omg! Folks in the French Quarter of NO! Are they Flood Crazed?

[leftchick]

With the coming health threat even if they still have their homes NO is not safe....



Revelers walk through the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina September 4, 2005. Efforts to evacuate the remainder of New Orleans' weary population met with some resistance on Sunday as residents in areas less affected by Hurricane Katrina refused to leave their homes and businesses. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

[walldude]

1. Some people just aren't too bright... n/t

[bribri16]

63. No, how about "meth" carazed? n/t

[bribri16]

65. Is that Bush strumming the guitar? n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. Eccentric

Hard to believe isn't it?

[smoogatz]

3. Good for them.

The first post-Katrina parade. Now I know New Orleans isn't dead. Gotta love 'em.

[intheflow]

115. That was the first thing I thought.

Sort of a cross between Mardi Gras and Dia de los Muertos. A display of New Orleans spirit, for sure.

[NYC]

136. Undaunted.

Good for them.

[Lindsay]

4. The spirit of New Orleans

has always been in its people.

Love 'em.

[Imagevision]

130. EXACTLY...!

[Spazito]

5. I see that as a message that our city is NOT dead, see, we are

still here. Trying to remind people of the glorious Marti Gras, etc.

[leftchick]

11. That is what I thought too

I just want them to stay safe. It would be hard to leave once you survived the worst.

[KittyWampus]

64. How Could DU'ers NOT Nominate This Thread!

[Blue_Roses]

94. I agree

:applause:

[Tace]

6. Looking Good!

Hey, the Saints are marching in.

[eleny]

7. This harkens back to Plague Parties

[expatriate]

8. I have seen some references in articles

that people were trying to put on the Southern Decadance parade. Perhaps these are the ones.

People do bizarre things in disaster situations. During the Black Plague, people had big parties that lasted for weeks, and as the situation got worse, the parties got more decadent. Different people react to crisis in different ways.

It could be that they have no idea of the magnitude of the situation, as they have no electricity, thus no TV or radio. The Quarter doesn't look too bad in this photo.

Lots of people in New Orleans will have nothing if they lose what they have there, particularly poorer people who live in the Quarter (it isn't entirely a haven for rich folks). I can understand why they'd be in denial.

[tnlefty]

20. Perhaps they do know the magnitude of the situation, and are

going to relive the "feeling of NO", and enjoy themselves?

[expatriate]

48. This is very possible

They could indeed be doing just that. There are a number of options here - ignorance, denial, fatalism.

I hope this doesn't anger anyone, but there are some folks in New Orleans, just as there are anywhere, who are nutty. Mental health care there for poor people is basically non-existent. There are a lot of disenfranchised people in the French Quarter, living on the streets or in the impoverished areas nearby. Lots and lots of people who need medication who don't or can't get it.

I have personal experience with this. This could be some of what we're seeing in this photo.

[Tace]

85. Self Delete

[Individualist]

53. They're doing it in spite

of the magnitude of the situation. In true New Orleans style, they're saying "we survive".

[CountAllVotes]

9. it is one thing to be brave and willful

and it is another thing to be incredibly stupid. That is the case we see here, that of stupidity. :(

:kick:

[Tace]

87. Self Delete

[saracat]

122. Nonsense. They are fabulous!

This is the spirit of No. Would you rather they slink away in misery? This is life affirming!

[FogerRox]

133. IIRC only part of the french quarter was flodded-good part of is on a hill

l large portions were left a lone---

[DoYouEverWonder]

10. The water is gone

why can't they go home if they want to?

[Horse with no Name]

12. City is toxic eom

[DoYouEverWonder]

31. So what else is new?

n/t

[kestrel91316]

90. The whole region was toxic BEFORE the floods - what with all the

refineries and chemical plants. It's probably cleaner now, with the plants and refineries shut down. The air must certainly be less polluted.

The standing flood water is nasty --------- just don't DRINK IT or swim in it. And once the city dries out, the rains will wash away a lot of the residual crap.

[DoYouEverWonder]

97. Finally

someone else who realizes that life can and will go on.

