Comments on: Ugly

By: karretz

karretz — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 17:02:46 +0000

First, I want to say something about Andy’s comments because they say so much about New Orleans and the black maids, gardeners, etc who worked for white New Orleanians for so many years and were so goddam grateful to have the jobs. Andy, you may think that maid was a part of your family, but she wasn’t. She was a person of equal stature to you, with her own life, and because she was financially beholden to you, you just didn’t even see it. This condescending attitude went on all over town.
Those gardeners and maids went on to become parents who couldn’t help but pass on those attitudes, and the distrust just continues….
A couple of examples: I went to junior high in the seventies in Algiers. Karr was “integrated.” It had tracking to separate the students in to categories. There were three white kid tracks based on ability, and then there was the black track, based on the fact that you were black. Don’t you think those black kids knew what was going on? They are parents and grandparents now. this is the legacy they share with their children. And, I’m ashamed to admit it, but my brother and his friends would throw pennies at the groups of black kids in the cafeteria to see if they would pick them up. These kids were so dirt poor that when they thought my brother wasn’t looking, thet would scramble to pick them up. (And when it came time to take to test to qualify to go to Benjamin Franklin High School, the black track didn’t even take it.)
Here’s another: My father belonged to the New Orleans Country Club, where there were many black gentlemen employed to do the countryclub members every bidding. In the locker room they acted like butlers,handing out fresh towels, laying out their clothes….A friend or my father’s pointed to one of the workers and then said to my father, “He does a good job. I’d like to have him as my slave.” This is the legacy this man brings to his family.
And I could go on and on….And I’m sure every black man and woman in NOLA could list five times as many instances as I could. I think as a result of past (and some present) behavior, you’re gonna get some black racism, you’re gonna get some people with chips on their shoulders. I guess all you can do is carry on until some time goes by and this collective memory becomes a part of New Orleans history.

By: M.A.D.

M.A.D. — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 12:47:53 +0000

Minor clarification from a Bloomington, IN, native in response to Andy’s comment. Bloomington natives were never referred to as cutters. They were referred to as stonies. Not because of bong hits, but because of the limestone industry. The natives of Bedford, IN, (half and hour south of Bloomington) were referred to as cutters. The confusion comes from the movie Breaking Away, a movie about class struggle that focuses on four Bloomington native kids. It was decided that the derogatory name for these kids would be cutters instead of stonies because of the natural tendency to associate pot with stonies.

Bloomington doesn’t have much of a visible “you ain’t from around here” attitude. With Indiana University and all the out-of-town students that come here plus all the folk who have moved here to retire, a suprisingly large percentage of our population ain’t from around here. Now, you don’t have to travel too far from Bloomington to find that attitude. Just a few miles down the road, you have Bloomfield where if you weren’t born and raised there, you’ll never be a local.

A few years ago, I was in a bar in Crawfordsville, IN. Ain’t very many blacks in Crawfordsville. This was a small, all-white redneck bar where the locals who all knew each other tolerated the few kid who’d stagger in from Wabash College. I was in town for a wedding and the bachelor party stopped in for a beer or six. And older guy drinking beer at the bar leaned back and asked, rhetorically I assumed, “Are there any niggers in here?” Me and my buddies went silent and looked around the room. We couldn’t believe what we’d heard. Apearantly, his name was Nick and everyone else in the bar knew him. He walked over to our table and told us some racist joke that didn’t make any sense. We didn’t know what to do, so we chugged our beers and left. The memory sticks in my mind. It just didn’t make sense.

By: Jeremy Rich

Jeremy Rich — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 17:39:16 +0000

Hi B -

This is Jeremy Rich writing you live and direct from Lastourville, Gabon, a small town in central Africa. It kind of kills me that the same attitude your amie gave you is the sale I get from French expats trying to lay down the line about Africans here.

By: Jon Konrath

Jon Konrath — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 01:19:06 +0000

I’m not sure I’ve ever lived anywhere that didn’t have the “if you weren’t born here, then go fuck yourself” attitude. In Bloomington, the townies hated the students; in Seattle, the locals hated the incoming Californians; here in Denver, there’s this whole native versus import thing. New York city was strange in that the people who gave you the “New York is the best city in the entire world and if you don’t agree, you can eat shit” attitude were usually the ones who weren’t born there. I was in Alaska last year, and they are also not keen on out-of-towners settling down there. I’m sure every major metro area in the US has the same type of attitude to a certain degree.

This, of course, screws me, because I was born in North Dakota, and the only problems that entitle me to fully understand are the fact that winter temps are about 150 degrees colder than the current temperature, and maybe something about Chuck Klosterman’s books.

By: Sandi

Sandi — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 20:48:45 +0000

I am that birthday girl on many levels - but with one very large exception. I’ve allowed my children to re-educate me in this new world of a melting pot. I’ve rebuilt my home in Lakeview - I was the first class integrated during my school days in the 60’s - I raised my children in private schools, segregated from any world ills. I did however, allow them to be their own persons and not judge people by their color but rather by their character.
I do notice a very angry young population among the black community and most treat me with anger or totally ignore my existance. I depend on my children “to pump me up” when I get down dealing with the young population in the marketplace.
I feel the racist attitude is manifested mostly by the black community and instead of wanting special treatment, should want to be treated as an equal and not someone who needs the bar lowered. Parents - Preachers and Teachers should ban together and encourage everyone to be the best they can be and stop depending on others to take care of them.

