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Getting On : All My Politics
One year later... | from Ex-member - Tuesday, September 05, 2006
accessed 1049 times So it's been a year since Katrina, a year since I donated my entire rent to a radio station's fundraiser for Katrina victims (this DJ stayed on the air for like 3 days straight playing any random request for any donation. I think they got like $200,000) thinking they needed it more than I did and I still had a week to make it back, I never did, had to invoke that Credit Card insurance thing where they pay your finance charges for a few months till you get back on your feet.
We were all gung-ho about helping here in Houston, every grocery store had donation tents taking up half the parking lot, people were missing work to help out and massive amounts of money were donated--private money, that is. Then the Rita scare happened and our narrow escape only brought the disaster closer to our hearts and we gave even more.
A year later, our murder rate has tripled with 100% of the victims and murderers being Katrina "refugees," and the kidnapping, carjacking and theft suspects are overwhelmingly able bodied men and women still living in expensive apartment complexes I couldn't afford for free. My former classmates at college are studying online so they can cash in on the money to be made in rebuilding New Orleans and my student grants are on hold till all the Katrina victims get processed ahead of me and the situation of FEMA cards being used to buy luxury items....NOT and "urban legend." I was the cashier ringing them up and see them in the stores to this day.
I don't mind helping those in need, I'm just not sure ALL of these people are, in fact, "in need" so much as "in sloth." I know there was some heated debate on this topic last year but a lot of you don't live in the Gulf Coast region so I don't think you understand.
Allow me to reiterate; I live in Houston, and shop at the Galleria mall. These people have been my neighbors for a year and I have seen my city worsen for it.
Alright, have at me... |
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Reader's comments on this article Add a new comment on this article |  from Removed
Friday, September 15, 2006 - 01:57
(Agree/Disagree?)
[Removed at author's request]
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| from Phoenixkidd
Thursday, September 07, 2006 - 10:33
 (Agree/Disagree?)
I think it was a little "Nutty" of you to donate your entire rent to Katrina victims--sorry but they don't deserve any help from us. Everyone knows New Orleans is a sinkhole of blight, with poor, ignorant and unmoral people. Sorry I know I am generalizing but that's how I feel.
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| | | |  From Ex-member
Friday, September 08, 2006, 08:32
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Maybe you didn't read very carefully, this was a year ago...as in before we knew how they were going to act. I didn't have time to donate but I had cash (ah, the days...) and Houston is where the first big wave of'm landed (and, unfortunately, stayed). The enitre city was consumed with helping these "poor victims." Like I said, you get in your car and there is a DJ on his 3rd straight day of broadcasting to raise funds, The car in front of you is piled to the roof with clothes etc. with LA plates, you get to the store and half the parking lot is covered by a tent with tables strewn about and HEB employees sorting donated goods...we still liked them then.
Course in hindsight, I'd have to agree with you; it was a foolish thing to do....it hurts to think of all the good alcohol I could have bought with $1100!!! Aghhhh!!!!!! :( (weeps with tongues...)(reply to this comment) |
| | | | | From Nick
Thursday, September 07, 2006, 14:51
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Your right on!
I mean look at what happens in the rest of the world when there is a catastrophe. Did you see people in Thailand shooting at the rescue choppers? Or killing loan police officers? Or raping and murdering their own people in their shelters??
No, you saw them coming together as a community to help each other not fight each other.
The only time Katrina people came together was to get free FEMA cards to buy booze.
Only In NewOrleans!
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| | from Nick
Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 09:12
 (Agree/Disagree?)
It's been one year since my city of Houston opened our homes, hearts and wallets to the 200,000 refugees from Katrina.
Lets take a look at how they have repaid us for our generous efforts to help them get back on their feet.
*Houston has spent $37.5 million in additional police presence, prosecutors and jails to keep them in line
*They have contributed to 17.5 % of Houston’s murder rate this year. We are talking about maybe 50,000 out of Houston’s 2,000,000 being responsible for 17.5% of Houston’s murders!
*They refuse to get jobs and continue to try milk the system for a free ride. We are talking about healthy men and women that are very capable of working yet they refuse to do so. I mean if you want to work why don’t you go back to NO and rebuild your own city.
*Brought down home values and added huge security costs to the owners of the appt complexes that they stay in and can not get evicted from because they are suing to stay there for free for another year.
I for one have had enough and suggest we fill up those same busses that brought them here and ship em all back home to their “chocolate city” where they can go back to mooching of their own Wonderful State of LA.
You Think I am making that all up? Here ya go...
http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?page=article&Article_ID=10905
http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/gen/ap/TX_Katrina_Crime.html
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1581104/posts
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4795899.stm
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| From Sad Panda
Monday, September 18, 2006, 19:24
(Agree/Disagree?)
Chocolate City? Am I missing something, or is that a racial slur? Also, when you said that the only time Katrina people came together was to buy booze? Do you really believe that? I know you don't. I know you are very intelligent and have let the frustration of these hard times get the better of you. When you make statements like that, you degrade us all. You degrade the good people who didn't shoot at rescue helicopters, didn't rape their neighbors, but rather, devoted their time and money to trying to rebuild their shattered lives and the lives of their neighbors. Sure there are some really bad cats in NO, but you just wrote them all off. Also, you degrade yourself. Ignorance is a lot easier isn't it? When you make generalizations, you are just as ignorant as the people who've driven you to this resort. That makes me a sad panda. (reply to this comment) |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | From solution to N-Awlins
Monday, September 18, 2006, 18:49
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I have to agree. Everybody I know who's been to New Orleans has said it was a rotting, stinky place from trash piled up on sidewalks with lots of crime. I guess what it had going for it was tourists could drink and flash in public without fear of being jailed like in the rest of this uptight country. I thought Houston was stupid to take them then, and I think the same now -- I guess their laid-back culture translates to "I'm not rich, nver gonna get rich, so why work? Let's just go rob a tourist and then go over and wait for a handout".
That said, there are good, honest people in New Orleans and they can pretty much be classified by zip-code. You really should have just taken the people who lost a job in the storm and had a trade, people who wouldn't start looking for a car to jack the minute they got off the bus -- all those others in the 9th ward & such wouldn't have noticed the difference if their rat and garbage-infested crack-houses now have some floodwater mold -- just be sure their crack and welfare checks keep coming.
But I have a suggestion for Houston, Texas' got lots of land out west -- just truck all the 9th warders down to some deserted town and let them start 9th ward again.
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| | from Amen
Tuesday, September 05, 2006 - 16:34
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Get your gunn!
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| from loch
Tuesday, September 05, 2006 - 15:01
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When people first started blaming the crime rate rise on the refugees, all I thought was that they were being paranoid, and slightly stuck up.
All I can say right now, is that the people who I have come to know who are from New Orleans, have no pity for their own. In fact they are frustrated and angered by the many from their home town who have always been willing to live off welfare, and are now sucking this tragedy dry.
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