Goodbye, New Orleans
Originally uploaded by dannyman.
Such a beautiful and fascinating city, and now it’s become this. I have spent a lot of time in New Orleans over the years — my college boyfriend and my aunt and uncle are from Baton Rouge. If I hadn’t gotten my placement in Memphis, Orleans Parrish was my next choice for internship sites. My ex-husband was bringing his cats to reside with his current S.O. because he’s heading off to Dublin, Ireland for a one-year position. He and his cats were evacuated. His S.O. had just moved all of her stuff to the city to begin a tenure-track position at the University of New Orleans. Now she is homeless, and academics are the furthest thing from anyone’s mind. The current anarchic situation is breaking my heart. Many of the people living in the city were already living in generational poverty, much like many of the people of Memphis with whom I worked this year. It was already a desperate place, and without the basic necessities of shelter, food, water, and sanitation, aggression and paranoia were sure to set in. The responses of people looking in from the outside will no doubt be disgust at the behavior of these people, but many had been given up on long ago. If only Bush hadn’t already spent all the money elsewhere.
Goodbye, New Orleans
EJ’s Car is Important. Katrina Relief is More Important.
EJ is a good man. He’s got a busted car in his driveway, and he was raising money to fix it. Instead of fixing his car, he’s asking that donations be made towards Katrina Relief. Please help.
