Who Killed New Orleans?

Who's responsible?

Nobody is responsible for the hurricane, but after that, those who bear primary responsibility, frankly, are the people of New Orleans.

They were told to leave. Those who did not were taking responsibility for their own safety. An honourable decision, but it is hypocritical to blame any government now.

After that, those responsible are the mayor and city administration of New Orleans. The defense of New Orleans was the responsibility of New Orleans. They were not prepared, seemingly did nothing, and they dissolved into chaos once the hurricane hit. Reputedly at least 200 NOPD police just disappeared during the crisis; headed for the hills. Others were according to some reports busy looting. The constables on the ground were cut off; there was no command and control. School buses and city buses were photographed after he flood all lined up in a row, flooded, never mobilized for the evacuation. The city seems to have done nothing.

Compare what happened in New York City after 9/11: the firemen rushing into the burning buildings.

After that, responsibility lies with the state government. The National Guard was late in coming? That was the state’s responsibility. Moreover, we hear the governor dithered for 24 hours before agreeing to federal plans for sending in aid, for fear of yielding power.

Compare what happened in next-door Mississippi, harder hit by Katrina than Louisiana. Was there a comparable breakdown of order?

But as soons as the feds arrived, things started to improve quickly.

So how does anyone get off blaming the feds?

A Louisiana senator, Mary Landrieu, threatens on TV to break President Bush’s arm. (Run that one in your head with a man similarly threatening a woman, right on TV, and see if you don’t also see an image of him behind prison bars. Physically threatening the President of the US is also, separately, a federal offense. Is she going to be charged?)

Louisiana politics has long been a cesspool. These Louisiana senators are following a time-honoured tradition of corrupt Third World dictatorships: to distract blame, scapegoat the outsider. Blame the US. Blame unnamed multinational corporations. Blame the Jews. Blame colonial powers who left fifty years ago.

Louisiana: colourful, cheap, oil-rich yet dirt poor. Welcome to the Third World.