Police Trapped Thousands in New Orleans
As the situation grew steadily worse in New Orleans last week, you might have wondered why people didn't just leave on foot. The Louisiana Superdome is less than two miles from a bridge that leads over the Mississippi River out of the city.
The answer: Any crowd that tried to do so was met by suburban police, some of whom fired guns to disperse the group and seized their water.
Around 500 people stuck in downtown New Orleans after the storm banded together for self-preservation, making sure the oldest and youngest among them were taken care of before looking after their own needs.
Two San Francisco paramedics who were staying in the French Quarter for a convention have written a first-hand account that describes their appalling treatment at the hands of Louisiana police, a story confirmed today by the San Francisco Chronicle, UPI, and St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
When buses charted by the group to escape New Orleans never showed up, they camped out beside a police command center on Canal Street, believing it was the best place to get aid, protection, and information. They were told they could not stay there and should leave the city on foot over Highway 90, which crosses the Mississippi River from New Orleans to the suburb of Gretna, a city of 17,500 people.
Running out of food and water, they walked to the bridge, growing in number to around 800 people as word spread of a safe way out:
As we approached the bridge, armed Gretna sheriffs formed a line across the
foot of the bridge. Before we were close enough to speak, they began firing
their weapons over our heads. This sent the crowd fleeing in various
directions. As the crowd scattered and dissipated, a few of us inched forward and
managed to engage some of the sheriffs in conversation. We told them of our
conversation with the police commander and of the commander's assurances. The
sheriffs informed us there were no buses waiting. The commander had lied to us to
get us to move.
We questioned why we couldn't cross the bridge anyway, especially as there
was little traffic on the 6-lane highway. They responded that the West Bank was
not going to become New Orleans and there would be no Superdomes in their
City.
In an interview with UPI, Gretna Police Chief Arthur Lawson confirmed that his department shut down the bridge to pedestrians: "If we had opened the bridge, our city would have looked like New Orleans does now: looted, burned and pillaged."
The increasingly desperate group set up camp on the New Orleans side of the bridge, where they were seen by several media outlets, until they were chased off at gunpoint by Gretna police:
Reduced to a small group of 8 people, in the dark, we sought refuge
in an abandoned school bus, under the freeway on Cilo Street. We were hiding
from possible criminal elements but equally and definitely, we were hiding from
the police and sheriffs with their martial law, curfew and shoot-to-kill
policies.
The paramedics believe that race played a factor in the decision to block evacuees on foot. Gretna's population is 56 percent white and 36 percent black, according to the 2000 U.S. Census.
Comments
Who sent your husband to Gretna, Dawn?
The most depressing thing about your comments is that the kind of people who live in Gretna, and were protected by those police, are no different than 99.9 percent of the people who were chased off the bridge at gunpoint. If you lament the crimes committed against helpless people in the Superdome, you should be outraged that those same innocents were blocked from leaving New Orleans.
Impeach George W. Bush -- A Call to All Blogs and Activists!
The time has come. It's time to stay on point. The blogs need to unite around a rallying cry of "IMPEACH BUSH." As of this post, the term "impeach bush" is the third most popular search term at Technocrati.
President Bush has totally and utterly failed the American people. Almost every day we are presented with further proof why he should not be our president. From 9/11, to WMDs, to Iraq, to Katrina-- the reasons are many and obvious. We need to impeach him NOW.
The only point that should be discussed is-- "IMPEACH BUSH NOW!" We need to pound this point over and over again. It should be mentioned wherever possible, and it should not stop until the mainstream media and all politicans realize that we, the people, will not stand for gross negligence, willful and wanton misconduct, nor the utter lies, any longer.
Send an email (prideof55@myway.com) once you are on board and you will be added to the ON BOARD list
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http://
impeachbushcoalition.blogspot.
com
www.afterdowningstreet.org
Note: Impeach Bush was the #1 searched phrase on Technocrati.com
for three days straight.
FEMA "DISAPPEARING" BODIES IN NOLA?
Skeletons (Real Ones) in Bush's Closet
There are some very troubling developments regarding the collecting of
bodies in NOLA. The company hired to do the collection is Kenyon
International. Kenyon International is owned by SCI, a major Bush
contributor. SCI was involved in a scandal called "Funeralgate" wherein
thousands of
bodies were improperly and fraudulently disposed of in mass graves of in
violation of numerous State and Federal laws on numreous occasions. Rather
than prosecute the company, the then Governor George W Bush and and his
campaign manager and future FEMA director Joe Allbaugh at least seemingly helped the
company engage in a coverup. Both Bush and Allbaugh were named as defendants
in a lawsuit regarding the issue.
The fact FEMA and the Bush Administration seem to be intent on blocking
media coverage of the collection of bodies, and unsubstantiated rumours of "mishandling" of bodies in NOLA already circulating on the internet, a charge on National TV by Jefferson Parish President that FEMA cut their emergency communications, reports by very reputable Journalists such as Brian Williams that officials were pointing guns at members of the media in a blatant attempt to intimidate them, and numerous reports by Ham radio operators that emergency frequencies were being jammed from somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico should lead to great concern among the public. Is the Government planning to cover up the number of dead in NOLA as they covered up the Abu Ghraib scandal?
One thing is certain: reporters for the Dallas times caught Police and
National Guardsmen red handed in this video:
www.dallasnews.com
telling the media they were rounding up dogs to be collected by the ASPCA
and other animal groups, when in fact they were caught "exterminating" them
on camera. If the government will lie about that, what else will they lie
about?
The American people deserve to know the truth. The collection of American
bodies should not be farmed out to a Bush political crony, one which he
seemingly helped cover up the "mishandling" of bodies...a felony. SCI's
criminal practice of "mishandling" bodies should preclude it from engaging
in or profiting from the recovery of American bodies anywhere, but
particularly in NOLA...the outcome of the investigation is too important to
leave to a company with such a tainted past, particulary one that is so
incestuously connected to George W Bush, and particularly when the Bush
administration has so much to lose from an accurate body count.
The US media must be allowed to report on a crucial element of one of the
gravest governmental crises in American history. Congress should demand that
Kenyon International be FIRED immediately from any and all recovery efforts
in NOLA, and send an independent oversight group to be present in NOLA and
the surrounding area during the body recovery to insure the American people
are not being duped. These are not hanging chads, these are American
citizens.The present leadership within FEMA and the Bush administrationhave
proven themselves unworthy of American trust.
Following is a list of links detailing some very disturbing allegations
involving GW Bush, Joe Allbaugh, and the company
entrusted by the American people to recover the dead abandoned by the Bush
administration after hurricane Katrina...are you listening America?
Please dont just read this info, do something about it!
Contact Congress and the National Media to launch a formal inquiry, help
disseminate this info on the blogs. Its time to bring back accountbility to
our government.
Permission to use this post for any reason is granted Universally without
charge or obligation.
www.apfn.net
www.kenyoninternational.com
maverick.dailykos.com
www.newshounds.us
obsidianwings.blogs.com
www.hereinreality.com
www.americanpolitics.com
www.apfn.net
______________________________
__________________-____
UPDATE:
BLACKWATER MERCENARIES DEPLOYED IN NOLA
The same firm that provided "security and consulting" services at in Iraq
is now in NOLA. Among its employees, BLACKWATER has recruited war criminals
from Pinochets Chile.
Dangerous coyboys "deputized" to arrest or shoot American citizens in NOLA
All payed for by you and me:
www.dailykos.com
Homeland security says they're not there, but their website says otherwise:
www.blackwaterusa.com
portland.indymedia.org
www.ntimc.org
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Impeachment Proceedings
The Santa Cruz City Council on Tuesday became the nation's first local
government to ask Congress to look into impeaching President Bush on charges
he deceived the American public about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and
has used the Sept. 11 attacks as an excuse to crush civil rights.
In a 6-1 vote, the council decided to send a letter to members of the House
Judiciary Committee asking the panel to investigate the president.
www.dailykos.com
______________________________
The Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration writes: "Bush has squandered the lives and health of thousands of people. He has run through hundreds of billions of borrowed dollars. He has lost America's reputation and its allies. With barbaric torture and destruction of our civil liberty, he has stripped America of its inherent goodness and morality. And now Bush has lost America's largest port and 25 percent of its oil supply...What will it take for Americans to reestablish accountability in their government? Bush has got away with lies and an illegal war of aggression, with outing CIA agents, with war crimes against Iraqi civilians, with the horrors of the Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo torture centers, and now with the destruction of New Orleans. What disaster will next spring from Bush's incompetence?"
______________________________
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To the extent that the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility." - George W. Bush
Impeach Bush Now!
elandslide.org
House Committee to Vote on Resolution of Inquiry on 9/14
A Resolution of Inquiry into Bush's war lies (H Res 375) now has 70 co-sponsors. It will come to a vote in the House International Relations Commitee on September 14th, where it has the co-sponsorship of most of the Democrats and one Republican. To pass, it needs all the Democrats and three Republicans. The more Congress Members not on the committee who co-sponsor, the more likely some committee members are to vote yes. A substantial debate on the issue is expected. The committee meets in Room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building, at 10:30 a.m. this Wednesday.
Email Your Congress Member
www.democrats.com
Phone and Fax Your Congress Member
www.usalone.com
Or call switchboard tollfree at (888) 818-6641
Fill Out Feedback Form
www.afterdowningstreet.org
Here are Current Co-Sponsors
thomas.loc.gov@@@P
If passed, H Res 375 will require the White House and the State Department to "transmit all information relating to communication with officials of the United Kingdom between January 1, 2002, and October 16, 2002, relating to the policy of the United States with respect to Iraq."
We have the Downing Street Memos from the UK. This Resolution, if passed, will demand similar evidence from the US. The Downing Street Memos strongly suggest that the President knowlingly deceived Congress in his March 18th formal letter on why the war was necessary: he cited a threat to the US from Iraq and a need to go after nations behind the 9-11 attacks. If the President was honest about his reasons for war, H Res 375 is his chance to clear his name. The majority of Americans believe he lied (Washington Post/ABC poll).
Lots More Info is Here:
www.afterdowningstreet.org
When you call your Congress Member:
Please ask for the Legislative Director or the person in charge of Iraq or foreign policy. If they tell you that the representative will not be co-sponsoring H. Res. 375, ask for the reasons. Also try to determine what it would take for them to be a co-sponsor. If your Congressional representative is a Republican, mention that Rep. Jim Leach, Iowa, is co-sponsoring the ROI (Resolution of Inquiry.)
Ask for a fax # and / or email address to send copies of the Resolution of Inquiry and the actual Downing Street Minutes for the Representative or staffer(s) to look at, if need be.Then quickly fax or email these materials to the proper address or number. We can't assume your Congressperson is aware of these materials, so here they are.
