so adding the PELL grants...that should be enough to make it.

[Hatless Wonder]

what about TOPS?

Is TOPS a Louisiana thing? I've never heard of it.