[FloridaPat]

16. It's not gone. They're living in areas not flooded. As for the rest, good

question. I heard there were some people who evacuated before the storm are trying to get back in. Haven't heard if they did.

[ohio_liberal]

18. FEMA made it pretty clear the food drops would not be continuous

Folks are going to have no choice but to leave

[DoYouEverWonder]

33. Who needs FEMA once the roads are opened

There are still businesses that can didn't get destroyed that will reopen.

Besides FEMA isn't providing much for food anyway.

Excuses, excuses.

All this is about is white man, stealing black man's property. Get it?

[Media_Lies_Daily]

47. Open WHAT roads?? There is only ONE road in and out of New....

...Orleans, and that's I-10 West!

Tell us all what businesses weren't damaged in the flooding?? Even Canal Street had two to four feet of water in it!!

[DoYouEverWonder]

57. You really , really don't want people to go back

Do you?

Shouldn't it be up to the individual at this point whether or not they want to stay?

That's what we do in every other natural disaster that we've ever had. We give people the choice. If you've lost everything and don't want to go back then we give you shelter and help you begin your life again somewhere else.

If you still have something left to go back to then it's up to you. Back in the old days the National Guard would provide water, ice and food that people can pick up at distribution centers.

If the Feds and FEMA were doing a good job taking care of people it might be different matter but they are not and these people for the most part at this point are better off left to their own devices.

[leftchick]

19. I understand them wanting to stay. I would want to as well.

but the threat of disease spreading will be huge in no time. I am worried for their safety.

[DoYouEverWonder]

36. With the water gone

the threat of disease is greatly reduced.

Beside the threat of disease is just as great at the locked down shelters at the moment.

More excuses. Don't believe everything the M$M wants you to believe.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

44. Are you really that obtuse, or are you trying to start something????....

More than 80% of New Orleans is flooded!!!

The idiots in the photo found some dry land and decided to do something crazy!

What the heck is it that you don't understand???

When are you going to start that crap again from yesterday about not taking long to drain the city??

[DoYouEverWonder]

49. You didn't hear

They opened the St. Bernard levee and a lot of the water is flowing out and the water levels in the city are receding surprisingly rapidly. Of course in your world this is impossible and I'm an idiot.

I'm impressed with how badly you don't want these people to ever go home.

[kestrel91316]

98. You really should take a course in microbiology to gain a little

rational perspective on these diseases you are so incredibly frightened by.

Chill.

[leftchick]

50. you know I don't believe the MSM

I lived through a horrific flood in the seventies. My home was fine but we still needed typhoid shots and checkups and accessing clean water was a huge issue. Just saying.

[DoYouEverWonder]

59. And you survived?

I know it was no fun but you figured it out and got threw it. Plus did anyone try to keep from returning home or worse, force you to leave your home after the flood receded?

All of these folks are going to need shots and checkups either way.

[xmas74]

78. I know people who made it through the flood of '93

around here and were not allowed back into their homes ever again. Why? Not just disease, but weakened structures meant the homes had to be condemned. On top of that, the homes that were not condemned were found to have horrific levels of mold from the flood waters that had contaminated from the basements to the attics.

No one wants to stop people from going home. We just want people to go home to safe places. And mold levels will not be known for a while. Once a decent level of mold gets in your home it cannot be removed w/o destroying the home completely(not small levels, but the levels you will see after flooding of a large scale).
There are entire small towns in MO that had no deaths from flooding but are still no longer inhabited because of the floods of '93 and '95. No one can live there w/o completely rebuilding everything.

[leftchick]

82. I don't want to argue with you DYEW

you are one of my most favorite DUers. From my personal experience we had NG BEFORE the flood to evacuate and after right there helping. There was medical assistance at our disposal. We had to be examined, All of us in the city.

As you know this is a monumental fuck up of disastrous proportions. I know they have no access to medical care at this point in the FQ. They still have not let the RC in or any other health personnel who have volunteered. I think it may end up being a huge health disaster very soon.