ROI: a one-page PDF of the Resolution of Inquiry you can fax or email. www.afterdowningstreet.org
Downing Street Memos: www.afterdowningstreet.org
We cannot thank you enough for your willingness to help get Rep. Barbara Lee's H. Res. 375. passed out of the I.R. Committee. Your efforts really count!
Yours for Peace and Accountability,
The AfterDowningStreet.org Coalition
9/15 Hearing and Rally on Ending the War
On Thursday, September 15, in Washington, D.C., Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey will hold a hearing on exit strategies for Iraq. A coalition of organizations demanding an end to the war will hold a rally afterwards at 5 p.m. in front of the White House. Please ask your Congressmember and Senators to take part in both events. Email them here:
tinyurl.com
Or call the switchboard toll free: (888) 818-6641
And please come to these events yourself if you can (but remember that we are building toward a mass mobilization on September 24; if you can only come to DC once, come then).
Rally updates and flyers:
www.afterdowningstreet.org
HEARING: Thursday, September 15, 2005, 10 a.m. 1 p.m.
WHERE: 122 Cannon House Office Building
WITNESSES: U.S. Senator Max Cleland, former member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, former head of the Veterans Administration and triple amputee from his military service in the Vietnam War; General Joseph Hoar (Ret. USMC), former Commander in Chief of U.S. Central Command; Ambassador David Mack, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Near East, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, and current Vice President of the Middle East Institute; Dr. Ken Katzman, Middle East analyst and Iraq specialist at the Congressional Research Service; Anas Shallal, an Iraqi-American and founder of Iraqi-Americans for Peaceful Alternatives.
Both Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate have been invited. Some 25 Democratic Members are expected, and several Republican Members, including Rep. Walter Jones Jr. (N.C.), have indicated they will participate for at least a portion of the hearing.
Rep. Woolsey's Advisory:
woolsey.house.gov
Sept. 6 Article in Roll Call:
www.afterdowningstreet.org
RALLY: at Lafayette Square Park (in front of White House) at 5 p.m. ET on September 15, 2005, sponsored by Progressive Democrats of America, After Downing Street, Code Pink, Peace Action, Democrats.com, and Democracy Rising.
SPEAKERS: Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey and other Congress Members; Gold Star Families for Peace Member Tia Steele; Founder of American Families United, Gold Star Mother, Member of Military Families Speak Out, and star of "Farenheit 9-11" Lila Lipscomb; Veterans for Peace Board Member Ellen Barfield; Family member of U.S. soldier serving in Iraq Jawaid Khan; Co-Founder of Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) Tom Hayden; Code Pink Co-Founder and United for Peace and Justice organizer Gael Murphy; Peace Action Organizing and Policy Director Paul Kawika Martin; U.S. Labor Against the War Co-Founder Gene Bruskin; Center on Conscience and War Executive Director J.E. McNeil; PDA Board Member and After Downing Street Co-Founder John Bonifaz; Pastor of Pasadena, Calif., All Saints Church Ed Bacon; PDA Executive Director and After Downing Street Co-Founder Tim Carpenter; PDA Board Member and After Downing Street Co-Founder David Swanson; Democracy Rising Director and likely U.S. Senate candidate from Maryland Kevin Zeese; Pacifica Radio Washington Bureau Chief Verna Avery Brown; Co-Founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity Ray McGovern; PDA Board Member and President & CEO of Hip Hop Caucus Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr; diplomat who resigned in opposition to Iraq war, and Camp Casey coordinator Ann Wright; Research Fellow, Institute for Policy Studies, Erik Leaver, Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg.
____________
Also the same day, a coalition of organizations will hand in to Congress a petition for an exit strategy. See http://www.peoplespetition.org (Note that not all sponsors of and participants in the rally are participants in or supporters of the petition or the hearings.)
Information on mass mobilization September 24-26:
www.unitedforpeace.org
Under the U.S. Constitution, the President is subject to removal from office by Impeachment Trial and is still subject to federal criminal prosecution for criminal offenses.
"Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to INDICTMENT, TRIAL, JUDGMENT AND PUNISHMENT, ACCORDING TO LAW." (Emphasis added.) U.S. Constitution, Article One, Section 3.
who can be impeached?
members.cruzio.com
Links to National Publications Related to Impeachment:
www.impeach-bush.us
Surprised? You shouldn't be. This was just a small disaster compared what may be down the pike for us what with e Bush making the world safer for terrorists (and making more of them). How will things look when a nuke does worse, how will outlying areas and their police handle burnt and radio-active or biologically contaminated refugees? And when the Balkanization of America happens, who of you would want to be a non-Mormon in Utah??? Chew on that a while. We call ourselves civilized, but add a lil' fear and we are strictly Third World. Keep believing in the myth, keep sipping the Kool-Aid folks. The ones who are 'to protect and serve' are no more than your worst fears, when fear gets to them...
Best regards,
H.
One question to the two paramedics: WHY DID YOU NOT EVACUATE ???
I understand that the were in a convention, flew in, then could not re-book their flights. But what about a TRAIN??? There is an Amtrack station in downtown New Orleans with at least 1 train a day toward Baton Rouge and Lafayette, and at least one train to Atlanta. Amtrack themselves said their train with 900 seats left almost empty the day before the storm. (!)
If you see a category 4 heading your way, you evacuate - any which way you can. I have lived in the New Orleans area for 14 years and that is my rule. These two paramedics could have saved themselves a lot of trouble dealing with our law enforcement.
Can someone explain why the BLACK PANTHER PARTY, the thousands of Black Secret Societies and AKU's, the Black Ouchita and other independent (THE TYPE OF PEOPLE THE 'INDIVIDUALISTS' LOVE) were the ones who prevented a CIVIL WAR FROM TAKING PLACE IN THE GULF?
THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY AND VARIOUS GROUPS OF BLACK NATIONALISTS SHOWED MORE GUTS AND AMERICANISM THAN MANY OF THESE FOLKS WHO SAT LISTENING TO JUDASES LIKE O'REALLY, LIMBLOW-HARD, SCARFACEBOROUGH, SAVARAGE 'THE JUDAS' MISSY ANNE unCooltarbaby, Squeal (like a pig) Bore AND ALL THESE FALSE JUDASES AND PSEUDO-CONSERVATIVE PROPAGANDISTS.
The Black Panther Party and the old Black Secret Societies with origins in Nigeria, Congo and Angola, (around since before the Louisiana Terrritory was stolen from the Blacks and illegally 'sold' for three cents an acre by the French invaders) were instrumental in preventing a catastrophie from occurring in New Orleans, particularly when 'plants' and provocators were trying to deliberately cause mayhem and confusion.
hear all about it (JOE MADISON SHOW 'POWER 169' www.xmradio.com 7am to 10 am New York Time)
THEY SHOWED RESTRAINT DESPITE THE PROVOCATION.
Read all about it.
www.sfbayview.com
BLACK PANTHER PARTY HELPS PREVENT CIVIL WAR IN NEW ORLEANS
www.sfbayview.com<>
ITS NOT THE IDEA OF LETTING PEOPLE IN THRU THE GRETNA AREA BUT LOOK WHAT THEY WERE DOINING IN NEW ORLEANS. SETTING FIRES AND LOTTING. AND I TOTAL BELIVE IT IS ALRIGHT TO TAKE FOOD ARE WATER IF YOU ARE IN NEED. BUT TO BURN BUISNESS DOWN TO THE GROUND AND STEAL THINGS THATS NOT GOING TO HELP YOU LIVE. WITH NO WATER TO PUT FIRES OUT JUST THINK WHAT MIGHT OF HAPPEN IF THE SAME THING WOULD BE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN ON THE WEST BANK OF THE RIVER.AS MEMBER OF THE CITY OF GRETNA I THINK THE GRETNA POLICE DID A GOOD JOB AND GENRAL. A LOT OF PEOPLE SAY THAT THIS IS NOT THE CASE. BUT WERE DO YOU LIVE DO YOU STILL HAVE A JOB A PLACE TO SHOP A HOME TO LIVE IN. ALSO LET PUT SOME OF THE BLAME BACK ON THE OFFICALS IN NEW ORLEANS. THEY NEW WHAT THE WORST CASE WOULD BE IF THE STORM WAS GOING TO HIT. AND LET S PUT THE BLAME ON THE FEDS
I thought we were in a time where people were sceptical of things that they see on TV. I know for a fact that what has been shown in the national press about Grena is absolute crap. The fact is that Gretna commandeered 3 buses and evacuated 5,500 people with officers driving the buses who had never done so before throughout the night. When finally more and more people kept coming and they were running out of fuel, much less not having any food, water, shelter for them, and a dry dock that had travelled two miles up the river to lodge itself in the levee in Gretna and spill oil over the levee into the river and into Gretna (which by the way all of the officials were afraid of a breach in the levee, and the drydock is still not extracted because they are unsure how to do it), the Gretna Police along with 2 other agencies closed the bridge. By the way, Gretna was not high ground. And the convention center was not flooded, in fact, to this day, it has never been flooded. And if those people had food and water, they were better off where they were, then coming over to Gretna where there was none. By the way, why should New Orleans a city of almost a million try to use a town of 18,000 to evacuate it's people? And Gretna is not even the way out of New Orleans. I evacuated and had to go through New Orleans to do it. You don't get out of New Orleans by going to Gretna, you go the other way. But sense alot of people obviously don't know the geography of Louisiana they don't realize this. Maybe before you express your outrage you should try to look up the facts. I am soooo proud of Gretna, and the Chief. As the parish president say, Arthur Lawson saved the Westbank. Thank you to all officers from out of town who are here helping us.
you guys are morons who know nothing about the real story. you need to watch less of gerldo holding babies and research more the truth.
Facts:
1) The day before the bridge debacle Jefferson Parish (which contains gretna, the first city over the bridge) declared all of its shelters were full and it was completely emptied of resources.
2) If you want to leave the city, crossing the bridge into Gretna only brings you closer to the ocean. The way out of the city is the opposite way up the interstate. Get a map. Go to google and look at the sat pictures.
3) the looting was out of control and all those people had waiting for them at most was a few bars of junk food because the power had been out for days - everyhting was rotten. then, as they did most other parts of the city, they would have looted gretna to high hell because the new orleans officials did a pathetic job of serving them.
I worked for the new orleans gov't through contracts and eventually resigned because it was a joke. every dumbass and minister stealing every dollar they could.
before all you stupid hippies talk out your ass about what you know, why don't you ask the mayor why he let 200 school buses sit and get flood. ask him him why he declined a free invite from amtrack to evacuate people.
hell, ask him why he blew a few million on high tech parking meters only months before the storm when the city can't even keep it's streets from having potholes everywhere. Ask mayor Nagin why his CTO is fucking his interns and throwing expensive parties for them with gov't money.
i've lived in san fran and LA and i'm tired of you dumbass know-it-all-while-knowing-
nothing idiots yelling all this crap when you know nothing. shut your hole and go collect your trust fund.
bob
People were evacuating New Orleans over the bridge to Gretna. They went down 90, then west, and over to Harahan. Mayor Nagin said the bridge to Gretna was the only open evacuation route available to them.
