Racism in New Orleans Fails the Logic Test

By: Steve Yuhas

UCLA professor Michael Stoll posits that there is a relationship about where poor people live and their level of poverty.  Pressed by DeWayne Wickham of USA Today, Stoll went further and told Wickham, "If you press me, I have to say that race played more of a role in how fast [the federal government acted]."  Wickham agreed.

It may be true at the state and local level that the response was slow, but at the federal level President Bush used his authority to declare disaster zones before Katrina even hit - an unusual circumstance to be sure.  Using this logic the federal response to Katrina was racist against the white and Hispanic populations in Florida who were never offered such a luxury even after four storms traversed that state in a six week period last year.

The federal government responded to Katrina at the same pace that they responded to other major hurricanes – including devastating storms like Andrew.  The only difference in destruction was that the building could be seen flattened by the storm instead of flooded by a broken levee system that has needed upgrading for a century.

Most structures made it through the storm in New Orleans as the strongest part of the hurricane hit the Mississippi coastline and until the levee broke the people of New Orleans believed that they dodged nature’s bullet once more.

Since information about federal response time during other storms came out and made the argument about timing disingenuous, some have turned to the age old dictum that because poverty exists; racism must follow.  Seldom do the people who use this logic make sense, but let’s use it for argument sake.

Trillions of dollars have been spent trying to make poor people realize the American dream and for some reason they simply cannot do it.  It could be that there are people who are meant to be poor; either from lack of trying or choosing not to work harder.  I say this not to be cruel, but there are many programs in place for anyone who wants to live a better life through education or vocational training, but it is easier to relegate yourself a ward of the state than it is to complete training.

For all of the money spent to help the people of New Orleans, almost 70% black and about 84% of those blacks poor, they remain at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder – why?  Surely nobody believes it is because the government is racist since the government responsible for these people is selected by them and are just as black and many started just as poor as those they represent.  What is it about the black people in New Orleans that keep them poor and dependent on government?

It could be the comfort that comes from knowing, before the storm, that no matter the need that government would provide.  The good news is that it took the flooding of New Orleans for people to realize that being adult wards of the state of Louisiana is not as beneficial to your welfare as being a ward of the American dream.

When a natural disaster strikes – it hits everyone; people with means find a way out and some poor people do too.  Unfortunately, too many poor people live under the false impression that government will solve all problems and provide them everything they need.  Many of them learned the hard way that it is simply not the case. 

This begs the question to those who believe racism is at fault for the response after Katrina: if some poor blacks made it out of New Orleans before the flood could it be that those who stayed behind did so by their own devices and only went to the Super Dome when they finally realized that riding out the storm in the family home below sea level was not the smartest thing to do? 

While there may have been some people genuinely stuck – those people became wards of the state and the city long ago and have never been the responsibility of every American across the rest of the nation.

Pictures from the Super Dome were interesting: while some searched for shelter or a bus out of town others tried to get cell phone reception while smoking cigarettes.  Poverty has an interesting way of discriminating when the poor can afford a cell phone and smokes, but cannot afford a bus ticket out of town when a major hurricane bears down. 

The cost of a bus ticket from New Orleans to Baton Rouge was about $34 – are people to believe that the poor could afford necessities like cigarettes and cell phones, but not the $34 bus ticket to remove themselves from the danger of New Orleans?

Stoll’s paper will put forward that poor people are relegated to certain areas based on their poverty, but the same holds true for every income group: poor people live in the least desirable areas of cities because they do not have the money to move to the suburbs; that is not racism – it is the reality of being poor.  Middle class people moving up the ladder of the American dream seek out the cheapest home in the best neighborhood so that they can have a taste of the good life and even the wealthy of Beverly Hills have a pecking order of above Sunset Boulevard being more desirable than below it.

Those who are intellectually honest will find that race played little role in any federal rescue of the people of New Orleans, but poverty did and by and until the poor realize that they are wards of the state in which they live and until it becomes uncomfortable to depend on government they will continue to be the last in the pecking order when it comes to rescue.

To agree with Stoll is to ignore the fact that some poor black people got out and those that did not had with them things that would have paid for their bus ticket.  Still worse are the stories of a black mayor moving to Dallas and black Congressman being given special treatment while people were still suffering – why are they not being held to account: is it racism?

It should be evident now that making almost an entire city demographic dependent on the state has been wrong from the start and frankly the finger of blame should be pointed first at the local level and then to the state who made adult men and women wards of the state.  Only after those inquiries are exhausted should the investigation move to the federal level because but for the federal government and federal troops thousands of people would have died as the mayor moved to Texas (only to return for photo ops with the President) and the Governor turned to tears to garner sympathy with the voters she depends on being destitute to be re-elected.

The fault of the people who stayed is their own as poverty has become fashionable instead of shameful in many parts of the south.  Then again, poverty isn’t what it used to be since the poor can somehow afford cigarettes and cell phones, but not a bus ticket out of town as a hurricane approaches. 

What an irony – when given the choice they bought smokes and paid for cell minutes in their hour of need then blame the federal government for failing them and the federal government and the state would rather coddle them then place the blame where it belongs – with the individuals who made bad choices all through their lives.

Steve Yuhas is a columnist and radio talk show host on KOGO AM 600 based in San Diego.  He may be reached at steve@steveyuhas.com or www.steveyuhas.com