Cops vs. Hispanic vs. Black vs. White in New Orleans

When things go wrong, they REALLY go wrong! In New Orleans, we witnessed law and order breaking down. Now we get word that two New Orleans cops repeatedly punched a 64-year-old man accused of public intoxication, and another city officer assaulted an Associated Press Television News producer as a cameraman taped the confrontations. Then we have allegations that New Orleans coppers stole Cadillacs from a dealer as Hurricane Katrina closed in. AND one of the 73 people listed as victims of Hurricane Katrina was actually shot by police. Michelle Malkin is following all of the above...

Mayor Ray Nagin has repeatedly said the people of New Orleans should be involved in its rebuilding but many of those engaged in the huge cleanup and reconstruction effort--- nobody has an exact count--- are immigrants, both legal and illegal, from Mexico and Central America.
Meanwhile, as many as 80,000 New Orleanians sit idle in shelters around the country. They are out of work, homeless and destitute. More from Who's Cleaning Up New Orleans?

Hurricane Katrina thrust racial disparities onto the nation's political agenda and top civil rights leaders, fueled by outrage over the disaster, are heading to Washington. The occasion is the 10th anniversary of Louis Farrakhan's Million Man March, a long-planned event that now is shaping up as a stage for black America to respond to the devastation in New Orleans.

Charles Bird at RedState.org says "Plenty of blame has been placed at the feet of the Bush administration for its slow and bureaucratic responses to Hurricane Katrina, and rightly so. But what I don't see is how the response was racist, and the comments alleging such by African American leaders, elected and otherwise, is both galling and dishonest." More: The Race Card and the Damage Done and see also Stop the Racist Blame Game, where the point is raised "...If you grew up in America, attended public schools, and learned basic math and basic reading and writing skills, and are still ‘dirt poor’ there was/is a problem with your basic life plan. You know, maybe snorting cocaine or trying crystal, or that double felony on your record that shows up on background checks when seeking employment has screwed you. You know what? Tough. YOU messed up, not the people who did better than you..." Amen to that! One thing is certain: The Big Easy is a big MESS!

Divisiveness over New Orleans is not confined to the South: it's here in the Capital Region as well! A letter published Friday, September 23, 2005 in the Albany Times Union caused quite a stir. A woman by the name of Hilda Rothschild, in a letter to the editor, went on an anti-Palestinian rant:
"...While Muslims are rejoicing and praising Allah for the Katrina disaster as a punishment to America for its friendship with Israel and invasion of Iraq, Israel has sent a team of doctors, medical supplies, water and other rations, plus volunteer divers who are entering the poisonous floodwaters of New Orleans..."

A reader from Latham responded: At this time of crisis, our media should emphasize unity and patriotism and not print articles that would produce strife among people...I am sure you get enough quality letters. Maybe, for a change, you should pay more attention to our character and moral values, brotherhood and unity.

Also responding last week was Noura Badawi, who was a guest on the Capital Region People radio program almost one year ago... (below is Noura's entire letter: don't be surprised if the links above go dead within a few days)

Hilda Rothschild's Sept. 23 letter was not only extremely offensive, but also completely inaccurate.

Muslims are absolutely not rejoicing at the Katrina disaster. In fact, Muslims in the United States and worldwide have donated their time, money (thousands have been raised in the Capital Region alone and millions nationwide) and resources to help the victims, and continue to do so. Every human life is precious, and not just the Muslims who were killed in this tragedy.

To paint all 1.5 billion Muslims as "praising Allah" for the death of thousands of Americans, including American Muslims, is shameful hate-mongering and should not be tolerated by anyone who is serious about working toward peace.


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