According to Mayor Nagin, people had to evacuate by crossing the bridge, heading south and west on 90 to Harahan. It was the only available route.
I am so proud of Chief Lawson and the Gretna Police Dept. We are a small commuity, we do not need the crime from New Orleans. I am glad the world can now see what is going on in New Orleans. We do not need looters, robers, murders, and drug dealers in Gretna. Gretna is the safest city in La. and that is the way I would like it to stay. Call us what ever you want, we like Gretna the way it is, we do not want New Orlean's crime or there criminals. Who ever don't like it kiss our gretna ass. Chief keep up the good work, you have the citizens behind you.
For all you people who think we are races in Gretna, please leave your address, we will be glad to bus all the criminals to your home town. Lets see how you would like your house robbed, or your daughter raped, or you house burned down.New Orleans was a sewer before the hurrican, this is the way it will get cleaned up. I pray it will be a better city now. You people just don't have any idea what was going on there. I love New Orleans, I just don't like the way it was. You people in cities like Houston will be sorry you took those people in, just watch the crime rate in Houston climb, and the other cities that took them in.
I am sorry for all of the lives that were lost in New Orleans. However, I am pleased by the way chief Lawson handled the situation. The people from New Orleans need to look at this from our point of view. What if the shoe had been on the other foot? What if the Westbank was the one with the high crime rate,and New Orleans had the low crime rate like we do? Would they have wanted all of that pouring into their safe haven? I bet not. Nagin told his people to GET OUT.!! It is not our fault that most of his people did not head his warning!!! The ones that did get across the bridge? Look at what they shot at the firemen putting out fires, which by the way, they started. They shot at the police, which, by the way, were were trying to help them!! What in the hell makes you think that we want, or need,that kind of bull shit in our community? All of the people in N.O. were not bad. However,the bad overtook the good, unfortuntely. Stop looking at this as racial. It's about crime, and, it's not our fault that 90% of N.O. crime, is commited by black people. So, when you want to point fingers and blame someone, blame your own damn people!! Hats off to chief Arthur Lawson for keeping at least one side of the river safe and secure!! To hell with all who disagree. That's why we're called the BESTBANK!!!
Boycott Gretna
I pledge to never set foot or spend money with any business within the boundaries of your town, and to spread the word of what your police force did through internet discussion groups, blogs, and by any other means.
Nagin told his people to GET OUT.!! It is not our fault that most of his people did not head his warning!
Around 5,000 residents of Gretna didn't evacuate before the storm, according to the Los Angeles Times.
In a future disaster, if a similar number becomes trapped there, should surrounding cities block your escape?
First of all, N.O. was under a MANDATORY EVACUATION!!! Jefferson Parish was not. JP is on way higher ground than N.O. The people of NO knew that they lived in a "fish bowl". They had plenty of time to get out knowing the danger of the rising waters that were coming!!! However, they chose to stay. As far as future disasters? Had it been us flooding, and supposibly trapped, we sure wouldn't have headed for a city that sits lower than we do!! DUUUHHH!!!! People keep saying that across the CCC, into Gretna, was the only way out for N.O. residents. That's bull shit!! They had a way out days before the storm hit. They should have LISTENED!!! As far as BOYCOTTING Gretna. You do what you want to do, it doesn't bother us.See, on the Westbank, we take care of our own. We secure and protect what we have worked all our lives for. We have a police force that understands this and respects this. So, in turn, they do their JOB to see that it continues to be that way. A lot of you people want to condemn our way of handling the situation. Obviously, they have not lived here all of their lives as I HAVE!! If you could look at the stuation through MY eyes, then you would see this picture in a whole new way!! Maybe if N.O. would take notes from us, it could be a better place to live!!
See, on the Westbank, we take care of our own.
Actually, you don't. Your mayor reached out to other cities for relief assistance after the storm.
What I meant by that was that our police officers were undeniably doing their jobs by protecting their people's safety. As for N.O.? How can you start to help people who don't attempt to help themselves? You say it's a matter of humanity and life, not property or possessions. OK, so what do you expect from us when it was our lives at stake? I mean, they were shooting at our policemen & firemen. What makes you think that they wouldn't have started shooting us? Remember this point: The blockade didn't occur until the crime started crossing over into our community. So our police force did what they had to do. Children being raped, drug addicts going through withdrawels, people being shot, looters taking everything EXCEPT food, etc., etc. No thank you, we will pass on all of that shit. We don't live in N.O. because we don't want all of that, yet, you expect us to invite it into our lives? No way!!!
For all of you that don't live here, you don't have a clue as to the situation here. I don't expect to change anyone's mind. You believe what you want to believe just as Shep Smith/Geraldo told the story they wanted to tell, not necessarily the whole, unbiased truth. If you want to believe everything is strictly as portrayed on TV news, I pity you when a disaster the magnitude of Katrina arrives in your backyard.
I have enormous sympathy for the working, disabled, elderly poor of New Orleans; none whatsoever for the worthless poor.
I am sure many of you recoiled in horror that I could label anyone worthless. As I said earlier, you don't live here. Just to put the final nail in my coffin for all you abysmally ignorant liberals, I am off to put up signs in our neighborhood commending our police, fire and city officials for a job well done!
STORIES I DIDN'T SEE ON TV
A residence that was broken into only for food and water.
Hillary Clinton proclaiming her intent to build 1000 units of Section 8 housing in Westchester County, NY to help the under-privileged refugees/evacuees/temporarily displaced persons from New Orleans.
Ditto for Teddy K. and John K. in Massachusetts.
Rogers Cadenhead and like minded people petitioning their local zoning boards to allow them to put apartments in their backyard for the above mentioned people.
Re:Mike: Well said!! They just don't understand. By the way, I didn't see those headlines either! POT CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK? Ummm. I wonder!!!
It seems to me, that there are lot of opinions out here that do not have any real proof as to what actually happened at the time of this incident. We seem to have become a community that lives for rumors. I for one, am going to let the smoke settle and see what was exactly said. I sat with one of the Gretna representatives yesterday and saw a video of mr. Nagin telling his refuges that there were buses, food, and safe housing centers on the west bank of the river. Unfortunately, while he was making up this fairy tale, he forgot to let the west bank know. I have talked to Gretna policemen, Jefferson Parish policemen, and National guardsment that were at the site and their account differs quite a bit from what I see on the media. Why were there no interviews from the actual law enforcement participants? After watching some of the "reporting" that the media has put forth, I will regard any future information with a grain of salt, or treat it as I would any other piece of fiction.
I was there and a resident of Gretna you can second guess and bitch about what should have been done but the Cheif was doing his job, protecting the citizens and property of Gretna. Where were the New Orleans Police? they were looting Wal-mart. Get your facts straight before repeating B*llS*it. The media has had it all wrong from the beginning. And all you second guessing mindless idiots have no clue as to what was going on.
The whole issue here is that everyone is trying to make this out to be a racial thing. No one has ever said anything about color, or gender, etc., etc., The non-knowers are the ones that keep addressing N.O. people as "THE BLACKS"!!! Crime has no clor, or gender. It's just purely crime. We have enough of our own dealings with crime over here to want to take on another cities criminals. THAT, is why our police force is getting so complimented. N.O., in general, is a great place to party and have a good time. However, I would never choose to live there myself. And what a lot of these non-knowers don't know, is that a lot of money that the businesses make in N.O., comes from tourist and WESTBANKERS!!! What about the people in St. Bernard, Bay St. Louis, Waveland, and all the other places that were impacted by this storm? I guess a lot of those people perished because they were BLACK??? I think not. The person that N.O. people and the non-knowers should be boycotting, or condemning, is Mayor Ray Nagin. He is the one who told those people that there was all kinds of help on the other side of the river, and there wasn't. It was like he was telling them that there was a light at the end of a tunnel. Well, guess what? We had no lights, no water, no food, and no help for ourselves for a while. We had to do what we had to do to survive, and that's what we did. There's no way we had any resources to take on thousands of other people.The media is a monster. And what Mr. Walters said is true: "THERE'S A LOT OF OPINIONS OUT HERE THAT DO NOT HAVE ANY REAL PROOF AS TO WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED"!!!! So my advice to people is this, get the facts FIRST, before you start to put the blame on others. THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE, BUT FIRST IT WILL MAKE YOU MISERABLE.!!! Words to live by.
The truth will set you free, but the people of Gretna, La., won't.
I understand why several people from Gretna have made such a passionate defense of your police chief's actions. It was your homes and businesses being saved from the worst elements of New Orleans.
However, 99.9 percent of the people trying to get out of New Orleans were not in that group -- just a bunch of good people caught in a bad situation. Surely you must recognize that by now. The wheelchair-bound 61-year-old being pushed by his sons across the bridge was not going to rob you.
Was it really acceptable to block the Mississippi River from being crossed by thousands of evacuees? Why should one town of 17,000 be able to make that decision by virtue of being closest to the bridge?
O.k. I understand what your saying. However, if we would have let the handicapped and ill in, then we would have been condemned once again and called predjusice for that. And you know it. If you let some in, then your entitled to let all in. All, includes the criminal minded ones. Looka t it hyperthetically, and you'll see that I'm right.
Rogers, you are a typical liberal. You believe what you want to believe, the truth as told by Geraldo, Shep, LA Times, NY Times, et al. These stories have only the vaguest resemblance to reality.
Just taking on a few specific points:
"99.9 percent of the people trying to get out of New Orleans were not in that group"
You got that information WHERE? Maybe Geraldo handed out a questionnaire to everyone crossing the bridge???
"one town of 17,000 ... being closest to the bridge"
ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE! There are two exits before getting to Gretna, both high and dry including one next to Oakwood Mall where at least several thousand people could have had shelter from the weather. Unfortunately, some of those upstanding citizens you are so concerned about, promptly looted it and set fires, making the ONLY possible shelter of any size within walking distance of the bridge uninhabitable. The City of Gretna has NO auditorium or other building capable of housing hundreds of people much less thousands.
OTHER IGNORED AND/OR UNREPORTED FACTS
Gretna had NO food and water stockpiles to give these people. It has been reported that approximately 5,000 of Gretna's 17,000, almost 1 out 3, residents stayed behind. Exactly what do you think was going to happen when these refugees started breaking into homes looking for whatever? In the same situation, please tell me you would meekly invite them in and give up your last water and food! If so, I am coming to your home should Rita turn this way! The truth is, there would have been a blood bath! As hard as it may be for you to understand, a very large percentage of the die hard, individualist that stayed behind, believe in guns and self-preservation! If for no other reason, you should be praising Arthur Lawson for preventing a very large loss of life!
