Do you think Hurricane Katrina has made New Orleans a better city?? (Many: crime rate, house)

[nature's message]

Do you think Hurricane Katrina has made New Orleans a better city??

[LSU Tiger Z71]

Yes!!

Many people in the city are more politically active, a renewed sense of community, New Orleans will never die.

[Sandy Springs Rep.]

How would it...? That was a pretty open-ended OP.

[atlantagreg30127]

This is city-specific, so it's being moved to the N.O. room...

[jacq63]

Well, I don't know about all the ding-dinging, but I love the place, so I'll bite..

I can only speak for the experience of a friend who lost everything as a result of Katrina. He's a drummer, and though he's finding it tough financially, has made a load of new friends and networks which would not have happened otherwise. Of course like everyone, he'd rather K hadn't happened, but feels a lot of good things have come out of the devestation. No doubt there's a ton of stories like his.

I never saw NOLA prior to K, but she wasn't the first storm, and won't be the last. I think the spirit of the town and its people will mean it'll always be a wonderful place to be.

[PhenomenalWoman]

[gea12345]

Well, i think it is a stupid question, however i think it is a par for course comment, since many will say they are a better person for losing a leg, losing their home, losing their child, because then they get to know and help other people who lost two legs, or lost a home and their wife, or lost their child and their dog to cancer.

Loss imo is horrible, even if you live to live another day! And losing your home, your job, your piece of mnd for 2 plus years, just because your damn president and former presidents did not invest in the necessary infrastructure to avoid thousands of people losing their homes because of a foreseeble storm!

And then on top of that, smart ass people all over the country making snide remarks because people had no place to go and chose or were forced to fight it out and live in stadiums for weeks and months and shall i go on??

I bet the other countries had more heart and sympathy for our new orleans neighbors than the snobbish americans in other states!!

We had more sympathy for the indonesians!
oly mackeral! what a mess of messed up values!! Americans love to think they are better than other people, especially other Americans!

[Drouzin]

The OP is from Germany, so I don't think we should assume this is a ding ding sort of question, but something honestly put forth as someone looking to see if going through something of that magnitude can change things for the better.

Jacq's friend hit the nail on the head. There are more people who are politically aware, there are people who are more connected with each other, there is more dialogue between black and white than ever before, in other words there is more connectivity. I would have to say that as a region we are a sadder yet wiser people.

As for being a better person; no. Definately a changed person. I'll only speak for me and mine. We have nightmares, we all dream of going through our homes filled with mud and mold, a friend dreams that she was able to save her parents from drowning, my husband dreams of having to load helicopters and about that guy who died because they couldn't stop the bleeding, another friend dreams he can't remember the number he was given in order to evacuate via helicopter, I dream of trugging thru 2 1/2 feet of mud and flies trying to get to Mom's house to make it better for her and of dying husbands laying in mud and human waste with nothing to drink. How does this make you a better person? It makes you realize that its the people and the time you have with them are important.

If it is a black thing, (which I don't think it is), right now the entire GNO area are crossing fingers, praying, and hoping that a couple of black teenaged kids who have been kidnapped will make it home alive and well. I don't know anyone who isn't pulling for these kids. It isn't about if they are black or white, it's about they are our own and their families who are so afraid and upset are our own and not some remote people up in New Jersey. No black, no white, just ours, and I'm more than happy to offer them my love and support.

[hey teach]

I just returned from NOLA today. In some ways the city is better. In some ways worse, alot worse. Yes, I agree people are more trying to be more politically active, trying to add a voice rather than just accepting the situation as it is. One thing I noticed this weekend is an active move to remove the mayor, before Katrina recalling Nagin would not have been considered and certainly not discussed or funded.

One tangible way I saw improvement in the city was it was cleaner. After Katrina the city hired an outside company to handle garbage and street clean up. Now, I can only speak for the FQ, Uptown, and Downtown, but over the last three years we have noticed tremendous improvement in clean up. There are always people walking around with brooms and dust pans sweeping up the trash. There are more recepticals for trash and they are emptied multiple times during the day instead of once, while there is overflow (especially during Festival) it is not as bad and doesn't spread. People seemed to be more conscience of putting their empties in the recepticals rather than just throwing them on the ground. Pre-Katrina I rarely saw anyone look for the trash can.

I know the neighborhoods are still suffering and the crime rate escalates daily. In these respects NOLA is worse. But overall, from a former local (lived there in the late 80's early 90's) I see improvement.

[MetroBTR]

I think it will make New Orleans a stronger, more prepared city. It reminded people that New Orleans is home to many people, not just a playground like Bourbon Street.