NYT: Amid One City's Welcome, Tinge of (racial?) Backlash (Baton Rouge)

[DeepModem Mom]

Amid One City's Welcome, a Tinge of Backlash
By PETER APPLEBOME
Published: September 7, 2005


BATON ROUGE, La., Sept. 6 - Last week came the rumors - of riots at Wal-Marts, of break-ins at homes, of drug gangs from New Orleans roaming the streets of its more sedate neighbor 75 miles up Interstate 10.

Today came the reality - of dozens of relatives crowded under one roof, of hours stuck in traffic trying to get to school or work, of frustration and fear about what kind of city Baton Rouge will be with roughly twice as many people as it had just over a week ago.

Make no mistake. The overwhelming response of people in Baton Rouge to Hurricane Katrina has been one of compassion and sacrifice with every church in town, it seems, housing or feeding evacuees.

But there have also been runs on gun stores, mounting frustration over gridlocked roads and an undercurrent of fear about crime and the effect of the evacuees from New Orleans.

After the chaos of the storm, which did some damage here, and a long weekend, Tuesday was the first day most residents returned to work and school. Before the evacuation, blacks made up about half the population of Baton Rogue and almost 70 percent of New Orleans, and in conversations in which race is often explicit or just below the surface, voices on the street, in shops, and especially in the anonymous hothouse of talk radio were raising a new question: just how compassionate can this community, almost certainly home to more evacuees than any other, afford to be?...


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/07/national/nationalspecial/07backlash.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1126063981-TEOscF4o6bVfuQyVUCHn5w

[Roy]

1. and especially in the anonymous hothouse of talk radio

Here comes more of the I heard, that somebody heard, that somebody else heard shit.

And of course we know which talk radio folks they are speaking of. But, they are not racist, they will tell you so themselves.

Hmmm.... can't believe the Looter Shooters are not here yet?

Oh, here they come now!!

Hi guys

:hi:

[Judi Lynn]

5. They've got to warn everyone about the guy who pushed Susan Smith's

two young boys in the car "he" "hijacked" into the pond! It's their civic duty.

[bassman79]

2. I heard that every gun store in Baton Rouge

was completely sold out of handguns and ammunition.

[MisterP]

3. fear is a very powerful force: just look at the past 5 years!

[Blaq Dem]

4. An opportunity for white criminals to commit crimes...

"Race" is a very dangerous thing. While those frightened whites in Baton Rouge and elsewhere are out arming themselves from fear of blacks, I'm sure there are white criminals in the universe chomping at the bits to take advantage of this racial fear. They can do anything they want and the whites in their town will think it was a black who did it.

As I said, "race" is a very dangerous thing. Just because someone is of the same color as you, that doesn't necessarily mean they won't harm you. Don't let your guards down.

[NorthernSpy]

6. THAT didn't take long!

:eyes:

And how can you have a "backlash" when there wasn't a frontlash to begin with? Those rumors of refugee rampages in streets of Baton Rouge were just plain crap!


(edit:sp)

[minkyboodle]

7. its a city ripe for these rumors

especially on AM radio. Even the LSU chancellor gave in to them earlier...one more facet of the racial problems that plague LA... :(