The Gretna PD transported somewhere between 4,000 and 6,000 refugees in commandeered school buses from the bridge to the I-10 West/ Clearview Parkway area where they could hopefully, find further transportation west. They continued this operation until they ran out of fuel. It was only after this and the Oakwood fire they felt it necessary to close the bridge. The Gretna PD and a city of 17,000 did more for the people trapped in New Orleans during the first few days after the storm than their own mayor, the State of Louisiana and FEMA combined.
The ONLY sporting goods store and gun shops in the GNO area NOT looted were in Gretna. Would you have been happy with another 1000+ guns on the street? I guess that is no real concern for your liberal little heart since you are 600 or so miles away!
The ONLY Walgreen Drug store NOT looted in the GNO area was in Gretna. Imagine that, people that actually needed drugs could get them relatively quickly after the storm!
I'm judging the situation by what your police chief has said in the press, Mike -- he ordered the bridge blocked to protect property in Gretna.
You can make a strong argument that the situation on the West Bank would have gotten worse than it did with the influx of thousands of evacuees. I am not disputing that the situation was scary, with the arson at your mall and the wide reports of violence in New Orleans.
But you still haven't explained why the interests of a town of 17,000 people are more important than the interests of a city of 400,000. An evacuation route out of a water-locked city is a matter of life-and-death. If you allow a suburb surrounding a major city to block access during a disaster, evacuation could become impossible.
If the Gretna blockade becomes a matter for investigation, I suspect we'll find that your police chief had no legal right to block that highway, which is either a state or federal road.
1. Why were New Orleans residents shooting at rescue workers in helicopters and boats, and firing on the contractors who were trying to fix the levee?
2. Why were so many thugs shooting and looting and raping and murdering on the streets of New Orleans and at the Superdome when a natural disaster hit town?
3. Is it true that the thugs who were shooting and looting and raping and murdering on the streets of New Orleans and at the Superdome were just doing what they do all time?
4. Why were virtually all of the looters and murderers and rapists and carjackers black?
5. Since it is a well-known fact that blacks can only be the victims, but never the perpetrators of racism, should we damn as racists the white and Asian foreign tourists who said they were being terrorized in the Superdome and on the streets of New Orleans based on the color of their skin, ignore their complaints, "disappear" alleged black-on-white and black-on-Asian crimes committed in the aftermath of Katrina, and arrest the tourists for racial insensitivity and hate crimes?
6. Why didn't New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin use the 500 buses he had at his disposal to evacuate New Orleans residents before Katrina hit town?
7. Is President Bush getting so roundly criticized by the media and black political activists for not taking over rescue efforts sooner, because he is a white, heterosexual, Republican male, whereas Mayor Nagin is a black Democrat and Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco is a female Democrat?
8. Although thousands of National Guard troops have been in New Orleans for several days, how come we have not heard of any of them shooting looters or violent criminals?
9. Why have we heard instead of New Orleans thugs beating National Guardspersons over the heads with pipes, shooting said National Guardspersons, and said National Guardspersons running away from said attackers?
10. Are the National Guardspersons' rifles loaded with live ammunition?
11. Is it possible that, as with during and following the 1992 Los Angeles race riots, thousands of National Guardspersons are marching around New Orleans with unloaded weapons?
12. Had Pres. Bush, in the face of Mayor Nagin and Gov. Blanco's incompetence, taken over rescue efforts days ago, would the President now be enduring the same criticisms he is now receiving, or worse criticisms?
13. How can federal authorities such as FEMA take over the role of first-responders, as the attacks on the feds have implied they should have, if the police and fire persons are all locals, and it takes days for FEMA to arrive on the scene?
14. If everything to do with New Orleans' troubles is a federal affair, should not the federal government put the city in federal receivership, and render Mayor Nagin and Gov. Blanco powerless, regarding the city's management?
15. Should we ignore the New York Times' years-long, successful opposition (including just last spring) to the feds spending billions of taxpayer dollars to fix New Orleans' levees, in light of the newspaper's current charges of federal malfeasance for not having fixed the levees?
"he ordered the bridge blocked to protect property in Gretna."
Arthur does not deny saying that but it was a specific phrase extracted from a much larger discussion; something the media is VERY good at doing when it suits their purpose. Also, he did not sleep for the first 3 days after the storm hit and only sporadically thereafter. I do know that he is so incensed at the way the media has twisted the situation, he swears that he will never do another national TV interview unless it is live so they cannot selectively edit his words.
"why the interests of a town of 17,000 people are more important than the interests of a city of 400,000."
We are not talking about the interest of a "city of 400,000", we are talking about 1,000-6,000 refugees depending on exactly who's numbers you believe. Of the 4,000-6,000 people the Gretna PD moved, a significant number were carrying weapons. It was FAR greater than the .1% "bad apples" you alluded to earlier. They did not have time to "pat down" everyone they put on the buses; the weapons confiscated were the obvious ones. There were undoubtedly others.
"I suspect we'll find that your police chief had no legal right to block that highway"
It is a state highway and I have no idea as to the "legality" of the decision under marshal law. I do know that while Arthur Lawson is credited/reviled for the decision, it was done with the consent and assistance of other law enforcement authorities, some of which have since denied their participation/agreement.
It is very easy to second guess someone after plenty of sleep when presented with selective information. When you are on the ground with limited sleep, limited communications and being asked to let 1,000 -6,000 people start roaming the streets of your city after removing a significant number of weapons from a similar group, I believe he was 100% correct in his decision. You must also remember that by the time of the decision, there was a mall burning just outside Gretna and he was also being told "the Calvary is coming". Even in hindsight, I think the decision saved a number of lives.
I am just dying for someone to point out one thing that isn't true about this article. It is just sad that African Americans will jump behind the race band-wagon. African Americans need to wake up. Instead of blaming Whitey you need to blame your corrupt Democrat Leaders who pretend to be on the side of African Americans.
Race Baiting as New Orleans Sinks It's a black thing
The black mayor of New Orleans, a perpetually corrupt, crime ridden and impoverished city 20 feet below sea level, surrounded by an ocean, a lake and the Mississippi River, tepidly suggests his citizens evacuate as a giant hurricane approaches. For those with no means to leave, he does nothing. The white President of the United States begs him to evacuate for four days. A hundred thousand mostly black residents choose to stay. The massive storm promptly becomes the deadliest catastrophe in American history, flooding the city, killing thousands.
Meanwhile, over 10,000 rescue workers, mostly white, leave comfortable homes, jobs and families, stream in from all across America four days in advance. But when the storm turns at the last minute, rescuers become victims. Over 9,000 square miles and 200 miles of coastline over 4 states become devastated. Communication is cut off. All utilities are ruined. Thousands of roadways are laid to waste. Nearly every vehicle is swept away, including trucks, planes and boats. New Orleans becomes virtually impassable.
Undaunted, the white rescue workers use whatever means available to help save the poor black residents.
They are greeted by gunfire.
Thousands of remarkably well-armed black people took over the city, wantonly raping, pillaging and murdering. They carjack rescue convoys, shoot at rescuers, levee repairmen, and even helicopters performing rescue missions. The operation is halted dead in its tracks.
And for this, white people are being labeled racist.
It didn't take long for the parade of race-whore vermin to rampage across the television screen, accusing white Americans of racial lollygagging. Rev. Calvin Butts declared, "I think a lot of it has to do with race and class." Jesse Jackson bluntly accused President Bush of racism. NBC's live telethon for the victims of Hurricane Katrina features rapper Kanye West declaring, "George Bush doesn't care about black people."
Mayor Ray Nagin, who could have prevented much of the tragedy by merely ordering an evacuation two days earlier and deploying his 1,000 school bus fleet, began publicly swearing at everyone else but himself, particularly for not providing instant security. Really! Can you imagine if George Bush had clairvoyantly placed 20,000 soldiers in New Orleans the day the storm hit? Every white person in America knows Nagin, the Congressional Black Caucus, Rev. Jackson, the NAACP, and every black race hustler (but I repeat myself) in America would have shrieked "Racism!!!" Not sure? Kanye West already screamed " ... they've given them permission to go down and shoot us!"
Its been a century-long modus operandi for every black liberal politician: Blame Whitey.
And for years, white America surrendered the race card trump, placating racial rabble-rousers with over 10 trillion dollars of social programs. Not enough. They created racial preference laws. Not enough. They laid every guilt trip possible on white people. Not enough.
Well, not this time.
See, Whitey wised up. We know black people cause modern Black America's great plagues. Newt Gingrich doesn't run around knocking up 14-year-old black girls. Black men do. Ronald Reagan didn't gang bang and murder in the hood. Black men do. Rush Limbaugh doesn't coax black people into government servitude. Black liberals do. And certainly, William F. Buckley never advised black people to speak English like Jar Jar Binks. Black people do.
And in New Orleans, George W. Bush didn't ignore evacuation warnings, abandon poor black people trying to leave, loot the city and shoot rescuers. Black people did. Black people caused and could have prevented this entire tragedy, and when white people tried to help, black people literally tried to kill them.
That is a fact.
So, Black America, turn down the volume knob and listen carefully. Hear that? It's the sound of White America heaving a sigh of indifference.
To be certain, this isn't an indictment of all black people, though its certainly a wake-up slap to a large black majority who listen to these cretins. It is, however, a direct accusation against liberal race prostitutes who dominate popular black leadership, create misery and mayhem in the black community for self-aggrandizing personal power, and then detestably blame White America, insisting we don't understand the plight of black people.
The only thing White America doesn't understand is why black leaders sell their fellow black brethren down the river, sometimes literally, and why black people keep buying the ticket. This week provided a disgusting example. After creating their own tragedy, black people across America had a magnificent opportunity to convert adversity into compassionate national unity. Instead, they chose Lord of the Flies anarchy.
I suppose, as they say, it's a black thing.
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Hey Rodgers, why don't you move to New Orleans and get a first hand experince of the so called "Big Easy". I am sure you can find a very nice Section 8 home there. Before you sit there and bash our police chief and our elected officals, come and walk in our shoes first. Come and see what it is like to like next to a crime infested city.Most of the crimes commited in Gretna are done by residents of New Orleans.We the citizens of Gretna elected our police chief because we know that he will protect this city no matter what it takes. So until you are ready to move from Jacksonville and walk in our shoes, go and find some other city to pick on. You can say whatever you want about us, we will still stand pround and tall.
I see a lot of partisan and racist comments here. I suppose you could paint any tragedy with a racist brush, and there are certainly actions by many in the wake of Katrina that truly are motivated by racism.
But to describe the actions of the Gretna Police force as simply as "racist" is an oversimplification. All racism aside, the basic fact is this: There was a huge calamity resulting in thousands of people who were needlessly suffering, and trapped in an utter hellhole. When trying to leave the city, they were fired upon, preventing them from leaving.
