Race matters in America

“

AP caption for the pic on the left:

A young man walks through chest deep flood water after looting a grocery store in New Orleans on Tuesday.
AFP caption for the pic on the right:

Two residents wade through chest-deep water after finding bread and soda from a local grocery store in New Orleans, Louisiana.”

“They ahd a column in the paper here aboput that yesterday!”

“More info on these photos

From the above linked piece on Snopes:

The photographer who took the Getty/AFP picture, Chris Graythen, also posted the reasons behind his caption:
I wrote the caption about the two people who 'found' the items. I believed in my opinion, that they did simply find them, and not 'looted' them in the definition of the word. The people were swimming in chest deep water, and there were other people in the water, both white and black. I looked for the best picture. there were a million items floating in the water — we were right near a grocery store that had 5+ feet of water in it. it had no doors. the water was moving, and the stuff was floating away. These people were not ducking into a store and busting down windows to get electronics. They picked up bread and cokes that were floating in the water. They would have floated away anyhow.

”

“Cokes float on water?”

“looting and survival are two very different things......who's gonna eat a gold ring or a cd player? how can items necessary for survival be construed as items that can be termed "creature comforts"? Look at the things that are being 'gathered', it will tell you real quick if that person is a looter or desperate for the bare necessities: shoes, clothes, food, shelter, fuel to cook, boil water, etc.”

“Good point chappy. Nobody needs a plasma screen tv now!”

“Of course race matters in America. That doesn't mean we can know for sure what the headlines would have been had the racial features between reversed.

If I'd been there, I might have grabbed food and water from a store - or medical supplies. With the quality of relief aid, I wouldn't rely on others to get me and mine through this.

The shooting and other violence, the looting of stores without food and water is another thing altogether.”

“Too bad all the good stuff was looted by the black people before the white people could find it... umm... wait.”

“Hoepfully all the Walmart's are cleaned out by now.”

“you know those are the first 2 people I have seen in NO that wasn't black. I was starting to wonder if the whole town was black”

“Ewker, maybe the folks with the means were able to (take time off from work)evacuate and not risk losing everything if they left and it was a "non-event."”

“I was just wondering...are the plastic bag so air tight that the bread won't get wet? You wouldn't want to eat anything that's soaked in that dirty water!!!!”

“I think it's more about economic class than race itself. Most of the people left behind are so poor that they had no means of evacuating without some sort of assurance of continuity if this had become a non-event (eg, home, job, etc.)

Ironically though, there appears to be a very strong correlation between economic class and race though...”

“A little history...
Why did we run over to Kosovo when the genocide was going on but didn't do one thing about the genocide in Darfur?? We go over and invade Iraq with Bush speaking about Saddam killing his own people 20 years ago...Why aren't we in Africa?? I submit it is about race. Just my opinion.”

“Tango, we did try that in Somalia.”

“Of course race and religion matter, and yes, flat screen tvs are important, lol.

I don't even care about that stuff, it's the people that are shooting at rescueres that's so appauling.

They shot about 6 people on the bridge that were shooting at them (police, nat'l guard, rescueres) with guns and killed several people.

There is something said psychologically about thinking something that doesn't have to happen, but you think it's your reality so you actually make it come to fuition and that's what these bridge men did by shooting at people trying to rescue them and others. They thought they were against these people and made themselves that way and became a consequence of their own rationale.”

“I saw on the news tonight that alot of New Orleans citizens are buying guns, before returning to their homes in the following days (or weeks).

One gun shop owner said he sells about 15 guns a week normally.....this week he sold 1000 guns.”

“1000 guns? I've been to a lot of nice gun shops before but I've never seen one stock 1000 guns.

I have an acquaintance in the Louisiana Natl. Guard. He's an engineer who is part of the effort to confirm that the levees are now safe. When they were suited up to dive and take a look at the levee they were examining, they took fire from "2 guys with rifles in civilian clothes". In fact, one of their sniper escorts was hit by fire from these two guys.

It is so stunningly screwed up down there even today. He says that the only citizens remaining in the area are looters and press.”

“Ewker, NO is 70% black, 28% below poverty level.Race matters to people like Sharpton and Jackson. Its really economics. The only color that counts is green. The race card is running out of steam. Hispanics will soon be the largest minority in the US (if they aren't already). And Hispanics are doing all the grunt work;construction, road building, farm work, etc , etc. When Hispanics start to get elected, black leaders will wish they hadn't pushed the slave card for the last 40 years. I say give the hoodlums guns and let them shoot themselves. Many may wonder how I can say that alound when they think it to themselves but remain quiet.”

“BTW... a 2 liter of coke will float.”

