Quote:
Originally Posted by neorealist
your A and B are the same thing. I don't think that is the reason why they moved back. I think they haven't moved back b/c these poor people don't have the money too...they can't even build their own place back. They simple dwell where ever the hand out is. I will say that it would very convenient for a political party if the caused a diaspora of the opponents voting base.
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Reading back on my last remarks to you, I do think it is the same thing in a way. Sometimes, I write too fast for my thoughts.
Otherwise, I agree with you. But, the only thing I would add is that the history of Louisiana (and especially New Orleans) has always been predicated on race (from the Quadroon Balls to the Plantations and the "parishes"). And, money is not forthcoming partly because of that reason.
Especially pay attention to how quickly things began to move in San Diego. Now, do you think anyone would have anything to complain about if they moved half as quickly in New Orleans?
Things are still not off the ground there except for a few houses. Even the help organizations are running out of money in that neck of the woods.
Otherwise, in the "hills" of California, money is something the folks who have their houses burned down have. And as a result of their "importance", having money brings more power into the fold because people "care" if you have money.
(Now that, I will say, is a "classist" take on this)
But racially, I think this also has to do with who it is in trouble. I seriously doubt that any government agency is going to send rich (white) people into a stadium like the Superdome without food, water or air conditioning.
I also doubt that any agency is going to leave a rich (white) person to die on top of their roof without help for three days--especially if the media has a camera on them.
It comes down to what Henry Giroux had written about when discussing the issue of what happened during Hurricane Katrina: the politics of disposability.
What we were dealing with in NO was "disposable people" that did not reflect the "image" that society was trying to promote about America.
And the folks who had their houses burned up in the wildfires were considered "traditional" Americans. And therefore, they weren't treated as "disposable human beings".
I think there is a difference here.