The Gretna officials have made it worse in trying to defend their actions. The police chief states he did the right thing, and would do it again. City council members supported the action. Citizens interviewed on NPR praised the police for closing the bridge. Their justification? Nobody in New Orleans, FEMA, or other branches of the federal government warned them, or involved them in the decision making process, so they were unprepared to take care of evacuees.
I am sorry that the city of Gretna was snubbed in this way. Were they guilty of racism? Maybe. But I think they are mainly just lacking in basic human decency. Just like the looters in New Orleans, the people involved in blocking the bridge away from New Orleans represent the worst face of humanity. When faced with the challenge of thousand of people that needed help they could have chosen to rise to the occasion and help their fellow human beings; instead they shot at them. I do hope that Gretna's reaction is not representative of what most people would do. If so, it is a sad commentary on humanity.
The white President of the United States begs him to evacuate for four days.
This is not true. Four days before it hit, Katrina wasn't even over Florida yet.
Gov. Blanco declared a state of emergency three days before the storm hit. At her request, President Bush declared a federal state of emergency two days before it hit. Mayor Nagin ordered a mandatory evacuation one day before it hit.
It is very easy to second guess someone after plenty of sleep when presented with selective information.
Yes, it is. But from what little we do know, I think this should merit an investigation. If you have local media sources who are providing additional information on this that the national media's not covering, post links.
" ... from what little we do know ... "
Rogers, this is the MOST intelligent thing you have said on the subject. When you finally realize that even the things you THINK you know are mostly wrong, you may finally begin to see the light. You had better be careful, your liberal friends may start looking at you a little funny!
" ... local media sources who are providing additional information on this that the national media's not covering, post links."
The number of local media covering the Katrina story are miniscule compared to the number of national people on the ground and they are NOT spending their time trying to publish corrections and counterpoints to the national stories. They are doing the same thing the national press is doing, trying to cover the sensational and local neighborhood/human interest stories.
Hopefully, after this is all over and before the various participants memories of the details of this drama fade, we will get a reliable, unbiased , timeline based history of this event from the various people involved. For there to be any hope of getting the story right, the information will have to be gathered and compiled by historians, NOT the news media! Even with historians, care must be taken. There is a fairly large group of revisionist historians that can't be trusted any more than the news media.
Paying you about as high a compliment as I can pay any true liberal, you seem to be open to at least the idea that everything you see on TV or read in the press isn't necessarily "The Truth, The Whole Truth, And Nothing But The Truth". I consider myself a conservative so in most liberals eyes I am an "ignorant, cretin, redneck, cracker, etc." that should not be associated with. But, if you can look past that and ever the chance should present itself, I would be happy to commiserate with you over a bottle of your favorite John Barleycorn. Stripping away the veneer of civilization that arms length debate allows in favor of the "up close and personal" is good for the soul.
As Jack London said, "John Barleycorn must have his due. He does tell the truth. That is the curse of it. The so-called truths of life are not true. They are the vital lies by which life lives, and John Barleycorn gives them the lie."
BRJ1962,
You either haven't read my post above or choose to discount them. In either case, your understanding of the situation is as far removed from reality as possible. If you insist in believing only the excerpts of the "Truth" as presented by the national media and NPR, no one can help you. On the other had, if you are interested in "Reality" as oppose to the "Truth as Seen on TV", come on down! I will introduce you to some of the Gretna people that hot-wired the commandeered school buses, disarmed and moved 4,000-6000 refugees as well as some of the people standing on the bridge.
"There is none so blind as those who will not see."
RE to Gretna Mike: Thank you for putting into words what I have been trying to say. However, we are all just wasting our breathes with these people because they have their opinions, and that's that. So be it. BRJ1962 says that we didn't rise to the occassion. HA!!! Again, it's never enough for these people hugh? How many times do you have to say that WE DID TRY TO HELP AND, SUCCEEDED IN HELPING AS MANY AS WE COULD. Right up to the point that the help, started getting shot at. Gee, what appreciation they showed to our people hugh? And we're supposed to say" Aw, that's o.k., some of them are good." Hell no. you don't bite the hand that feeds you!!! And that's just what those people were doing. So, in the end, we are racists because we had enough and decided to do something about it????? Oh well, call us what you want because we don't give a shit. We still have our homes, with ALL of our possessions, we still have our stores that weren't damaged by the storms!!! We still have each other. Our Police chief saw to it that We are able to have all of these things still. Had Arthur not closed the bridge, and let all the contaraband in, I know for a fact, that we would not be able to say that we still had all of these things. The facts are the facts, and they cannot be changed. N.O. Has the highest crime rate around here. Maybe Katrina was sent to clean all of it up. Maybe now, the ones who got a second chance at life, will take this chance and change thier ways. Then again, NOT!!! but there's always hope. As for the elderly, handicapped, and not so fortunate people that lived in N.O., I hope they will find a better life. By the way, notice no color was added to that last statement!!! It's not about color, as I said, it's about CLASS!!! So, to all of you idiots who know nothing about our city, and make your judgements by listening to the press and non-knowing assholes, you can all go live with these so called 'evacuues' that you pity so much. I give you 1 month, and you'll be wanting to be a westbanker like us. Never read a book by it's cover, because it's the inside reading that matters!!!!! Maybe Artur Lawson should be President!! Then maybe we would see some changes in this country!!!! He's got my vote!!!
The police and city officials of Gretna responded in a callouus, vicious and shameful manner to neighbors in need of help.
All true americans shall pay back to Gretna in the same manner; We shall BOYCOTT Gretna. As citizens of the United States we can not tolerate racism to get to this magnitude. The major of Gretna shall fire all his police and if he does not want to do that then he shall fire himself too. It is important to investigate if any more people die because of Gretna Police Actions. If we find that some people die because they were sent back into New Orleans, we shall bring the whole Gretna Police force into a humanity tribiunal and sent them all to jail if found guilty. I dont see why we shall tolerate this in America when we dont accept this in othe rparts of the world. People of New Orleans, Lousina, America dont tolerate, please protest in any way you can and let your voice be hear about the racist police force in Gretna.
Jay and Kevin,
Based our your post, I am just going to assume you are a couple of SAIL's who only belive in the "Truth According to Geraldo". I'm sorry but it is impossible debate or carry on a conversation with a true SAIL.
ITS REALLY INTERESTING TO READ ALL OF THE MIS-INFORMATION AND ATTEMPTS TO MAKE GRETNA'S ACTIONS RACIAL. PERHAPS IF YOU WERE AWARE OF WHAT HAD ACTUALLY HAPPENED YOU WOULD NOT BE SO QUICK TO BLAME AND EXPLOIT THE RACE CARDS.
DID YOU KNOW THAT BEFORE THE BRIDGE INCIDENT THE GRETNA POLICE DEPARTMENT WAS FERRYING PEOPLE WHO HAD CROSSED THE BRIDGE TO BUSSES THAT WERE WAITING ON THE EAST BANK BY I-10 AND THAT THE ACTION WAS TERMINATED WHEN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT RAN OUT OF FUEL FOR THE BUSSES.
DID YOU KNOW THAT THE CITIZENS OF GRETNA WERE GLAD THAT THEY WERE IN FACT PROTECTED.
DID YOU KNOW THAT THE ENTIRE CITY COUNCIL APPPROVED OF CHIEF LAWSON'S ACTIONS AND THA T ONE OF THE COUNCILMEN (J BOWLER IS IN FACT A BLACK MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY.
I AM REALLY TIRED OF SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT SATISFIED UNLESS THEY ARE CREATING SOME TYPE OF PROBLEM. IF YOU REALLY CARE FOR THE CITZENS OF NEW ORLEANS AND SURRONDING AREAS YOU WOULD GET OFF THE COMPUTER AND STOP MAKING YOUR INANE COMMENTS AND IN FACT GIVE SOME NEEDED MONEY TO THE RED CROSS OR OTHER RELIEF ORGANIZATIONS OR MAKE GOOD USE OF YOUR TIME BY TRYING TO BRING US ALL TOGETHER RATHER THAN TRYING TO CAUSE GREATER DIVISIONS.
AMEN!!!!
I am going to forward all the comments from this webpage to a friend that works at ABC News and I am sure he is going to find more then one person interested in this story. My hope is to find out if more people die because of the Gretna's police, city council and all the German Predominant Racist People. I guess we already what happen during World War II. Here is the story from the Los Angeles Times, I'm the Times is more crediable then all of you from Gretna.
Published on Friday, September 16, 2005 by the Los Angeles Times
After Blocking the Bridge, Gretna Circles the Wagons
Long wary of next-door New Orleans, the town stands by its decision to bar the city's evacuees.
by Nicholas Riccardi
GRETNA, Louisiana - Little over a week after this mostly white suburb became a symbol of callousness for using armed officers to seal one of the last escape routes from New Orleans -- trapping thousands of mostly black evacuees in the flooded city -- the Gretna City Council passed a resolution supporting the police chief's move.
"This wasn't just one man's decision," Mayor Ronnie C. Harris said Thursday. "The whole community backs it."
Three days after Hurricane Katrina hit, Gretna officers blocked the Mississippi River bridge that connects their city to New Orleans, exacerbating the sometimes troubled relationship with their neighbor. The blockade remained in place into the Labor Day weekend.
Gretna (pop. 17,500) is a feisty blue-collar city, two-thirds white, that prides itself on how quickly its police respond to 911 calls; it warily eyes its neighbor, a two-thirds black city (pop. about 500,000) that is also a perennial contender for the murder capital of the U.S.
Itself deprived of power, water and food for days after Katrina struck Aug. 29, Gretna suddenly became the destination for thousands of people fleeing New Orleans. The smaller town bused more than 5,000 of the newcomers to an impromptu food distribution center miles away. As New Orleans residents continued to spill into Gretna, tensions rose.
After someone set the local mall on fire Aug. 31, Gretna Police Chief Arthur S. Lawson Jr. proposed the blockade.
"I realized we couldn't continue, manpower-wise, fuel-wise," Lawson said Thursday. Armed Gretna police, helped by local sheriff's deputies and bridge police, turned hundreds of men, women and children back to New Orleans.
Gretna is not the only community that views New Orleans with distrust. Authorities in St. Bernard Parish, to the east, stacked cars to seal roads from the Crescent City. But Gretna's decision has become the symbol of the ultimate act of a bad neighbor, gaining notoriety partly from an account in the Socialist Worker newspaper by two San Francisco emergency workers and labor leaders who were in a crowd turned back by Gretna police.
Numerous angry e-mails to Gretna officials accuse them of racism. (Harris and Lawson are white.)
New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin said Thursday that Gretna officials "will have to live" with their decision.
"We allowed people to cross ... because they were dying in the convention center," Nagin said. "We made a decision to protect people ... . They made a decision to protect property."
Paul Ribaul, 37, a New Orleans TV-station engineer from Gretna, said New Orleans and the suburbs have a complicated relationship.
