Do You Give or DoYou Take?
Hurricane Katrina slapped America in the face and drew blood and death. That’s not the worst of it though. The mean weather lady unleashed immoral conduct in New Orleans too. I have watched the news and was saddened by what came out of the storm. Yes, homes were destroyed, families uprooted, and businesses demolished. All of that can be replaced. What can’t be restored is trust in the Black residents of New Orleans.
The news showed the rest of America and the world, the mind set of some residents in New Orleans. I saw people become thieves. Yes, you heard me, thieves. Cameras reveled stores being looted by people with no where to go with the stolen goods. What bothered me the most was each face in front of the cameras was Black. The faces of law enforcement were present also.
Now explain to me why instead of looking for housing and safety, Blacks in New Orleans went searching for material goods. Where in God’s name are they going to put them? They have no homes. They have no food. They have no transportation. What are they going to do with stolen goods? Sell them, to whom?
I realize that when Mother Nature and her children decided to play we can’t control where the playground was built. But we can control how we respond to it. Looting is not a response. It is a reaction. What hurts me the most is the reaction is coming mostly from Blacks. Instead of concentrating on retrieving, rebuilding, and reinventing, the Blacks in New Orleans are focusing on taking.
Personally, I have lived through one horrific tornado and one terrible riot, both in the sixties. Both times I watched looters take what didn’t belong to them. Each time I was amazed, amazed that it never occurs to looters that they are not gaining, but losing all around. Don’t they realize that the cost of the storm and all following reactions is going to be paid by them? What New Orleans residents normally can’t afford to buy and must steal, they won’t be able to keep later. Why? There are no closets to hang clothes. There is no electricity to plug in a TV. There are no shelves to stack can goods on. There are no hot spots to show off the bling bling. Open your eyes. Look around. New Orleans today isn’t what it was last week. Never will be again.
If all of the residents, Blacks included, don’t immediately start looking for ways to repair the city and it’s neighborhoods, it will become just a page in history books. Hurricane Katrina has done the damage. It’s time now for Blacks in New Orleans to start fixing what is broken, not adding to what Katrina started. But then, I only see what happened, I don’t live there. Thank you Jesus.
The news showed the rest of America and the world, the mind set of some residents in New Orleans. I saw people become thieves. Yes, you heard me, thieves. Cameras reveled stores being looted by people with no where to go with the stolen goods. What bothered me the most was each face in front of the cameras was Black. The faces of law enforcement were present also.
Now explain to me why instead of looking for housing and safety, Blacks in New Orleans went searching for material goods. Where in God’s name are they going to put them? They have no homes. They have no food. They have no transportation. What are they going to do with stolen goods? Sell them, to whom?
I realize that when Mother Nature and her children decided to play we can’t control where the playground was built. But we can control how we respond to it. Looting is not a response. It is a reaction. What hurts me the most is the reaction is coming mostly from Blacks. Instead of concentrating on retrieving, rebuilding, and reinventing, the Blacks in New Orleans are focusing on taking.
Personally, I have lived through one horrific tornado and one terrible riot, both in the sixties. Both times I watched looters take what didn’t belong to them. Each time I was amazed, amazed that it never occurs to looters that they are not gaining, but losing all around. Don’t they realize that the cost of the storm and all following reactions is going to be paid by them? What New Orleans residents normally can’t afford to buy and must steal, they won’t be able to keep later. Why? There are no closets to hang clothes. There is no electricity to plug in a TV. There are no shelves to stack can goods on. There are no hot spots to show off the bling bling. Open your eyes. Look around. New Orleans today isn’t what it was last week. Never will be again.
If all of the residents, Blacks included, don’t immediately start looking for ways to repair the city and it’s neighborhoods, it will become just a page in history books. Hurricane Katrina has done the damage. It’s time now for Blacks in New Orleans to start fixing what is broken, not adding to what Katrina started. But then, I only see what happened, I don’t live there. Thank you Jesus.
posted by Sylvia McClain at 5:53 AM
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