And Ain't I Sacred Too?

Tim Russert was interviewing Ray Nagin, mayor of New Orleans, on Meet The Press. He accused him of  belittling New York's tragedy, by referring to the WTC site as a "hole in the ground" during a 60 Minutes interview. It seems Nagin had been asked why New Orleans hadn't been rebuilt one year later, and he asked why five years later there was still a "hole in the ground" in New York.

Unfortunately, he backed down, apologizing to the people of New York, when Russert accused him of not treating the WTC location as a "sacred place".

Well, excuse the hell out of me: Is not New Orleans a sacred place?

Were those stockbrokers who died on 9/11 somehow more deserving of honor after their deaths than those who died in New Orleans? Of course not.

Imagine if half of Philadelphia had been under water a year ago. Does anyone think half its residents would still be living in temporary homes a year later? Of course not.

The whole country mourned when New York and Washington were attacked on September 11. I hung on to my puppy and weeped, watching the news coverage of people searching for loved ones. I clutched my own loved ones tighter at night, mindful of how precious—and fleeting—life was. I swallowed back tears when I heard the names of the dead read aloud, solemnly, each in turn, before a quiet nation.

I did the same when, from 5000 miles away, I watched a hurricane named Katrina devastate a city I'd known and loved. I cried when I read of how people had organized themselves, with young children and old people to be evacuated first, while the able-bodied swept their area free of debris, hoping they'd be seen as "deserving" of rescue. Tears sprang to my eyes when I read of how people stranded on their rooftops waved away helicopters, saying they didn't have money for a ticket.

No one's talking about how big a memorial to build in New Orleans, what sort of monument the dead deserve. No one's declared the Lower Ninth Ward a "sacred place" despite the fact hundreds died there, the victims of a horrible wind, and the horrible neglect of their government.

Ray Nagin didn't say what he should have on Meet The Press. He didn't tell Tim Russert that those dead in New Orleans were just as worthy as those who died on 9/11, worthy of our respect, and our sacred vow to do better next time for all our citizens, white or black, rich or poor.

And yet Tim Russert still questioned whether race or class had anything to do with the response to Katrina, when his own instinct is to refer to the 9/11 site as "sacred" while at the same time expecting the people of New Orleans to rebuild their city on little more than hope, knowing the new levees are not much better than the old.

What does a city have to do to earn the label "sacred" these days?

Comments

[barb]

Excellent post and I agree completely. Believe me, New Orleans was, and still is, a sacred place to me. And I only experienced it as a visitor many times over the years.

I watched Spike Lee's elegy, When the Levees Broke, recently on HBO and all my righteious anger and profound sadness returned. He lays it out plainly, using the voices of those who suffered and many who still do. A shameful and devastating indictment of a government gone corrupt and uncaring. After all, it wasn't the hurricane itself that brought New Orleans down, it was the levee breaks.

Even though I'm fully aware of how pitiful and cold blooded Bush is, it still shocked me to learn that all the state of the art improvements to the levies were stripped out of the new legislation drafted to correct the problems. The inhumanity continues.

[DavidByron]

9-11 is sacred to Tim Russert's bosses because they can use it for PR purposes, not because of the people who died.

[Kath]

Was in NOLA the first weekend of June to visit a buddy that attends Tulane.

Chris took me to tour the Lower Ninth. Even tho I had my camera with me, I couldn't take pictures. When Chris asked why, I responded by saying 'This is a sacred place'.

I know what you mean, Kathy.

Both situations could have been prevented. The current administration refused to listen to the outgoing Cinton administration on the danger that was Osama Bin Laden, just as they refused to listen to the warnings of what would happen if a Cat 5 hurricane hit NOLA.

Pointing out blame will not bring back anyone from the dead...I realize that. Pointing out blame WILL/SHOULD/MIGHT lead some of us to realize how the current administration has royally screwed us over so many times.

Our future leaders need to learn from Bushco's mistakes.

[Kathy]

Thank you for writing this! I so hoped Mayor Nagin would tell his critics to go jump, or something even more forceful. The deaths on 9/11 were horrible and tragic, but no more so than those caused by Katrina -- or by the government's pitiful response.

[eRobin]

Tears sprang to my eyes when I read of how people stranded on their rooftops waved away helicopters, saying they didn't have money for a ticket.

That still makes me cry.

Russert is an asshole. In Frank Rich's column today, he quoted Douglas Brinkley, author of The Great Deluge as saying that the inaction in NOLA is the plan. They want a smaller, more controllable city in a redder state.

[Diane]

Ray Nagin has a very careless mouth, which is fine, if he had the spine to go with it. But he always backs down, and in the end, looks like a fool. Which he is. Nagin is a Republican who wants people (other than rich white ones) to believe he is a Democrat. He cannot take a stand on anything, and consequently, cannot lead.

As much as I dislike Nagin, I was disappointed to see him back down to Russert, whom I consider a pox on humanity.

And you'll pleased to know that a memorial is being built in the Lower Ninth.

[Janet]

AMEN...great post, and I agree completely.

Janet

[foodie]

Hey, people, all is well--The Prez has taken full responsibility, y'all, so that's that!

[Jean]

It's a pot/kettle thing to me. Nagin doesn't have much room to talk in my opinion. On the other hand, the damage to the whole of the Gulf Coast is so vast, it will be ten years before they can begin to say it's recovered.

Emotions run high in both areas. I'd love to say Nagin's leadership is lousy (I believe it is), but I can't ignore that the entire infrastructure of New Orleans was destroyed, and that makes it infinitely more difficult to get the initial recovery stages accomplished than the WTC situation. Even the best leadership would be hard-pressed to accomplish what needs to be done, and I've seen nothing but disfunctionality in the Louisiana leadership chain -- Mississippi has managed far better, in my opinion, and that's a more accurate comparison than NYC and WTC.

I admire the people who have worked so hard to get the process started. One step at a time and never giving up will bring positive results.