"We say we're from New Orleans, but we're a suburb," he said. "The reason we don't live there is we don't like the crime, the politics."
Ribaul was among Gretna residents who praised the decision to close the bridge. "It makes you feel safe to live in a city like that," he said.
Critics suspect a racial motive for the blockade. City officials heatedly deny any such thing.
Among black residents of Gretna, some say that although they get along with most of their white neighbors, a few of the neighbors harbor strong prejudices.
Some black Gretna residents also speak fearfully of New Orleans. "We don't have as much killing over here as in New Orleans," said Leslie Anne Williams, 42.
Nonetheless, Williams' mother, a lifelong Gretna resident who is also black, disapproved of the Police Department's decision. People fleeing New Orleans "probably had a better chance of survival over here," said Laura Williams, 70, "especially with all that shooting" across the river.
When Katrina hit, about 5,000 of Gretna's residents were still in town. Police zigzagged the trim streets of ranch houses and older wooden buildings, checking on those who had not evacuated.
Like New Orleans, Gretna lost power and water. Town officials pleaded unsuccessfully for help from the state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Then they learned that New Orleans officials had told the thousands trapped in that city's downtown, similarly deprived of food and water but also dodging gunfights and rising floodwaters, to cross to Gretna.
Not sure how to feed even their own residents, Gretna officials were overwhelmed by New Orleans' evacuees. They organized bus caravans Aug. 31 to take the arrivals to Metairie, 16 miles away, where a food and water distribution center had been set up.
The evacuees waited for rides out of Gretna at the foot of the bridge, across the street from Oakwood Mall. As the hours ticked by and the crowd swelled, trouble began, Gretna authorities said.
Sometime on Wednesday, Aug. 31, a fire broke out in the mall, next to the local branch of the sheriff's office, and police chased suspected looters out of the building.
Mayor Harris had had enough. He called the state police.
"I said: 'There will be bloodshed on the west bank if this continues,' " Harris recalled. " 'This is not Gretna. I am not going to give up our community!' "
The following morning, Gretna's police chief made his decision: Seal the bridge.
The San Francisco paramedics said in an interview and in their article that there were gunshots over the heads of people crossing the bridge from New Orleans' convention center -- many of them elderly -- where they were stuck for days without food, water and working toilets.
Nagin, New Orleans' mayor, said that he'd heard similar reports about gunfire, as well as people being turned back by guard dogs.
Chief Lawson said that he was unaware of any of his officers shooting over the heads of evacuees on the bridge but said that one black officer did fire a shot overhead to quiet an unruly crowd waiting to board a bus.
Harris said Thursday that closing the bridge was a tough decision but that he felt it was right.
"We didn't even have enough food here to feed our own residents," Harris said. "We took care of our folks. It's something we had to do."
Times staff writer James Rainey contributed to this report.
Copyright 2005 Los Angeles Times
Here is another independent report for all of you that dont believe on what really happen.
Evacuees blocked at gunpoint by racist policemen
Sunday September 11th 2005
ANDREW BUNCOMBE
in Washington
A LOUISIANA police chief has admitted that he ordered his officers to block a bridge over the Mississippi river and force escaping evacuees back into the chaos and danger of New Orleans.
Witnesses said the officers regularly fired their guns above the heads of the terrified, mainly black, people to drive them back and "protect" their own suburbs.
Two paramedics who were attending a conference in the city and then stayed to help those affected by the hurricane, said the officers told them they did not want their community "becoming another New Orleans" or "another Superdome".
The tired and desperate evacuees were forced to trudge back into the city which they had just left. "It was a real eye-opener," said Larry Bradshaw, 49, a paramedic from San Francisco. "I believe it was racism. It was callousness, it was cruelty."
Mr Bradshaw said the police blocked off the road on the Thursday and Friday after Hurricane Katrina struck on Monday August 29. He and his wife Lorrie Slonsky, also a paramedic, had sheltered with others in the Hotel Monteleone in the French Quarter.
When food and water ran out they were advised by a senior New Orleans police officer to cross the Crescent City Connection bridge to Jefferson Parish, where he promised they would find buses waiting to evacuate them.
They were in the middle of a group of up to 800 people - overwhelmingly black - walking across the bridge when they heard shots and saw people running. Making their way towards the crest of the bridge they saw a chain of armed police officers blocking the route. When they asked about the buses they were told there was no such arrangement and that the route was being blocked to avoid their parish becoming "another New Orleans". They identified the police as officers from the city of Gretna.
The following day Mr Bradshaw said they tried again to cross and directly witnessed police shooting over the heads of a middle-aged white couple who were also turned back. Arthur Lawson, chief of the Gretna police department, said he had not yet questioned his officers as to whether they fired their guns.
He confirmed that his officers, along with those from Jefferson Parish and the Crescent City Connection police force, sealed the bridge and refused to let people pass. This was despite the fact that local media were informing people that the bridge was one of the few safe evacuation routes from the city.
Mr Bradshaw and his wife were eventually evacuated to Texas and have since returned to California. They condemned the Louisian authorities, contrasting their mean-mindedness with the generosity of Texans.
London Independent
1)["""The following day Mr Bradshaw said they tried again to cross and directly witnessed police shooting over the heads of a middle-aged white couple who were also turned back."""]
This statement right here MR PEREZ, clearing makes it known that it was NOT a question of race. Now, had this white couple been allowed to cross, and not the others, then I would maybe agree on your issues. Read between the damn lines man. Critisize, investigate, do what ever you feel necessary. But, in the long run, what was done, had to be done.
2) Furthernore,[ """When food and water ran out they were advised by a senior New Orleans police officer to cross the Crescent City Connection bridge to Jefferson Parish, where he promised they would find buses waiting to evacuate them. """",]
this was a crock of shit. This chief is the one you should be comdening because he flat out LIED to those people. He made up a story just to make them happy? Oh yeah, that's real intelligent. Anyone of high authority, that is white, is being labeled as racist. How rediculous. That's the problem with the damn world these days. Everyone wants to always shout out "Discrimination". That's their way out, well, tough shit because this was not, as I said before, about race.
3)[""""We allowed people to cross ... because they were dying in the convention center," Nagin said. "We made a decision to protect people ... . They made a decision to protect property."""] Another crock of shit. It wasn't primarely about property, it WAS a decision about protecting people.
4)["""More people died because of the Gretna's police, city council and all the German Predominant Racist People.""") Even more Bull. Those people died because THEY CHOSE to stay. They knew the risk, but they took it anyway. As I said before, THAT WAS NOT OUR FAULT. So if anyone wants to put the blame on the deaths, they must put it on themselves first and farmost.
5)["""Not sure how to feed even their own residents, Gretna officials were overwhelmed by New Orleans' evacuees. They organized bus caravans Aug. 31 to take the arrivals to Metairie, 16 miles away, where a food and water distribution center had been set up."""] Oh, but we didn't help, isn't that what everyone is saying. And, by the way, Metairie is going the OTHER way, not towards Gretna. So don't even try and say that over the bridge was the ONLY way out. There were other alternatives damnit.
Facts are facts. And you damn people will try everything in your power to make it something that it's not. Well, you go right on ahead. If it happened again, god forbid, I would want Arthur Lawson, the gretna police, The councilman, and the armed forces to do it all over again just as they did it before. I can't explain the feeling to you of actually feeling SAFE in a world filled with so much crime. N.O. is the way N.O. is, we didn't make ot that way. However, we did make our side the way it is and unfortunately, we too, have our share of crime. But, it is handled and not as overwhelming as N.O. crime. And we intend, no matter what it takes, to keep it that way. Hopefully, all of those N.O. people have learned their lesson. And if this should occur again, they will get the hell out as they were informed to do. As I said before, FACTS ARE FACTS. Live with it!!!
Here's a fact Gretna residents have to live with: When came hell and high water, Gretna police decided it was more important to protect property than to protect people.
Jay Perez,
I will give the L.A. Times credit for getting at least part of the story right. Unfortunately, being a SAIL, you either didn't read it, didn't believe it or didn't understand it.
I doubt seriously if you will find anyone from the AP or any other major news media interested in publishing a major factual story of the event, it won't agree with their preconceived ideas. Of course, that won't stand in the way of them publishing a 90% fictional hatchet job.
This morning I finally saw something news related that made me laugh ... too bad it won't make the national news. General Honore told a reporter that asked a stupid question the truth (as well as I can remember it), "You're stupid, I just said that wasn't going to happen (referring to a previous question), next question". Hurray for the general!
"Here's a fact Gretna residents have to live with: When came hell and high water, Gretna police decided it was more important to protect property than to protect people."
WHAT FACT?????
I am sleeping pretty well since I still have a place to sleep; much better than I would be if I had to shoot a few people trying to break down my door and take my food and water.
It wasn't primarely about property, it WAS a decision about protecting people.
Weren't the people in Gretna after the storm violating a mandatory evacuation order? If so, I'd think that protecting them ought to have been less of a governmental priority than evacuating the people trapped in New Orleans.
"Weren't the people in Gretna after the storm violating a mandatory evacuation order? If so, I'd think that protecting them ought to have been less of a governmental priority than evacuating the people trapped in New Orleans."
Rogers, you show signs of intelligence and then you say something like this! Under exactly what form of twisted logic do the basic rights to water, food, shelter and protection, of the "foreign" group of people supercede the rights of the "locals"? It has already been established that there was NO EXTRA WATER, FOOD OR SHELTER available in Gretna. Ergo, they were going to have to take it from a Gretna resident. What does "mandatory evacuation order" have to do with anything! I will concede that NEITHER group should have been there but the fact is that BOTH were. Trying to blame any of this on the fact that some Gretna residents stayed behind requires a logical contortion greater than believing the "Matrix" really exist! Maybe if I smoked some "funny" mushrooms, I could understand you!
Under exactly what form of twisted logic do the basic rights to water, food, shelter and protection, of the "foreign" group of people supercede the rights of the "locals"?
If the locals were under mandatory orders to evacuate, it stands to reason that the Gretna and Jefferson Parish police should have expended their resources facilitating that evacuation, not guarding the area against people in a neighboring parish also under orders to evacuate.
That same logic would extend to using Gretna as a staging area. If your parish was under an evacuation order, then the people in New Orleans should have been allowed to pass through but discouraged from stopping there.
"If the locals were under mandatory orders to evacuate, it stands to reason that the Gretna and Jefferson Parish police should have expended their resources facilitating that evacuation, not guarding the area against people in a neighboring parish also under orders to evacuate.
That same logic would extend to using Gretna as a staging area. If your parish was under an evacuation order, then the people in New Orleans should have been allowed to pass through but discouraged from stopping there."
I will make my response to this nonsense as brief as possible.
THERE WERE NO MORE TRANSPORTATION RESOURCES!
Gretna did not arbitrarily stop moving people west across the HPL Bridge. They stopped because they RAN OUT OF FUEL!!!!!!! If their had been any fuel, this whole story would never have happened!
