the flooded are beginning to fight back

[donsu]

http://www.blackcommentator.com/167/167_cover_fighting_no_theft.html

Fighting the Theft of New Orleans

"I don't think it's right that you take our properties. Over my dead body. I didn't die with Katrina." - Lower 9th Ward resident Caroline Parker.

"Joe Canizaro, I don't know you, but I hate you. I'm going to suit up like I'm going to Iraq and fight this." - New Orleans East resident Harvey Bender, referring to the author of the city commission's "rebuilding" plan.

The overwhelmingly Black New Orleans diaspora is returning in large numbers to resist relentless efforts to bully and bulldoze them out of the city's future. "Struggle on the ground has intensified enormously. A number of groups are in motion, moving against the mayor's commission," said Mtangulizi Sanyika, spokesman for the African American Leadership Project (AALP). "Increasing numbers of people are coming back into the city. You can feel the political rhythm."

-snip-

Activists believe the way to play this situation is for residents to forge ahead on their own. "Trying to figure out the logic of that illogical proposal is a wasted effort - all you're going to do is wind up going in circles," said Sanyika. He emphasizes that the commission's recommendations are not binding on anyone - certainly not on the majority Black city council, which claims authority in city planning matters. They're not buying the nonsense. "The city council has rejected it. Nagin says ‘ignore it.' I think it's dead in the water," said Sanyika.

The city council has attempted to block Nagin's collaboration with corporate developers - a hallmark of his tenure - voting to give itself authority over where to place FEMA trailers. (Only about 5,000 of a projected 25,000 trailers arrived, say community activists.) Nagin vetoed the bill, but the council overrode him. The council has also endorsed equitable development of neighborhoods, rather than shrinking the city. "We are developing a resolution to that effect," said Sanyika. Odds are that it will pass - but the question is, who wields power in post-Katrina New Orleans, where only one-third of the city's previous population of nearly half a million has returned?
-snip- (there's a whole section in this snip on The Resistance
-----------------------------------------


freedom fighters are returning to the beseiged city

[400Years]

1. thanks for posting

[pitohui]

2. freedom fighters?

no one should be encouraging anyone to return to new orleans east, i am sorry, that is just cruel and wrong

yeah, let's encourage people to return to a wetland, developed in the 70s, out of swampland that should have never been developed, which will never be adequately protect-able, but who cares, let's encourage them to squat on devastated worthless swampland at great financial and personal cost to themselves for whatever political reason we think we're going to get out of this

i'm sorry, this is just wrong

new orleans east should have never been developed in the first place, to encourage squatters to come back and squat on swampland so that taxpayers in peoria won't bitch about having to pay to mitigate these people and give them money to move somewhere SAFE...don't sit there and tell me to my face that this is about anything except ripping black people off...and, nice hat trick, while pretending it's about trying to prevent black people from being ripped off

they really do think we're stupid, don't they?

they all do, on both sides

it is most discouraging

new orleans east is not a historical part of the city or of any city, it is cheap worthless unsafe swampland developed for a profit by greedy developers, the unfortunate inhabitants should be generously compensated for their homes and the land allowed to become part of bayou sauvage wetlands as protection for the REAL city

don't pretend that putting people back in new orleans east is about freedom or resistance

it is about pure-d greed and let's feel good about once again cheating people who have already been cheated and victimized

tossing in new orleans east and ninth ward together in the same article is just soooo intellectually dishonest and can't possibly make sense if you have actually ever spent any time in new orleans outside of drinking in the french quarter or harrah's casino

"equitable development" is code word for you were ripped off once by being sold worthless swampland, SO instead of being mitigated and being allowed to get a new start, you are going to be ripped off again and stuck on that piece of worthless swamp forever

christ, don't do me no favors

neighborhoods that can be quickly made safe and given sufficient protection for people to live without being in fear for their lives should be re-developed BEFORE rebuilding worthless swampland

i am no nagin voter, but let's have some common sense here people, developers were allowed to go crazy building in areas that shouldn't be built, we should not have to live with their crimes for time and all eternity, what is broke should be fixed, this phase of the atlantic hurricane cycle could last another 50 years, an entire adult lifetime where every fall you have to worry about your house being flooded, come on

the dude who wants to come back "like it's iraq" and make new orleans east back into the same war zone it was before he left, great, terrific, that is the very kind of thing we don't need and the very kind of thing that had turned new orleans east into the hellhole we all knew and loved long before katrina

[shance]

3. "Putting people back in New Orleans" as you disdainfully put

it is returning these individuals to WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY THEIRS TO BEGIN WITH.

The resistence and revolt will only result from those salivating with greed and acting out their own preditory intentions and compulsions.

