Welcome back, how was your vacation?

A couple of hours ago, I returned to Brooklyn. On the way to New Orleans International Airport, we were driving through Kenner, a region where our group had done extensive outreach to migrant workers. I could not help looking over the edge of the highway and spot locations that would be perfect for further outreach. And then it hit me--I was leaving. Just 20 minutes ago I realized that I would have to start revising my brief, and preparing for oral arguments. And then, the guilt set in. Did I do enough? No. Could I possibly do enough? NO! Why am I back in New York, warm in my apartment thinking about an 8 page paper while New Orleans, one of the greatest cities in the world, is in RUINS! People are DYING in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA because they are inhaling asbestos while trying to rebuild a devasted city. Others, are rotting in jail for months with no representation, and without being convicted in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Kesav is right. I want to scream.

I want to grab every media producer in the nation by the shoulders and scream and cry in their face--show everyone what's happening, don't tell me about the latest shopping trends, and stop making light small talk on the air while we are facing possibly (I think undisputably) the largest national crisis since the Great Depression. I want to yell at our government so many things...How can we promote "democracy" abroad when we deny people fundamental human rights in our own nation?

FEMA, why are you denying a 57 year old man a trailer after he spent 3 days clearing space per your specifications, while, simultaneously, 20 plus trailers were destroyed by negligently leaving them in a muddy field, stacked onto each other until they sank into the ground?

Why, why, why should someone have to pay electric bills for two months when they were EVACUATED from New Orleans and the apartment's electric box is hanging from the side of the building while she is trying desperately to support 3 children, 1 baby, her mother, buy a new apartment, and save for next hurricane season????

I'm sorry...as I said in an earlier post, salvation is taking the form of effective community activism....I just don't like the transition I've made from being involved (even if I was just a miniscule part of the movement), to being a distant observer in New York City. Originally, we went down to New Orleans during our vacation. But, in reality, I've been on vacation since August. I am terrified about what might happen this summer during hurricane system, and I hope that our nation will learn from its mistakes and relearn how to represent the values that it pays lip-service to.


Now that I'm back, I've had sometime to upload my photos to my computer. I think that following merit special attention...

Here's a shot of a spot in the Upper 9th Ward, which was very harshly hit by Katrina.


And this is just over the canal in near the French Market.


The follwing, are shots of the Lower 9th Ward, immediately beneath the breach of the first Levee....which broke in August.
August...



This house was lifted off its foundations, potentially from blocks away, before it was smashed into another.


I think this pretty much visually sums up my previous post...