“Over 150 dogs and other animals were evacuated from an animal hospital after their owners had left town without them. [9/1/2005]



http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/la-katrina0901_im63vanc,0,113031.photo?track=mostemailedlink
last edited: 9/21/05 1:54:01 PM”

“Hurricane Katrina refugees are evacuated in a truck in New Orleans. [9/2/2005]



http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/050902/photos_ts_afp/050902142913_zw233ydb_photo1”

“That's a powerful juxtaposition, but I don't think its evidence of anything. People were leaving any way they could. Plenty of people were taken and forced to leave their animals behind - so these two pictures in no way represent the range of treatments for animals or for people of any race, class or means.”

“Those inner city folk are too poor, primitive, and scared to go on a scary rich-man jet ride. Dogs just don't know any better.”

“Yup, DDX's cat matters to me too. ; )”

“How did porkchop get entered into this conversation? :D”

“ooooooooh.... *slaps forehead*”

“Don't be so suckjered in Ped. See the set up Violin is trying to show is that dogs were flown out using relief money and blacks were only driven out. He wants us to think that we care more for dogs than for blacks. He gives next to no information. Who paid for those animals to be flown out? It doesn’t say.”

“Nigal - that's the point I was trying to make. The images side by side are powerful, but they provide misinformation.

As I said, lots of animals were abandoned and rescuers refused to take them.
Human's got better treatment on the whole.

The animal picture is awfully cute though.”

“Nigal, I'm pretty sure the dogs are on a bus. I recognize the Hesselgrave bus trademark rainbow apholstery.”

“Spent a lot of time at the bus station Pixie? LOL!”

“I know that über-Republican Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens chartered a flight to get some poor cute widdle doggies out of there.”

“What's wrong with that V. Is it his money he was spending?”

“That's just a picture of Mapleleaf transporting a few dogs to the pound in her new van!”

““What's wrong with that V. Is it his money he was spending?”
Nigal
8:47:03 AM
9/22/05
ignore this user

Exactly. It’s private funds and he can spend it any way he pleases. Now if it was the actual government doing this, I would be quite annoyed.”

“What Zac said. Violin goes down in flames yet again...”

“I wish bitpusher would show up and bail this thread out and give it at least some value.”

“that's rich, Nigal. Thanks for the laugh.”

“I have no problem at all with T. Boone rescuing dogs. Aside from it being his money, those dogs belong to people. A lot of rescuers wouldn'ttake people's dogs. People had to leave them behind. Some of those dogs will be reunited with people who lost them.

I lost my home in a disaster (it took more than a year beforeI could return), and it meant a lot to me and to the kids that the animals came through all right. My step-cousin, a fire-man, saved the cat and for that we are all greatful. Sure, saving the people is important, but once you've got food and a safe place - few things mean more.

Pickens deserves the thanks of many people.”

“Something tells me if George Soros rescued dogs while humans were drowning, the wingnuts would be having a field day.

Typical.”

“If he's using his own cash to do it it's none of my business what he does.”

“T. boone pickens

what an awesome name

i bet he goes by the nickname T-bone(said with a husky, loud voice)

i know i would.

framing a capital 'T' with both hands while saying the name adds even more umph!”

“Probably talks in the third person all the time too...

T-Bone's here!

T-Bone needs another drink!

I wond3er if he had to hire on an immigrant cleaning lady named Coco to get the name?”

“i bet T-bone likes his kung-po spicey too!”

“LMAO at sacco and Nigal. You guys are crackin me up!

Nope Nigal, being in a sorority and going on "old people" tours with my mom all the time, I've been on a lot of charter buses. LOL!

My mom is only 63, btw, but often her and I are some of the youngest people on those tours! : p”

“FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, Ill. -- Vandals have twice struck a home in this Metro East town where a black Santa Claus was on display in the yard.

Vandals on Friday stole the Santa and spray-painted a death threat and racial slur on the home of William Glass. Last week, someone tied a noose around the Santa's neck and hung it from a tree.

''I can't put my feelings into words,'' said Glass, who is black. ''I don't know what's going on. My words won't flow right now.''

Fairview Heights Police Captain Nick Gaileus said police are taking the matter seriously.

''We can't figure out a motive for this other than race,'' he said.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-santa02.html”

“Reminds me of where I grew up.

Positively sickening... ain't it?”

“Elwood: Illinois Nazis.
Jake: I hate Illinois Nazis.”

“On the south side of Chicago in front of a nice home for many years there was a small, statue of a black caachman. When the neighborhood was integrated (changed from white to black), the new owner kept the caachman there, but painted the face and hands white. It was very humorous and fitting. I wonder if it is still there.

Regarding the Santa, it was a nice idea. However, when you throw out a challenge for trouble, you will usually succeed.”

“How is a black Santa a challenge? I've seen plenty.”