[pitohui]

5. do you live in new orleans? because i do

the author of this article, to put it kindly, doesn't know what the hell he is talking about

it sounds like neither do you

if you have to "put" people back in new orleans, rather than drawing them back by providing a safe living space, then you are already a criminal because you are forcing people to do what they would not do willingly

i am not in favor of "putting" anyone anywhere, except i would "put" the criminals who did not build the floodwalls to spec in prison

as for everyone else, the city is open, they are free to return, however, if they live in unsafe areas that are provably not able to be properly protected from flooding, such as new orleans east, don't cheat those people of being compensated for their lost homes, don't cheat them of the money they will need to rebuild somewhere safe

because you would not be willing to live in new orleans east

i wouldn't

my husband was born there and he wouldn't

some things are just wrong and manipulating people during their time of pain, with intent to cheat them of being properly compensated by the flood mitigation program, pretending that they can safely rebuild where they can't...well, that is wrong, and for what motive? to save you a few dollars in tax money that will just be wasted in iraq anyway, your taxes are not gonna be cut because some poor people moved back to a flooded swamp instead of being properly compensated and being able to start over elsewhere

you know, WHITE PEOPLE in st bernard parish are quietly getting bought out and compensated for their property affected by the flood and by murphy oil

somehow people don't have a problem with them getting compensated

but there is a race-based element, trying to encourage black people to just try to start over, with destroyed houses that can't be safely repaired, in areas that aren't properly protected by levees, and what is the motive? it seems to me, under a guise of "oh we care so much about black people" we are very neatly advocating that they be cheated of their compensation in cold hard cash

which would you rather have?

a pile of debris on a worthless lot in a wetland

or a buy-out in cash allowing you to start over

doesn't seem like it would be such a tough choice honestly

i realize my view seems unpopular on the national stage but i can't quite figure out what the problem is that people have, if this flood had occurred in ha ha grand forks, would you be telling people to squat or would you be supporting them in getting mitigated

we already know the answer to that question!

somehow giving people $$$ is only bad when it's black people getting the $$$

[shance]

7. How about Pit allowing New Orleans to have make that choice, not you.

We all know how trustworthy FEMA, Red Cross and the Federal Government have been on granting help and funds to those who lost everything in New Orleans. This is a shake down of the biggest level ever, bigger than 9/11.

For the record, I would take my land back and I would demand the decision to either level my house or not. Its not up to the Bush Administration and those whom they have sent to New Orleans.

In the meantime you want their measely monetary sum, take it. You will probably be able to buy a bathroom with it.

[fudge stripe cookays]

4. That's not completely correct.

These people don't ALL want to MOVE back. They had an attorney on Rachel Maddow's show this morning who was discussing this.

It's not necessarily about them RETURNING to move back into the houses. It's about these people receiving NO NOTICE about the demolition before it occurs.

If my house was heavily damaged like this, and I was having to stay with family 4 states away, I would not receive notice that my house was doing to be demolished by a door hanging sign. I'm NOT THERE.

These people at least deserve the rights to go back into their homes and salvage what they can of old photos, items of real and sentimental value they were not able to take in the first place.

One person was able to go back and get the flag that had rested on his father grave from his WWII service. Some of them don't even want to move back, they just want to be able to salvage parts of their prior lives before they are bulldozed. They deserve that right. Right now, they are not getting it.

The only ones who can (or should) decide about redevelopment are the citizens of that city, who helped build it.

[pitohui]

6. that is flat-out untrue

there is no use telling me they can't go back and get closure, as i have visited these areas for myself now, even the worst of the areas was opened on december 5

no one alive built new orleans, it is hundreds of years old, i have lived here decades and yet you seem to think i should have no opinion?

the people who can and will decide are the people are actually willing to come on down and start cleaning up

if someone hasn't come back after all this time and just wants us to keep their falling apart, unsafe structure crumbling forever while they dilly dally, then it's getting hard to be all that sympathetic

come back, get closure, save what you can, help rebuild, or don't, but if you don't, i don't see how long we should continue hunting people down who don't even care enough to check out their property 5 months after the disaster!

this statement is just plain untrue: they just want to be able to salvage parts of their prior lives before they are bulldozed. They deserve that right. Right now, they are not getting it.

if they are not getting it, it is because they have made a choice that they can't be arsed to come back and go thru what the rest of us are going thru every day w. the traffic, rebuilding, the struggle to find workers, the struggle to get work etc.

the red-tagged houses should have been bull-dozed yesterday

these were houses, they are not safe, they should be removed, i'm sorry that life is hard but it won't be made any easier by someone climbing around in that and getting their leg broken or their head bashed in--

[fudge stripe cookays]

9. Where did I say you should have no opinion?

NOWHERE. I realize the city is HUNDREDS of years old. Boy, no attitude from you.

By "HELPED" build, I'm referring to the modern day citizens who contribute to the life and culture of a place every day, whether they were there 100 years ago or not.

This woman who was on Rachel's show has been working with these people everyday.

Some of them were not even ALLOWED to come back to their neighborhoods until December-- they had to take bus tours PAST their houses, and were not allowed to debark from the buses. Their houses were slated for demolition before that.

I think they have every right to retrieve precious family possessions.

Just because you're from New Orleans doesn't give you the right to be so nasty. If you have problems with what this woman said, call Rachel Maddow and take it up with her. I'm reporting what I heard.

[shance]

8. Absolutely and thank you for posting fsc.*

The demolition and overall 'invasion' of New Orleans by this Administration has been on the agenda for some time.

That is why of course they are attempting to use condemnation laws and eminent domain laws to now seize land that is NOT the governments or private contractors. It belongs to the people that OWN the property.