After the World Trade Centers collapsed, and people had to trudge over the Brooklyn Bridge to make their way home, shopkeepers passed out free water, others donated walking shoes to ladies in high heels. Police assisted anyone needing help.
In Gretna, when the desparate and frightened approached, your police fired over their heads, and turned them away.
This is why we are ashamed of your police and ashamed of your support for them.
ur mom
is a bitch
Kevin,
Normally, I would just ignore you, being a clueless SAIL, but this morning I am feeling generous.
Trying to compare what happened here to the WTC disaster, is such a stretch that only you and a few equally clueless "journalist", and I use that word loosely, would attempt to draw a parallel between the two. The similarities are so few and the differences so vast as to be mind boggling. Before you infer something sinister from the last statement, I am in NO WAY trying minimize the WTC disaster. My ONLY point is that they are radically different!
*****BREAK*****
I started the above this morning while I was still feeling fresh and generous. It is now 4:40 PM and since RITA seems to be turning more easterly, I have been doing the things you seem to find so abhorrent, protecting my property by putting up window covers, moving outdoor furniture, getting gas, water and non-perishable food. Contrary to what I am sure you believe, I didn't go out and "bait" my driveway with a few six-packs and a TV. I did however, check the magazine in the 9mm. I am now tired, ornery and no longer feeling generous. I will leave you with your fantasy that you actually know what you are talking about.
Hello - Cave Man gretna mike (et. al)
Wake up and ignite a few brain cells (if this is possible . . . hmmmmmm).
And hello - hello - out there concerning - the sheriff and police who were . . .um, say that again . . . Oh yes, they were "firing shots" people, evacuees not looters - people without guns and only looking for help resources. Perhaps they could have met these people at the bridge and stated their predicament vs . . . the neathanderthal stance? Isn't it funny that outside of Creole communities(Creoles of color - that is) and New Orleans - most of the planet have a negative view of . . well to be blatant - southern whites (rednecks, trailer trash, etc . . .) and Gretna just fed into those stereotypes. So don't you think Gretna Cave Man Mike your kind haven't displayed any signs of human evolution (more like deevolution). hmmmmmmm Maybe this is too much food for thought for your very very very tiny craniums (aka - brains . . . Mikey)
And forgive me, but this says much about the whole of Jefferson Parish (home of the kkk and david duke - notice the "small case" letters . . . Wonder why? . . . Go figure) . . . What happened to the IQs . . . in these areas? Yes, I know much about this state, as most of my family are from it (hundreds of years), so why repeat "old" and incredibly ignorant (okay . . .unbelievably stupid) methods of . . .um "defending territory"
Remember Cave Man Mikey . . . "You not Tarzan, I not Jane" "You not have to use a club to . . . make your point and defend your space" OK???
On that note - Nagin is an absolute hero compared to the rest.
(If this troubles you, why not go down and help the d'mort groups tally up the bodies . . . or actually support families in need. I am . . .Put those ignorant redneck lips into POSITIVE and INTELLIGENT action vs . . .deevolution )
cc
cc, (small case)
Huh???!!!
Sorry, I don't understand gibberish. If there was suppose to be something intelligible in the above ramblings, please have someone rewrite it for you into something that resembles English language constructs.
You aren't, per chance, a product of the Orleans Parish Public School system are you? If not, maybe you smoked a few too many funny cigarettes or sucked up too much of that white powder last night.
Dear Gretna Scum,
What you fail to realize is that Gretna is not a fiefdom. Gretna is not an independent territory. The Gretna pigs had no legal authority to block what was a perceived escape route! It is a basic fundamental right in this country to travel freely from State to State, city to city, town to town, jurisdication to jurisdiction.
Those individuals - white, black, hispanic, green, blue or whatever were under the perception that crossing that bridge into Gretna was going to provide them with a safer haven than where they were.
The argument that the Gretna pigs were "protecting" their citizens is just plain bullshmit! Their speculation that the 800 or so people who eventually were gathered and poised to cross over were nothing more than thugs, thieves, robbers, looters isn't borne by the facts. Is it possible a few unsavory characters were mixed in? Sure. Was it an out-of-control ravenous mob? No! They were tourists, journalists, New Orleanians who had every right to move freely in any direction out of the city - regardless of whether or not it may not have been in the ideal direction. The fact that these people may have used bad judgment and didn't evacuate earlier is irrelevant. The facts bear out that there was still time for them to evacuate albeit not very far. The fact that they were driven back as if they were a hoard of marauders is abhorrent and despicable and just goes to show what decades of corruption, greed and the good-ole-boy network has bred in Louisiana.
We will not let this issue die! The Gretna pigs who fired their guns and threatened the lives of law abiding citizens who were seeking refuge from a major hurricane will be brought to justice!
Jimbolaya,
Sorry, you are a pure, clueless, SAIL reciting your TV News based, learned opinions and showing your elitism. Please, if you want to call me names, open up a Thesaurus and show at least a little creativity!
I am glad to see that someone taught you to spell (or at least how to use a spell checker) and construct a reasonable sentence. It's too bad they didn't teach you to think.
I'm not calling you names Mike, I'm just pointing out the obvious about what you are. Hey, don't be ashamed though. You can't help it. It's how you were (in)bred. How you were raised. It's the environment where you live. It's the buddies with whom you hunt and drink and fish. It's who your children will eventually grow up to be, if they already haven't. It's probably who your wife or girl friend is too.
It's what makes America great, Mike. Diversity! Black, white, hispanic. Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu and atheist. The poor, the rich, the middle-class, the illegal, the toothless inbred that populate Gretna too - all swirling around in the melting pot called America.
It's not name calling, Mike. It's cultural awareness. It's good for Americans to know what lurks in the backwaters of Gretna. It's a positive thing for the eyes of Americans to be opened to the moral and fiber character that defines Gretna. Ya' see Mike, you and Gretna were made for each other. You compliment each other so well. You deserve each other. It's the ideal place where you can thrive and grow and prosper and contribute. It's perfect for you, Mike. And I for one am glad you are there - and not here! :)
I hadn't even heard of Gretna until NPR aired Gretna's side of the story the other day. It appears that Gretna was tired fo all the criticism they had taken for shooting over the heads of people desperate for help so they wanted to tell their side of the story. Well, their side of the story is all I heard and I have to say that it didn't come off very well. It sounds to me like they had their reasons for what they did, but no matter what those reason were they come off as scared people willing to be brutal to others to save themselves. In the story of the Good Samaritan didn't the Pharasee pass on by the hurt man because he was afraid for his own life? It sounds to me like many people in Gretna, in spite of claiming being Christians, would claim that the Pharasee did the right thing.
I'm not calling you names Mike, I'm just pointing out the obvious about what you are. Hey, don't be ashamed though. You can't help it. It's how you were (in)bred. How you were raised. It's the environment where you live. It's the buddies with whom you hunt and drink and fish. It's who your children will eventually grow up to be, if they already haven't. It's probably who your wife or girl friend is too.
It's what makes America great, Mike. Diversity! Black, white, hispanic. Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu and atheist. The poor, the rich, the middle-class, the illegal, the toothless inbred that populate Gretna too - all swirling around in the melting pot called America.
It's not name calling, Mike. It's cultural awareness. It's good for Americans to know what lurks in the backwaters of Gretna. It's a positive thing for the eyes of Americans to be opened to the moral and fiber character that defines Gretna. Ya' see Mike, you and Gretna were made for each other. You compliment each other so well. You deserve each other. It's the ideal place where you can thrive and grow and prosper and contribute. It's perfect for you, Mike. And I for one am glad you are there - and not here! :)
Oh Great One of the Various Names,
Your post is a perfect illustration of the liberal mindset. In all the above diatribe, as far as I can tell without knowing you, you got EXACTLY one thing right about me. Gretna is a pretty good place to live!
It is also a great illustration why I chose not to engage on point with you. Rogers appears to be a thinking liberal, capable of making points based on logical conclusions from what he sees and hears. He also seems to be willing to accept, at least on the surface, that there may actually be an alternative view and relevant facts not presented by the news media. I don't harbor any delusions about converting him to a conservative viewpoint but he is capable of rational debate on the issue. Everyone else of the liberal persuasion posting here appears to be a pure SAIL. If I missed any other thinking liberal's post, I apologized in advance for calling you a SAIL.
Man blubbering.."He told me he was talking to his mama and he told her the'yre coming for you momma..they're coming for you momma"
Man blubbering.."And then the next day he talked to his mama and he told her they're coming for you momma..they're coming for you.."
Man blubbering.."And the next day he talked to his mama again and he told her you just hold on mama they're coming for you..they're coming for you mama.."
Man blubbering.."Sheriff, you just go ahead and shoot them sons-of-bitches if you have to..we ain't lettin' them cross the bridge"
Louisiana - ain't it a great place to live!
what a crock of shit. if you believe that then you will believe that all those people were murdered in the superdome and con center.
If you dont like it ....leave
You all are in such a heated battle over this subject, I dont even know if either side wants the truth at this point from someone who was there.
I had been in New Orleans since the day after the storm, having driven from out of town with several other members of my team. (La. Local Law Enforcement from Western La.)
The Gretna Police and Gretna City Government started out helping out at the unannounced "staging area" that was hastily setup at Oakwood Mall by the New Orleans City Government.
Due to no fault of the Gretna Police, the buses stopped coming. The crowd in the parking lot of Oakwood Mall continued to grow as night fell.
The crowd was 99% black. You each take that for what it is worth. Until nightfall, and while the busses were running, the crowd was fairly calm.
As soon as night fell, they entirely looted Oakwood Mall. As dawn arrived, they burned it. Gretna Police with the assistance of many other responding agencies took back the Mall and its parking areas, and moved the crowds away in any vehicles that could be summoned.
That morning was the first time I saw a checkpoint going out of the City.
After all that each of you have written, right or left, the fact remains that the checkpoint did not stop any VEHICLES. Only pedestrians.
The 800 person crowd spoken of at the beginning of this thread did not stay on the bridge long. They ultimately made their way out of N.O.
The unfortunate fact remains that if they had been allowed to walk out of New Orleans on that route, the only relief that would have obtained them was the opportunity to loot Gretna. There were no shelters, relief centers, etc set up on the WestBank at that time.
The only imminent result would have been that the evacuees would have become looters, even if that was not their original intent. They would have been forced to for survival. They would have attempted to loot an occupied home and been killed by a frightened homeowner or police officer.
The fault with this entire sad story still lies with (in order)
A) the people, INCLUDING JOURNALISTS AND MEDICAL STAFF that refused to heed Max Mayfield's and later the Mayor's orders to immediately leave the city, EVEN AFTER IT WAS MADE PUBLIC THAT THE LEVEE HAD BREACHED.