Now as far as them leaving I agree. I have no clue if it will be that much better, The US Government has failed these people in every way possible.

peace,
lc

[DoYouEverWonder]

86. Yes the Feds have failed them in every possible way

and they will continue to fail them. For many going to the shelters is going to be the equivalent of going to a concentration camp. Can't you see what Bush is try to pull here? This is a major FLOP. A failure to lead on purpose. Why are they doing this? It's all part of the New World Order. Get rid of the poor and weak and take their land. What do you think Bush was talking about when he told Trent Lott, he would build him an even fancier house or that the Gulf Coast would be full of fantastic houses. He certainly has no intention of building any low-income houses if he doesn't have to.

[leftchick]

91. I hear ya

and it makes me so fucking sad and ashamed of the country :cry:

[DoYouEverWonder]

100. I know

but I think this country has finally jumped the river and that a lot of people have woken up has a result. If we play our cards right, we just might win this thing yet. Especially if we don't let ourselves fall for their bullshit.

[Splatter Phoenix]

102. No, of course not, that message was from beyond the grave.

:rofl:

[Jersey Devil]

111. They never had water in the French Quarter

It is the highest part of New Orleans. Now they have bottled water and food and the army is delivering porto-johns. So why should they leave? So they can sleep on cots in some stadium?

[kestrel91316]

95. Which diseases specifically? As long as they have the sense to

NOT DRINK the standing flood water, the risk of disease to hangers-on is minimal. They DO need to use their mosquito repellant liberally, but I am sure they already know that, as bayou dwellers.

[belle]

13. You know, last week I would have said they were nuts. However...

Considering the state of a lot of the people who *did* evacuate, maybe they made the right choice after all, I find myself thinking.

All the same, I hope they can take care of themselves. and will get out eventually. there's not going to be infrastructure there for months, maybe more. I'm happy to see dry streets in the French quarter, not to mention the human spirit, but I don't see how anyone can squat in a city without power or water or...anything, for nine months...

[sojourner]

114. amen that!

[ohio_liberal]

14. The guy with the sign

Short shorts, construction hat, cowboy boots, and a hammer. LOL! :thumbsup:

[lonestarnot]

110. Party down dude!

:headbang: :woohoo: :applause: :rofl:

[Cocoa]

15. that's awesome

:toast: and :rofl:

[leftchick]

27. you know I loved it too when I first saw it

Then I thought of the certain health risks to them staying. I hope they will be all right and I truly love their spirit.

[I Have A Dream]

125. This is exactly how I feel.

I'm glad that they can still rejoice in living. If there ever were optimists, it's these people in this photo!

[judgegina]

17. This is Southern Decadence weekend...

and they are just trying to have a good time. Good for them!!!

[walldude]

23. Yeah well the first Cholera death has been reported

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4630523

Not going to be so cool and funny when they start getting sick.

edit-sorry this was ment as a response to the OP and all that followed...

[DoYouEverWonder]

38. It was reported at a shelter

which where everyone wants these folks to go now.

[SammyWinstonJack]

68. Given the choice between a 'shelter' and my home town, I know which

I'd chose, especially after witnessing the horror of the DOME and convention center. No thanks!

[CountAllVotes]

127. yeah not so cool and funny

and neither are the dead bodies being housed at the former Leaper colony .... described as

<< In the warehouse, the location of which authorities are trying to keep quiet to lend some dignity to the grim task of collecting and processing perhaps thousands of corpses, concrete floors are covered with plastic sheets to contain fluids that could pose a biohazard threat. >>>

Not toxic! Let's all go home now! Damn fools! IDIOTS!

The writing is on the WALL!

:kick:

[bullimiami]

21. parts are dry.

if they can live without services there should they be forced to leave?

[FloridaPat]

22. They're white aren't they?

[nonconformist]

121. What does that have to do with anything? nt

[RandiFan1290]

24. THAT IS New Orleans!!

:loveya:

[Wizard777]

25. O' when the Saints. Go marchin' in. O' When the Saint go marchin' in.

O' how I want to be in that number. When the Saints go marching in.

Let the veils be lifted!

Body, mind, and soul. There is One greater than evil in all places at all times. He is my Lord and Master. 777 Arise!

[Jeanette in FL]

35. Oh when the Saints. Go Marching in

That is the only song that has been going through my head the last couple of days. Thanks for posting.

