New Orleans Violence is a Post-Katrina Endemic Problem

marjorie says...

Many of you may have read the news lately about the rash of murders in New Orleans. It has become so bad that city leaders have proposed a curfew.

Reflecting back on the Katrina catastrophe, I remember the incredible outrage and upset so many of us felt. That disaster reflected back to all of us in horrific clarity the incredible problems we have in our society dealing with structural poverty. I call it structural because that is what it is: a condition present due to the economic and political structure that orders our society. A capitalist economy demands that poor people exist. And our political system mitigates this reality enough through social programs to allow for the survival of capitalism. I believe one of the reasons so many people don't want to confront the problem of racism is that to do so clearly shows this structural problem with capitalism, because there is a clear correlation between poverty (class) and race. To truly change that requires fundamental change. Hard fundamental change.

During the Katrina weeks, there was an enormous outpouring of grief, rage, confusion, not to mention charity and support to those in need, from across the United States. And when the crisis lessened there were a lot of calls to not forget and to not abandon the poor people of New Orleans to an uncertain future, who were overwhelmingly African American. But, really, that is what happened. The media dropped it. And the planners, developers, and political bureaucrats have swooped in to change the face of the city. Some of that might be good, but plenty of it is resulting in displacement. Violence is endemic because the plight of the poor in that city has remained, their already tenuous hold on stability incredibly strained by an unresponsive monolithic government and a profit driven land development system.

The violence is so bad that it is now spilling over into the lives of those who are normally more insulated from it...that may be one reason we are all finally hearing about it. I'd like to share an email I received from a friend and co-worker, Rosina Roibal, who lived in New Orleans for five years. In her email, Rosina talks about her friend who was shot and killed last week...mentioned in this newspaper article. I hope it will personalize this issue for more m-pyre readers, and I hope that we all can take some time to communicate with our congresspeople about this issue...because its an issue that belongs to all of us. There are other ways to help as well...for one, doing fundraisers in your homes to send money to community organizing groups working on the ground in New Orleans.

But in the bigger scheme of things, we all need to really examine how our system works. The plight in New Orleans is extraordinary in some ways, but there are struggling people throughout this country, many of them homeless. That isn't because they're lazy or don't want to help themselves. Its because they live in an economic system that requires them to exist. The only solution is a social response, which means us.

Dear Friends/family,

If you don't know, I went to college in New Orleans, lived there for 5 years.

I feel that you should know what New Orleans is like, and the devastation that has resulted due to the government’s lack of action to help it. Yesterday, my friend Teresa (who lives there now) called me to say that our friend Paul and Helen were shot in their home, and Helen died. There were 6 shootings in the same day around New Orleans. Paul was the leader of our band the “Troublemakers.” They have both been extremely active in making New Orleans a better place for poor people, like Food not Bombs (bringing free food to the community), a medical clinic for poor people, animal rights work. They were anarchist, atheist, and vegan with a 2 year old daughter and a pet pig named Rosie. If you had a chance to meet them, they were the happiest most energetic fun people I’ve ever met. Helen made films. There is a protest tomorrow to end the violence.

Just one week before, I was in New Orleans staying with my friends Ben, Teresa, and Chester. One day we heard 8 gun shots two doors down. A 17 year old boy was shot and died. His aunt was shot in the head 3 weeks before. They were into crack.

There is a film by Spike Lee, called “When the Levees Broke.” You should see it when it comes out on dvd, it was on HBO, and is great. However, most people don’t realize the long lasting problems that the people of New Orleans are facing. I don’t know if people like you and me can help change things in New Orleans. Poor people in New Orleans don’t have homes, they are not being given rights, they are not allowed to move back into their past homes, which are now being turned into condominiums for the rich. They’ve lost their families and friends and jobs and belongings. They’re depressed. They get into drugs to help the pain. Crack is all they can afford. Then they crack. They shoot someone for just a little money, for something to eat or just to buy some more crack. My friends living there say it’s so bad, they have to leave, even the ones who’ve lived there their entire lives. Teachers are stuck with huge class sizes, no supplies. The poverty and violence is overwhelming. We could go on and on about the horrible conditions and issues in New Orleans, but the bottom line is that our government doesn’t care about the poor people of New Orleans or the poor people of our country or the world for that matter.

George, how many more of my friends have to be shot? How many more people in New Orleans have to live without homes or help? How many more times will you allow levees to break? How many more thousands of people and animals will you leave stuck in a disaster? George, I don’t trust you, and I hate you and your posse.

I don't know what to do and feel scared and helpless. New Orleans was already behind in terms of social justice and being progressive. I give my friends in New Orleans all of my power and know you will fight till the death.

Rosina Roibal