Wasn't New Orleans Bad Before Katrina?! (Monroe, Many: apartment, credit card, homes)

[DeLaSalle]

Originally Posted by sockmonkey70

I am sorry, I don't want to fight either and I apologize for coming across a little snippy and/ or racist, I am not. I just have seen many black people succeed because they know what is out there for them and work towards it, just like many of us average, lower/middle class white people have to, but many just look for a hand out and pull the slavery card, assuming all us white folks are made of money.


I completely agree slavery has directly caused the situation that African Amercians are in today, but it is in their hands to get out of it!

"Yes, A.A. can succeed, but African Americans are less likely to due a higher probability of no father figure, gangs, and a lack of money for education and college."

Is that white people's fault that some African American people choose to be in gangs, deal drugs, and have poor family relations? What does black fathers choosing to leave their children have to do with slavery? It sounds like something that needs to be fixed within the race. And minorities have SO much money exclusively for them for college it is not even funny. 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. I think if the black youth would listen more to their teachers than the rappers spitting out bull**** about gangs, murder, and drugs, alot more black children would know they have oppurtunuties waiting for them. It doesn't matter if they are poor as dirt, they can get a free ride to college if the have decent grades in highschool.

So true.........

[jdw123]

Originally Posted by dusesean1986

maybe I'm Wrong But Wasn't New Orleans Full Of Ghetto And Slums Before Katrina, I Understand Many Areas Were Fine, But I Believe Our Main Focus Should Be Focusing On African American Poverty In The United States Regardless Of A Natural Disaster Making Things Worst..and I'm A Caucasian Male!

Actually Katrina made things better in New Orleans. It wiped out alot of the slums and the people living there moved to other areas so the crime rate dropped. Take Houston. In the first few months that New Orleans residents relocated to Houston, Houston's crime rate increased by 70%! And Houston already had a high crime rate!

[jdw123]

Originally Posted by sockmonkey70

Is that white people's fault that some African American people choose to be in gangs, deal drugs, and have poor family relations? What does black fathers choosing to leave their children have to do with slavery? It sounds like something that needs to be fixed within the race. And minorities have SO much money exclusively for them for college it is not even funny. 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. I think if the black youth would listen more to their teachers than the rappers spitting out bull**** about gangs, murder, and drugs, alot more black children would know they have oppurtunuties waiting for them. It doesn't matter if they are poor as dirt, they can get a free ride to college if the have decent grades in highschool.

But it's not just poor blacks that get a free ride. Middle class blacks that don't qualify for pell grants have an abundance of black only scholarships. Every single black could go to college for free if they'd get off their asses. I don't see any White only scholarships around. If you are a middle class white, your only option is loans. I still owe about $20,000 in student loans and that's bull****.

Also, it seems that Blacks are the only race on the planet that idolizes the lowest members of their race. You don't see white kids idolizing Crystal Meth addicted trailer trash. You don't see Mexicans idolizing Mexican gang members. Blacks have to get their act together instead of just bitching to us about their "hardships". Give me a break.

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by jdw123

But it's not just poor blacks that get a free ride. Middle class blacks that don't qualify for pell grants have an abundance of black only scholarships. Every single black could go to college for free if they'd get off their asses. I don't see any White only scholarships around. If you are a middle class white, your only option is loans. I still owe about $20,000 in student loans and that's bull****.

Also, it seems that Blacks are the only race on the planet that idolizes the lowest members of their race. You don't see white kids idolizing Crystal Meth addicted trailer trash. You don't see Mexicans idolizing Mexican gang members. Blacks have to get their act together instead of just bitching to us about their "hardships". Give me a break.

I'm Black American and I don't idolize gang members. Gang members are part of the reason my parents don't like inside the city of Atlanta(and neither do I).

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

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 .

My sentiments exactly. I have family in Louisiana and because they had vehicles, they were able to leave for higher ground. Sadly, because of the corruption of New Orleans, the evacuation strategy was poor. Putting people in the Superdome? Blanco and Nagin are partially to blame. It is corruption in government. The local governments are not the only people to blame. I believe the rescue of the people from the flooding could have been faster(I'm talking about after the levees broke, not before thehurricane hit).

[LoneWolf2421]

Those people with out cars have 2 feet. There is also pleanty of time to leave if a person wanted to. You now a storm is coming about 3 days in advance. There is no excuse!

[janbeebe]

I have lived here my whole life and its a dump. Garbage everywhere, grass uncut by local government, (they are too busy pocketing the funds)its like a third world country. It was bad before Katrina, now its worse because anyone who could get out did and all that is left are the poor, politicians wanting to get what they can from the fed. dollars rolling in. And a handfull of normal people who wont leave because they have elderly parents (or grown kids)that wont leave. The poor have returned because our welfare system supports them and in other states they would have to work.

[karnival96]

Originally Posted by LoneWolf2421

I think you are a few cards short of a full deck! Give an apology for a legal practice at the time. It is also acceptable by our Christian Faith. It has the Laws of Slavery in the Bible. So why appologise If you did nothing wrong!

Dude,

If you truly think that slavery is not wrong (under any historical context), you are a few cards short of a full deck. Just because people find ways to justify evil, vile and immoral acts, do not make them right. I guess you probably think that the Holocaust was OK because most Germans were cool with it.

[karnival96]

Originally Posted by jdw123

But it's not just poor blacks that get a free ride. Middle class blacks that don't qualify for pell grants have an abundance of black only scholarships. Every single black could go to college for free if they'd get off their asses. I don't see any White only scholarships around. If you are a middle class white, your only option is loans. I still owe about $20,000 in student loans and that's bull****.

Also, it seems that Blacks are the only race on the planet that idolizes the lowest members of their race. You don't see white kids idolizing Crystal Meth addicted trailer trash. You don't see Mexicans idolizing Mexican gang members. Blacks have to get their act together instead of just bitching to us about their "hardships". Give me a break.

You tell'em jdw123,

If you're going to idolize criminality and ignorance, make it the Sopranos and Paris Hilton.

[mamatwopugs]

Originally Posted by jdw123

Actually Katrina made things better in New Orleans. It wiped out alot of the slums and the people living there moved to other areas so the crime rate dropped. Take Houston. In the first few months that New Orleans residents relocated to Houston, Houston's crime rate increased by 70%! And Houston already had a high crime rate!

You are unfortunately correct. Not only did Houston get the problems of NOLA, but so did we-DFW! My cousin from Monroe,La. even called me and said you poor prople-you will be getting all of that crime, drugs, and trash from NOLA, and then after I thought about it said-You will be getting it also.
Well, being from MS., I thought about the gulf coast and began to worry mostly about them. It seems that everyone ignored them and they were hit the hardest in lives! New Orleans got it from the levies. Winds and floods killed a lot in Mississippi, but you didn't hear much about it!
It was a real tragedy, now that I look back, but we have sent many groups from our church to help build and re-build. I haven't been down there since all of that, and really am afraid to. I have too many memories there while going to college close by.
NOLA is like being in a different country and I guess my French heritage will always be there.