[geomon666]

26. I think this is very rude

There are still bodies in the streets and there are still people trapped in their homes. These are just 6 jackasses wanting to get back to drinking and yucking it up.

[leftchick]

32. I had not thought of that

I thought they were just happy to be alive. Perhaps they have no clue how bad it is without any communications?

:shrug:

[Cocoa]

34. the rules of etiquette have temporarily been suspended

Emily Post put out a statement today.

[DoYouEverWonder]

41. This is what they do in New Orleans

whenever anyone dies. They throw a big parade. There is nothing rude about it at all.

Oh when the saints,
Oh when the saints go marching in
I want to be in that number
Oh when the saints go marching in...

[expatriate]

54. WHAT?

Whenever anyone dies?

You are talking about jazz funerals, which are held only when a jazz musician dies! And they are very, very rare indeed, because a lot of families of jazz musicians do not want jazz funerals. It was a tradition where a slow march was performed as the funeral cortege went to the graveyard - then they would come back celebrating the fact that the person had been laid to rest and was in Heaven, playing When The Saints Go Marching In.

Lay off the silly generalizations about New Orleans. The massive majority of funerals in New Orleans are just like everywhere else - funeral home, hearse, cremation or graveyard burial. No jazz bands, no big party. Saying that they have a big party and parade every time someone dies is like saying that everyone in New York City lives in a penthouse on Park Avenue.

And BTW, When The Saints Go Marching In is about going to Heaven after you die, with elements of Judgement Day. It ain't a happy song.

[smoogatz]

58. I want a jazz funeral...

Do blues musicians count?

[expatriate]

62. Hey, if you'll pay for it, you can have whatever you want!

:)

I have never seen a jazz funeral for a blues musician, but hey, why not? They just aren't done that much any more - usually when one of the real jazz legends in the city passes.

I wouldn't mind one myself, but I just can't see it happening in my part of the world.

[DoYouEverWonder]

60. Anyone who is part of that culture

Not everyone who lives in the greater New Orleans area is part of that culture, so I shouldn't have made such a broad generalization. But I am not surprised to see a parade after a disaster such as this. I'm sure there may be a few more in the coming days and weeks.

[minkyboodle]

69. thank you!

not everyone in LA lives by a swamp with gators either! People have crazy images of that city and state sometimes.

[expatriate]

79. More than welcome :)

Listen, I grew up in Louisiana, and you wouldn't believe the folks who were sure I lived in a hut on sticks in the swamp and listened to Dixieland Jazz 24/7 and had a boyfriend named Aldoux.

Now I live in Australia, and people ask if I have kangaroos in my yard and corks dangling from the brim of my hat. Been here eight years, and the only place I've seen a kangaroo yet has been the zoo.

[DoYouEverWonder]

89. Guess what I live in Florida

and I do have alligators in my backyard every day. I happen to live on a lake full of them.

However, to see a parade in the French Quarter celebrating death is not surprising under the circumstances.

[Imagevision]

132. I BELIEVE THEY'RE CELEBRATING LIFE...!

[Dem Agog]

131. one sad thought about many of the folks who died...

they will not have the traditional jazz orleans-style funeral. no celebration of their life. :(

[Pepperbelly]

101. nope ...

it's the spirit of the city. I am glad to see it.

[tuvor]

104. You don't know that. n/t

[titoresque]

28. I think maybe the sign invokes

what Bush said "I have to go on with my life"
Maybe this is a protest? The guy strumming on a guitar?
Maybe not a "parade" at all???????????

[melody]

37. I think there's a ? at the end of that and not a ! n/t

[Carni]

66. I highly doubt they are bush fans

Nuts? Yes, probably--but bush fans? NO, I HIGHLY doubt it.

NOLA is a weird place and they really don't give rat's ass what the rest of the country thinks that is why they have stayed there low these many years.

I have no idea what these guys are doing but in their minds they probably mean well.

[tjdee]

29. They don't know what's going on, IMO.

They've not had the TV we've had, they've not heard the health issues, they're not aware how long the rebuilding is going to take.

