Blillingsly on New Orleans
Dwight Billingsly in today's Post-Dispatch:
I think there are two lessons we need to take away from the Katrina fiasco:A few entries from NOLA View, a blog about the city of New Orleans, around the time of the hurricane.First, the people we saw rioting in New Orleans are America's flotsam, and they exist in every society. Other than the physically disabled, young children and seniors 80 years old and up, the people we saw holed up in the Superdome and elsewhere are the perfect demonstration of what happens to people who choose (yes, choose) to lead third-world lives in a captialitst society.
They were accustomed to living off a government check every month, accustomed to subsidized housing, accustomed to food paid for by food stamps. They've elected politicians like Mayor Ray Nagin and Gov. Kathleen Blanco to make them comfortable in that third-world existence, and now they have neither the resources nor the political leadership to survive in a time of crisis. Such has been the case throughout history for people who don't take charge of their lives.
Elderly aunt, 83, did not evacuate----
Name: Virginia James
Home: 310-463-1027
Email: taitkens@necdisplay.com
Subject: My Hurricane Story -- Missing person
Story: I have not heard from my 83 year old aunt since the day before the storm.She lives at 2108 Valmar Drive in Meraux, LA, St. Pernard Parish. Her name is Virginia Aitkens James. Please send someone to check on her - she refused to evacuate. My name is Tim Aitkens and my number is 310-463-1027.If you can't help me please suggest who I should contact. Thank you.
Mentally disabled 63 yr old man trapped Gentilly----
Name: Tara Bosley
Home: 225-287-3157
Email: wbdoc@afo.net
Subject: My Hurricane Story -- Richard Drez
Story: My cousin, Richard "Dick" Drez lives at 4636 Marigny in Gentilly. The last contact we had was on Tuesday morning 8/30. The water was rising and he was refusing to leave. He is 63 years old and is mentally disabled. Please send someone to see if he is alright.
Name: JANETTE CHANDLER
Home: 954-292-1940
Email: JANETTECHANDLER@BELLSOUTH.NET
Subject: My Hurricane Story -- KENDALL BUTLER
Story: KENDALL BUTLER, 17, DATE OF BIRTH 9-8-1987 IS TRAPPED IN 4116 OLD GENTILLY ROAD NEW ORLEANS LAST HEARD OF ON SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 4TH AT 9:45 PM. HAS ASTMA WITH NO MEDICATION.
you think the post is tired of conservatives complaining? well i've had about enough of their trembling cowtowing to the right with their last change to the editorial pages. if billingsley is just going to repeat the repub talking points on katrina, then just publish their memo and save me his country club opinions...
Posted by diatriber on Fri., Sep 23, 2005 at 9:36 AMBillinglsy should preach morality to some of the girlfriends the Rev meets off of chat lines.
Posted by exposer on Sun., Sep 25, 2005 at 7:49 PMKathleen Blanco is a capitalist politician and a cold-hearted one at that. What is Billingsly talking about?
Posted by Fug on Mon., Sep 26, 2005 at 11:20 AMBillingsley's rhetoric is not supported by the facts, his low opinion of African Americans notwithstanding. There were no "riots" in New Orleans, only scores of scared people begging for help. The widespread reports of mayhem in the Superdome have now been discredited as the facts have emerged. That Billingsley has no regard for those less fortunate than himself, and would dare make a blanket statement about Black people relying on government checks is evidence of his lack of humanity and his willingness to overlook certain inconvenient facts to make his case for self-hatred and racist politics, operating under the guise of conservatism. Never thought I would wax nostalgic for the days when such drivel came from white supremacists rather than "negro intellectuals" of Billingsley's ilk. Fuck him.
Posted by Brownie D. Light on Wed., Sep 28, 2005 at 9:43 AM
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