B)The Mayor and the Governor of the State of Louisiana for not MOVING THOSE BUSSES. The Dome area was dry enough for at least 36 hours to DRIVE a bus up to and pick up passengers and evac them. If you dont believe that is true, then check into what happened to the 5000 Orleans parish inmates that got moved to safety the two days after the storm. (That jail is 2 blocks from the Dome)
C) The Louisiana State Police.
There was no central police command after the storm wiped out the NOPD.(True enough it was on its way to disaster long before Katrina) Thousands of Officers responded from across Louisiana. Had one Senior Trooper stood up and assigned areas of the city, including GRETNA, Metarie, Kenner and various neighborhoods inside N.O., the city would have been under control within 48 hours. BEFORE this bridge incident occurred. The LSP often and loudly self proclaims themself to be the "premier law enforcement agency in the state of Louisiana" We all looked to them for leadership and it was not there. It never came. It is shameful that the US Armed forces was required to take control of the city when probably by then almost 10000 police officers from as far away as Canada had arrived to help.
Personally, I did find the LSP in only two places. At checkpoints outside the city and holed up in a building near the Convention Center... I want that to sink in. ONE HUNDRED YARDS AWAY FROM THE CONVENTION CENTER. They did NOTHING.
D) The Mayor of N.O. and Chief Compass spent many, many hours after Katrina putting their immense collective I.Q.s together in meeting after meeting after meeting, and I am sure they formulated a perfect response for the responding police and fire / rescue agencies to execute. We Missed the Memo. We waited for days at Harrahs to be told where to go and what to do.
The few brave NOPD cops that STAYED on duty were left without basic life sustaining support, food, water, ammo, much less leadership in their darkest hour.
The very worst part of the sheer lack of command by the LSP is that it forced smart, brave cops and firemen out of the city at night for fear of fratricide. We were so afraid of foot patrolling areas that had rising water because of the very real chance of being shot by a fellow police officer. So we worked at dawn, and slept in our cars IN GRETNA, at night.
Both sides in this case are right, according to the twisted facts you have been fed.
The real fault here is apparent to anybody who was ACTUALLY there.
The mistake happened long before the storm.
Oh. By the way. The people that "were prevented from walking out of the city of New Orleans over the CCC had walked past at least several other ramps that led down to dry ground. Everything to the South and East of St. Charles St., INCLUDING THE DAMN FRENCH QUARTER WHERE THESE SAN FRANSICO PARAMEDICS STARTED AT, was dry and relatively safe.
By the way, as of day three post storm, I SAW french quarter bar owners running beer boxes on generators and selling beer. I wonder why the paramedics would move themselves into a more dangerous situation that the 5 star hotel where they started this adventure. WAIT AT THE MONTELEONE FOR THE GODDAMN BUSES!
The paramedics weren't allowed to remain in their French Quarter hotel, according to their written account. They were kicked out, told to go to the central business district, not allowed into any shelters, then tried to leave via the bridge to Gretna.
Thanks for posting your perspective on the situation.
I don't doubt that it happened but I also agree wholeheartedly with Gretna closing the bridge. I wouldn't want my town burned down with looters running rampant in the streets either if there was some way to avoid it... Sounds like they did everything they could to help until their resources were depleted and when things started to go the way they did in New Orleans, they choose to close the town. Some of you people seem to have this vision that Gretna was this little paradise of white people holding back the black people but try to remember that THIS town was also hit the hurricane.
People can cry 'racism!' all they want but the same decision would have been made if the crowd was an unruly crowd of white people too. *shrug*
being Racist is the worst thing you can do.sherrif gredna is a pig for not getting help from america or letting new orleans in.looting in this crisis and shooting people (sick).donate and help instead of arguing.the sherrif is an a-hole.
sherrif made a mistake that killed 5000 or more people
If anyone has ever actually LIVED in New Orleans were posting comments, they would know that any time that the city has tried to help it's citizens during a hurricane situation it was a catastrophe. The last time that the city opened the superdome to it's patrons they were thanked by theft and vandalism. These "helpless" citizens were stealing rows of seats and actually complained about the free food that the city provided. It is no wonder that the city might have hesitated to opening up public shelters in the city. The crime and murder rate in New Orleans was (prior to Katrina) record breaking. I do not blame Harry Lee (sheriff of Kenner) for taking a stern approch to the situation that they were dealing with. I also agree with the Gretna Police and Gretna City Government in their decision to close the bridge. There were armed savages looting and raping the innocent while officials were trying to get the situation somewhat under control. The average citizen in the city of New Orleans embraces poverty and ignorance, and there IS NO CHANGING THAT. Please notice the crime stats in the cities that these poor victims were bused into. I believe that it might just proove my point. Using FEMA and Red Cross money to buy drugs and strippers only hinders actual relief efforts for the genuine people in need (like myself). Here's a few questions. Where do you live Mr. Rogers Cadenhead? Is it a nice neighborhood? Have you noticed any newly displaced citizens in your area? If so please sleep soundly knowing that will all change. There is a plaigue of ignorance and it is spreading. If you believe in guns, buy one. If not GOOD LUCK. THIS IS NOT RACISM - THIS IS REALITY. Sleep well.
You people don't have a CLUE! Live here in New Orleans for about 2 months and you will have a different opinion. This is a case of "The Good Suffer for the Bad." Do you realize that some of these people were raping children in the Convention Center??? and looting gold shops and shoe stores (I guess they were hungry right... I'm sure those shoes tasted good). And Gretna is supposed to just let them march into our city and go loot peoples houses for those shoes to eat. Gretna did let them through at first... what happened? Oh, they just burned down our Mall! These poor people... right? You are feeling sorry for criminals who burned down our shopping mall! Of course, not all of the people were criminals. I'd be scared for my life too if I was in a crowd mixed in with those low-life people. But the Gretna police department is not big enough to manage and secure that large amount of people. Why do you think Nagin sent them over to the westbank? duh... b/c they were messing up New Orleans. You people are really confused... and if you still feel sorry for them... how about I buy a plane ticket for some of them to come to your house while you are not home so they can come in and eat your TV's and furniture.
Let me start this by telling you that I am the female of the "middle aged white couple" that was shot at on Friday after Katrina by the Gretna police. This DID happen. I think the people of Gretna are living in La-La Land. Here are a couple of points for you to ponder while you sit smugly in your pathetic little city:
1. You guys were looted by GRETNA CITIZENS! Wake up- the New Orleans looters were not going to cross that bridge and walk another mile after that to loot your little town. Looters are ignorant animals and I seriously doubt they would go the extra mile or two for your little community full of run down apartment buidlings and boarded up stores.
2. No one was crossing that bridge to go to Gretna. IT WAS THE ONLY WAY OUT to get to the first check point (LaPlace) so we could get a ride out of town. I had family members who could not get in the city to pick us up because it was CLOSED. No one wanted Gretna's food, water, busses, shelters or whatever you guys think you have there. I-10 West was under water. I-10 East was broken into a bunch of pieces.
3. The Gretna police were in NEW ORLEANS when they stopped people. If they wanted to keep people out of Gretna then close off the two measley exits to your city.
4. This was not a racial thing. I am white. I have blonde hair and blue eyes. I was wearing a Jazz Fest hat and a pink shirt. How threatening is that to you?
5. I had a business in Jefferson Parish that I have moved to New Orleans. I won't even go to the Westbank anymore. Keep your people there and keep ours here- that's fine. And like someone posted earlier- let's re-route the highway so that it doesn't even go near Gretna. The tax revenue from Gretna's poor little area would not even help to build the down ramp. Half your busineses on the Westbank Expressway were closed down and boarded up way before hurricane season.
6. THERE WOULD BE NO GRETNA IF THERE WAS NO NEW ORLEANS. Did anyone ever consider this?
7. Why would they let only people in cars go through? On the way out of the city we saw people hot wire cars and drive them out. Wouldn't these people be more dangerous? They sure could fit more of your posessions in there-including the daughters one of you said they all wanted to rape.
We stayed during the hurricane to help two elderly neighbors who refused to evacuate (whom the National Guard rescued). We had enough food and water at our home for months. We had generators. The only reason we left was because Nagin pleaded on the radio for everyone to get out. Rumors were flying around that the city was going to be even more destroyed. From our balcony, we could see fires all along the river. We would have driven out but we could not get our car out of the driveway due to the river going down our street (levees breached you know). So we had to walk out- and we were prepared to walk to LaPlace where I had family waiting to get us. We did not need a bus. We did not need a darn thing from Gretna.
Do any of you in Gretna have a soul? You are like cold, unfeeling animals. Saying that you would rather have people die then have your houses looted? Don't you have insurance?
What kind of human being places the value of property over lives? I don't care which God you worship but I doubt there is a religion out there that would agree with this kind of thinking. I know a lot of you are defensive about this because you know deep down how wrong it is. I certainly hope so.
By the way, after we were shot at, the Gretna Robo-Cop chased us down the bridge with his gun pointed at us. We were picked up on the interstate by one of the kindest BLACK families who were trying to get out of New Orleans. So for all you racists out there- remember that there is good and bad in all races. Unfortunately the bad get more camera time.
And for everyone who says New Orleans is a cess pool and should not be rebuilt- stay away. You don't have to visit here. You don't have to come have beignets at Cafe du Monde. You don't have to watch the Radiators every year at Jazz Fest. We don't need you standing next to us while we catch beads at parades with our children. We don't need you sitting next to us at Galatoire's while we have martinis on Friday evenings. I don't want to listen to you complain while I'm enjoying a cheeseburger at Port O Call or having a bowl of turtle soup at Mandina's. We don't want you standing next to us while we watch Kermit Ruffins play his trumpet Blue Nile. I don't want you near me while I eat crawfish by Lake Pontchartrain and sip Abita Ambers. No one needs you while we watch a random second line go down the street. I don't want you sitting on a rumbling streetcar going down St. Charles. And I certainly don't want to see you at a play at the Saenger Theater while the star lights twinkle above my head. Anyone who does not like our culture here can stay in their planned subdivisions where every other house looks the same while I marvel at the architecture of my historic home and feel like the luckiest girl in the world to live in such a beautiful and marvelous city.
We are rebuilding this amazing place and I for one am proud to be resident of New Orleans. Gretna can kiss my rear end.
Peace.
Hmmm... when I last checked the altitude maps, the French quarter and just a few other areas around it are above water. The rest that was developed below came afterwards. And the lowest parts were saved for the most expendable, poorest, darkest skinned types... the ones they want to bulldoze and turn into golf courses now.
I guess that would meet the Patriotic goal of inexpensive redevelopment. [But to be fair, even a golf course below sea-level in hurricane exposed arease probably makes little economic sense]
Ahh... but let's not forget to lay the blame on the French for inventing truck-not-auto regulation-designated SUV, for giving at best lip service to Kyoto, for dumping all that energy into the atmosphere that needs some form of release, for drying out swamps ...