I hope they're being told. If they want to stay, hey.

[ldf]

99. they don't know what is going on?

surely you jest.

they are living in the middle of it.

don't you think they hear the guns at night? are they having to search for food yet?

and how easy is it to walk to where there IS flood water, and watch a dead body float by.

yeah, they are TOTALLY ignorant of what is going on.

:sarcasm:

they are new orleanians, doing what new orleanians do when times are stressful.

they have a parade.

more power to them.

[MsTryska]

106. OMG - this is the best line ever:

"they are new orleanians, doing what new orleanians do when times are stressful.

they have a parade."

[Catchawave]

30. Not crazed, inspiring !

Life does go on. I hear the French Quarter did pretty good ? My daughter rode out Ivan last year in the FQ, said it was the best party in her life! (I was a wreck!!)

[Individualist]

39. The spirit of laissez le bon temps roule

has survived.

[xultar]

40. That is my people. IF y'all don't get it then too bad for you!

[DoYouEverWonder]

42. Amen

Now what was that tune I was just singing? Oh yeah,

Oh when the saints....

[Carni]

71. That's the vibe I got when I was there

It was a little *different* but all in all good IMO

[tx_dem41]

43. I think a lot of the responses to this thread, show that many DUers...

don't "get" New Orleans....never did "get" it...and never will "get" it.

[smoogatz]

55. Yep.

Only in New Orleans would the first impulse of the folks who survived the worst hurricane disaster in U.S. history be to organize a parade. For me, it's the best possible sign for the future of my favorite city on the planet.

[Carni]

72. Love that city EOM

[Solly Mack]

124. Precisely

[BeTheChange]

134. If that is true...

then why arent the people most hard hit by this, the african american population pictured in these images?

I dont think many of the people who just got out of the superdome or just lost their family give a flying fuck about a parade.

I'd think this was a little less tacky if it didnt look so damn tacky.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

45. I heard an NPR reporter today who had been along with some Coast Guard

rescue boats that were patrolling the neighborhoods.

They encountered a lot of people who asked not to be rescued. The reason was that they had been listening to radio accounts of how the "rescued" people were being treated, and they did not want to lose control over their lives.

I can hardly blame them.

[leftchick]

52. I did as well

I can't blame them either. I am worried for their health.

[carpetbagger]

46. No, just crazed in general. n/t

[earth mom]

51. I'm glad they are there!

What's been in the back of my mind all week is that Bush Co and the Corporate Rapists will swoop and demolish EVERYTHING without asking and turn historic and charming New Orleans into some boring sanitized yuppie elitest craphole.

God know they are obviously doing every thing they can to kill the city and it's people and this shows that the Bush Co might have an uphill battle on their hands. I wouldn't be surprised if some people come back and fix up their homes. Most of the people are from families that have been in NO for generations.

[supernova]

56. Ha Ha!

This is good. :thumbsup: Nice to know some things about NO haven't changed. :-)

[Withywindle]

61. Gods bless 'em!

I don't think that's craziness. I think that's defiance.

What should they do, sit around with long faces in despair? If you don't get fighting like hell for a little bit of JOY amid the shittiest circumstances possible, you'll never get blues or jazz or New Orleans.

I don't think it's disrespectful.

[Drewskie]

67. ...

The guy leading the parade there looks to be on an acid trip or something.

[DoYouEverWonder]

70. And what would you look like

a week after Katrina?

[Drewskie]

73. I would'nt have been stuck there... believe me. (nt)

[Individualist]

74. See post #43

[Carni]

75. After the ordeal he has been through...

I hope he took multiple hits

[John Q. Citizen]

113. How can you tell? Done a lot of acid?

[Drewskie]

119. ...

The posture, the hair, the way he appears half in blissfull dance. *shrugs* dunno

[Lone_Star_Dem]

76. Yes! New Orleans, how I do love you.

The sign, "Life Goes On?" it's a dig on bush's comment about having to go on with his life when he was questioned about the deaths in Iraq. Gotta love it.

I wish we could see the rest of the parade. :(

[MsTryska]

77. La Reine N'est Pas Morte!

good for them.


as others have said - that is exactly New Orleans. And I'm thrilled that they are out there and doing their thing.

