Wasn't New Orleans Bad Before Katrina?! (income, jobs, hospitals)

[Vampgrrl]

It depends on where you lived. Much of Uptown was nice before the storm and was quite livable...

I find living here now quite engaging actually...corrupt yes, but no more so than Atlanta used to be, it's just the NO government didnt hide it well.
Plus Arnie Fielkow on the City Council has been a great addition in the at large seat...

I would and will continue to live here over living in Atlanta, Houston or even Austin, Portland.

The problems are workable I think, particularly in terms of having issues I can volunteer on or get involved with politically. Things are changing here because Katrina did put things into a new light I think.

[Huckleberry3911948]

tried to give rep but i am out. good good post.
hammer to the nail, my mom is from new orleans.
I was there. i know new orleans and how it has changed.
we need to treat each other better.

[WVgirl2]

New Orleans was a cesspool way before the floods..
Should it be rebuilt - probably not
will it be - of course..

I lived in a small WV town of about 1000 people. Our town took in about 1200 katrina refugees.
within 2 weeks - we had 10 murders, several rapes and assaults and drive by shootings. Prior to this - our crime was minimal, our last murder was in 1969.
then a 11 year old girl went missing - last seen on her bike riding past one of the FEMA trailor community..
Gang behavior all over town..

Totally destroyed our town..

[Vampgrrl]

It was not a cesspool. parts were bad yes, and it was tied to corruption and white flight of the 60s-80s (and the oil bust) but you speak of generalizations...

Those people who did those things in WV are responsible for themselves, period.
I cannot say I am responsible for my city prior to living here but I will do all I can until I am dead to make New Orleans a better place, because I wouldn't live anywhere else.

[IloveNOLA]

Originally Posted by WVgirl2

New Orleans was a cesspool way before the floods..
Should it be rebuilt - probably not
will it be - of course..

I lived in a small WV town of about 1000 people. Our town took in about 1200 katrina refugees.
within 2 weeks - we had 10 murders, several rapes and assaults and drive by shootings. Prior to this - our crime was minimal, our last murder was in 1969.
then a 11 year old girl went missing - last seen on her bike riding past one of the FEMA trailor community..
Gang behavior all over town..

Totally destroyed our town..

I find it hard to believe that within two weeks 1200 newcomers caused 10 murders in your town.

[dmustang68]

i've lived outside of N.O.before and after katrina.as i listened to the radio still in my apartment after katrina i was appalled to hear of the looting and the shooting of or at rescuers.as an ex firefighter/emt from arizona i thought i might stay and help but after hear that no! way!on returning home my first experience was an eviction notice on my door,welcome home! i worked in slidell and saw the impact of the storm first hand.13 feet of water and people still came home to rebuild.i worked in N.O. off of louisiana,the house i was working on was broken into 3 times.i've dealt with contractors that don't pay their workers(over $4000)personal.i've seen drug deals on the streets with children nearby.guns,hookers and gangs are back and are hear to stay!their are few places where people can go (day time only) and feel safe maybe?i'm trying to help rebuild N.O. but when ac units and tools from job sites are stolen ,why bother.people are getting stabbed,raped,killed in the (safe)areas.the gov't is corrupt,people living in fema trailers driving high dollar cars,having to leave areas when it's dark.the illegal crime rate is climbing,surpise.their is not an easy answer to this.not until the people come together thinge will change,ha never happen

[GirlYoda]

I grew up in s. Louisiana and have never liked NO. Sure it provided some great fun during Mardi Gras when I was a teen. I mean who doesn't like state sanctioned drink a thon's? But it wore thin after a few years. There's only so much you can take of getting thrown up on. The rest of the year, it's just hot. Anyone ever smell hot urine and puke? Welcome to N.O. French Quarter. There are beautiful parts of the city. That said, those parts are bordered on three sides by seriously income- and morally-deprived neighborhoods.

When I moved to NY, several people asked why I didn't just move to N.O. I guess because I like to walk around at night and not be killed or otherwise dishoveled. I never, not once, ever felt my life or body were in harms way in NY. I visited NO last Thanksgiving with friends and felt in mortal fear walking back to my hotel on Carondelet (Bourbon St turns into Carondelet after Canal) 1 blk off Canal.

Say what you will, but N.O. has always been a poor, poorly educated city. But then again, most mildly intelligent people don't build their home in a bowl, below sea level, on the banks of a major river, mere miles from the Gulf of Mexico.

[Vampgrrl]

50 miles from the Gulf...
City was built ABOVE sea level, much of the city is above sea level...and was built there as the only deepwater port on the Mississippi River.

Moderator cut: rude and personal attack

[GirlYoda]

Above sea level? That's why the levee's were/are so important? Please. It's sinking 2 inches a decade (a fact from USGS Release: September Science Picks &mdash; Leads, Feeds and Story Seeds<br>September 2005 Edition on Hurricane Katrina (9/13/2005)). That's a fact. They are rebuilding in an area that will natrually flood in the future from the combo of sinking and the ocean rising.

I know it was built as a port, I know it's not on the beach but the 20-30 miles through barrier islands which are also depleting, is not much of a buffer for even a small hurricane. As for the port, fine but why rebuild now. Cars can now bring you to work in a matter of minutes as opposed to horse and buggy taking hours. Move to dry land. Why rebuild smack dab on the spot where it flooded and where it will flood again. Like people up north that build in flood plains. Why are my taxes going to build in an area mother nature has clearly marked as not livable? I have much much better uses for those dollars.

Moderator cut: tit for tat doesn't work here

[Vampgrrl]

Because 1/3rd of the oil and gas of the United States comes through southeast Louisiana, the sugar, the coffee come through or from New Orleans, and a large amount of the seafood industry of the United States comes from here.

I work for a Fortune 500 in downtown New Orleans, and there are others in the Central Business District...

Parts of the city are sinking...that's not everywhere, I live in an area that did not flood, and much of the original city did not flood...the founders knew what they were doing when the city was placed where it was...

Besides, Los Angeles and San Francisco as well as Seattle WILL be hit by a massive earthquake and be destroyed one day.
All cities such as Miami will one day be hit by a Cat 4-5 storm directly, sea level or not..the storm surge will flatten much of those areas.
NYC will also be hit as well and flood severely from even a Cat 2-3.

Hell even the White House, in Washington D.C. is built on a flood plain and has a drainage and pump system.

Hell no, New Orleans isn't going anywhere. My tax money goes to Iraq, do I want it there? no.
My tax money goes towards a lot of stuff I don't want it to go towards, it happens, get over it.