By: bullet

bullet — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 18:03:13 +0000

Regardless of who was elected by whom, the elections since Katrina do not provide a good measuring stick. New circumstances and complications skewed these elections. The practices to which I was referring have been going on for as long as I can remember.

I left the city when I graduated high school. I was absolutely fed up. I HATED this city. I was away for 10 years, and I missed her almost every day. This place has a lot of problems, but it always was and always will be home, because New Orleans chooses you. I’ve always believed that, but it became extremely apparent after the storm. So it doesn’t matter where you were born or where you grew up, if she’s inside you, there’s nothing you can do.

Having said that, I will always go with the native over the latecomer. Growing up here imparts experience and understanding of the complicated workings of the city and relationships between the people that others are slow to pick up on and sometimes never understand, not to mention the relationship of the city to the state, the city and state to the rest of the country. Hell, if you didn’t grow up a Saints fan, there are certain things that you will NEVER fully understand. You just can’t.

I think a lot of people fear progress and change because we are so different and don’t ever want to be the same. It’s easy to use that fear to dismiss non-natives and their ideas. The city has always been a day late and a dollar short and we have to fix the problems that have been around for decades, the attitudes of defeat, the “woe is us” and “they don’t understand.” No they don’t. But so what?

I was at the Police concert and some women (out-of-towners) were complaining about the lack of common sense in the setup of the bar (which, honestly, was ridiculous. You’d think we have enough experience at slinging drinks that it wouldn’t take half an hour to get a damn dacqueri). I said to them. “This is where common sense comes to die.” My wife said later, “You really shouldn’t say things like that anymore. They won’t understand what you mean and it makes us look stupid.” We’re no longer devil-may-care, laid back and relaxed, a quirky side show distraction. To the rest of the country, we’re now idiots.

I honestly don’t remember where I was going with this. I think it was something along the lines of:

You’re right Bart, the bitch was out of line on so many levels. But the attitude that is ingrained in those of us who grew up here is something difficult to understand and even more difficult to overcome. Bless you for your attempts and your successes. We need more people like you. But I bet in the years ahead you’ll catch yourself saying, “You weren’t here for Katrina. You just don’t understand.”

Shit, I’m long winded. Sorry about that.

By: Ray M

Ray M — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 17:22:39 +0000

It’s certainly true that Jefferson would have won even with the vote in his district’s portion of Orleans Parish. He carried it with a 51 to 49 vote over Carter. By contrast, he carried the district’s Jefferson Parish precincts by a 71 to 29 percent margin.

By: Courreges

Courreges — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 15:30:46 +0000

David,

You say:

“It’s not the black vote that got Jefferson re-elected; it’s his white, conservative constituents in Jefferson Parish, following Harry Lee’s lead. Similarly, it’s not the black vote that got Nagin re-elected; it’s the moneyed, white conservatives following Republican Ron Couhig’s lead.”

This is utter nonsense. The white Republican vote in New Orleans and Jefferson’s district is a very small percentage of the electorate. For better or worse, the primary reason both Nagin and Jefferson were re-elected was the black Democratic vote. You’re basically blaming a tenth of the electorate for the people who are elected. It’s lame scapegoating and you know it.

Moreover, I there weren’t enough voters in district two within Jefferson Parish to impact Congressman Jefferson’s victory. Carter would have lost with or without the Jefferson Parish vote.

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 15:02:32 +0000

This is a very interesting subject and I am amazed at the civility that has characterized these comments. I’m going to try to carefully choose my words and hope that I am not misunderstood.
I do agree that racism is rampant in New Orleans and I try to see both sides of the issue but as a white person growing up in the city and living there for 29 years I have repeatedly been subjected to racism because I am white. It happens all the time at food establishments, grocery stores, clothing stores, sporting events, you name it. It was the worst when I lived on the West Bank. Several years ago I worked with a guy who grew up in the Bronx. He was the same age as me, I’m now 35 and was 28 at the time, and we would all agree that the Bronx has a fairly broad racial mix. He told me that after living in New Orleans for several years he had become a racist. I asked him why and his response was “The black people here are different. They seem to really hate white people and have some sense of entitlement. A thing that really bothers me is that they all seem to think it’s OK.” I have to agree with him. I have never been treated this way in other places in the country.
I agree that it’s wrong but I also agree that black political and community leaders tend to use it to advance their own agendas and it’s never acknowledged by the local media. People are quick to place blame when white people are being racist nut never when black people are acting the same way and in New Orleans it’s accepted because if you speak out against you are suddenly branded a racist. A prime example is when Eddie Jordan became the District Attorney and fired a mostly white staff and replaced them with a mostly white staff. He was later found guilty of dismissing those employees without cause be he was never branded a racist. He also aggressively pursued Edwin Edwards, who we all agree was guilty, but never went after Cleo Fields who was just as guilty. There was no outcry from the community. These are just a few examples of how racism is allowed to happen in the open in New Orleans and until people of all races are condemned for it, it is unlikely that it will stop.

By: Tony

Tony — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 07:41:40 +0000

This is all a good exchange of ideas and opinions. I’m amazed at some of what I’ve read especially something about an African-American house servant in some earlier post. David’s comments in contrast are quite spot on and succintly stated.

I left New Orleans quite recently to pursue a career opportunity but inadvertently also to take a step back from New Orleans for a little while. The cauldron of bad vibes, unrest, and political knavery instilled in me a dread about the city I love. This mixed gumbo of comments about racism and class is a prime example of the chaotic drivel that drove me out of New Orleans in the first place. Racism is evil pure and simple. There is no justification for it. I don’t care how long you’ve lived in New Orleans.