I actually saw someone folks with beads walk past Anderson in the French Quarter earlier. I was a little puzzled, but heartened.

[beetbox]

80. They Want to stay-So they should stay

Maybe they have nowhere else to go. Maybe they like it quite fine in a place they know as HOME. It's where they live.



'Today I saw 5,000 African-Americans on Highway 10, desperate, perishing, dehydrating, babies crying - it looked like the hold of a slave ship. It's so ugly and obvious. The issue of race as a factor will not go away.'

[KamaAina]

81. Oh yeah! Second line y'all!

Count me among the ex-New Orleanians here who "get it".

If Descartes had been a New Orleanian, his motto would have been "I parade, therefore I am".

[MsTryska]

84. I wonder what their krewe name is?

Posse Comitatus sounds kinda cool.

[KamaAina]

116. Or since most krewe names date to antiquity, the "Krewe of Nero"

honoring (in the breach) the guitar-strumming dumbass** who didn't do jack to get them out of the mess.

[Gregorian]

83. We need more of this.

Express yourself.
Monty Pythonesque.

[progmom]

88. where do they have to go?

:(

[ClayZ]

92. I think they are in .... THE NOW

AND THE SAINTS GO MARCHIN!

[DoYouEverWonder]

103. This disaster was the rapture

but the fundies don't realize yet that it was the black folks that got raptured.

[katinmn]

93. The spirit of New Orleans!

Bravo!
:applause:

[GoddessOfGuinness]

96. If they want to stay

they should be allowed to.

[Tace]

105. Some Of You Folks Wouldn't Recognize A Band Of Merry Pranksters...

if they marched down the middle of the street during a national catastrophe.

Get a clue.

[MsTryska]

108. *lmao*!!!

that was classic.

[Redstone]

107. That's the people of the Quarter.

They're just keepin' on being them.

Redstone

[kerry-is-my-prez]

109. There was some woman who owned a club and said she was opening in few days

and that the electricity was coming back on in a day or so."

Of course, she was going on and on about what a wonderful job the Goverernment was doing - so you know SHE'S delusional.

[KamaAina]

117. Chris Owens, the burlesque queen of Bourbon St.

Methinks the implants may somehow be leaking into her brain...

[delen]

112. Conflicted

While while it's nice that the spirit of NO survived the hurricane there are still people trapped on freeway over passes and attics and shelters.
Maybe what this picture points out is the racial divide.This crowd of revelers all appear to be white and apparently (although we don't know for sure) lived in the french quarter which along with a number of other higher ground areas stayed dry. They don't appear to have suffered much.
While back at the overpass...........

[Igel]

118. As long as they have clean water and food, and

don't hang around in open sewage or near rotting corpses, they'll be fine. Very few of the dread diseases are airborne, or even mosquito-borne.

Their places are probably dry: 80% of NO was 'under water', but much was a few inches. And 20% wasn't affected. With water levels down over a foot, less than 80% is flooded. Most of the dead will be gone in a week or so, and they're unlikely to be in close proximity to any.

Their lives. They can live'm like they want to.

[nonconformist]

120. Abandoned by their country, their faith in government is pretty damn low

You can hardly blame them. Crazy? Maybe. But if someone is in a safe structure and has some basic supplies, I can see why they wouldn't want to be thrown into the concentration camp situations that the people in the Superdome and Convention Center were when THEY listened to and trusted their government.

[Solly Mack]

123. Looks like a hardy and well deserved FUCK YOU to those who wrote NO off.

[I Have A Dream]

126. Yep! n/t

[leftchick]

135. That is the way I looked at it as well initially

Am I crazy? I have lived through a major flood an the health issues are huge. I love their spirit. I am just afraid for their lives.

:(

[Imagevision]

128. LOOKS LIKE A LITTLE NEW ORLEANS HEART & SOUL TO ME...!

[Dem Agog]

129. it's NEW ORLEANS!

this is what they do. good for them. do you expect everyone to lay down and die or be miserable?

they're making their good times roll. god bless them.