Selflessness In New Orleans

Prior to Katrina, New Orleans focused on a “levees only” to uphold a tight flood infrastructure system. However, Katrina was a force too powerful and destroyed these levees, affecting the communities around them. In terms of culture and race, the population of the lower socioeconomic class were pushed into poverty and driven out of their homes; to further illustrate, African Americans were a class that became the most exposed to high levels of risk and was depicted as criminals on press. On Yahoo News, two pictures have two different connotations. One says “White People ‘FIND’” and the other says “Black People ‘LOOT.’” The mainstream press coverage then views stranded whites as good citizens.

After reading a portion of Markets of Sorrow, Labors of Faith by Vincanne Adams, it is difficult to wrap my head around the horrible effects of Hurricane Katrina. At the time of Katrina, I was about 8 years old. I remember seeing the news and hearing people talk about it, and I thought it was frightening. However, I do not think that it registered properly in my mind. Even as I got older, and there was still mention of it, I never fully understood what really happened until I read this book. It is very easy to throw something off to the side and think “Oh, it’s not that bad” because the media only shows people getting help and they tell us that conditions are improving. No one spoke of the tragedies and lasting effects written by Adams. In this essay, I would like to discuss the issues presented throughout chapters four and five surrounding the environment, the people, and the government in New Orleans.

With nearly everyone driven out of their homes and little more than what was on their backs, people lost their power and their voice. On the other hand, some people, generally those with more wealth, had more power than others with a safe and dry house, means of transportation, and guns for self-defense gave them the power of shelter, security, and safety. The days following the hurricane was a game of taking power and having power taken from your. The police gained power by taking guns and forcing people out of their homes, some people took power by looting unattended stores, and power was taken when people were forced onto the streets to fend for themselves, and when they were forced into the Superdome with no control over their future. Ultimately, Hurricane Katrina revealed that when society collapses, people will go to extremes to gain back power, even if it means stripping others of their

Author Kristina Kay Robinson wrote in her short story 10 Years Since: A Mediation on New Orleans, “I don’t know how long my city has for me, but every day that I remain, I am working, searching for a newer, truer meaning for the concept of forward.” To this day, this sentiment remains authentic for those devastated by the August 2005 Hurricane Katrina. Accordingly, the aftermath and trauma that victims of Katrina faced in New Orleans, Louisiana, left countless amounts of people homeless and with psychological issues. Levees in New Orleans failed as enormous waves flooded the city that was already below sea level. Consequently, Hurricane Katrina’s course of major annihilation was detrimental and left various southern states, including Louisiana, with billions of dollars in damage and destruction and a

They took what they needed, like diapers, clothes, fishing poles, and clothes, and went about their day. When interviewed, several people admitted that it was a life or death situation, and chose to steal in order to live. However, there was a small group of people who were stealing luxury items like tvs, computers, and other electronics. Usually, this group of people was proud of what they had managed to steal, bragging about their success. Also in the videos, there were two black police officers still in uniform walking around Wal-Mart and filling their cart. They refused to answer questions about their actions, but rather said that they were just patrolling the scene. When they were directly asked about why they had items in their shopping cart, they adamantly refused that they were looting. These two women did not show shame or pride, but rather refused to acknowledge their actions.

One of the most unique things about New Orleans particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries where this image is derived from was race and racism. People were excluded or included, considered inferior or superior based on the race they belonged to. To this end, Indians, and African Americans were classified on the lower end of the race totem pole while whites were seen as superior. Furthermore, one’s stance in society or occupation was determined by their race. The whites were majorly businessmen and land owners presiding over big farms that they owned. The blacks and the Indians were mostly peasants ‘owned’ by the white people and forced to work on the farms of the white people against their will owing to the fact that they were imported from their original residences as slaves (Appleby, Eileen and Neva 18). It is, therefore, clear that race and racism played a significant role in helping define New Orleans as we know it today. Bringing racism to the fore provides a platform upon which it can be alleviated to help

Hurricane Katrina was a devastating disaster that has affected many people in New Orleans. The communication broke down hours after Katrina because of the unexpected fast winds and floods that broke down “3 million phone lines and 1,000 cellular towers in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.”( Joch ). Because of the millions of phone lines that were broken down, contacting the government for help was difficult hours after hurricane Katrina. Not only that, the people of New Orleans underestimated the power of Hurricane Katrina causing many to be “ stranded with no food or water” (Narrator, “The Storm”,PBS).

Futhermore, crime in New Orleans increased drastically. On September 1, 2005, victims of Hurricane Katrina reperted crimes of rape and domestic violence. The violent crimes left corpses lying on the ground everywhere in the city. “We have individuals who

The city that was affected the most by Hurricane Katrina was New Orleans, Louisiana. Governor Blanco called for state emergency in Louisiana on August 26, 2005. Then on August 29th, Mayor Nagin issued a mandatory evacuation of the City of New Orleans. The people who were unable to escape the city, were just desperate for help and the worst came out of people. Katrina forced the city into anarchy. Disaster relief agencies were not around to aid people so many resorted to looting because they needed food and other supplies to survive. The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD), whom already did not have a favorable reputation in the city, didn’t help either. Some NOPD officers chose to leave their post and others also participated in the looting which was happening throughout the city. Other NOPD officers were

There has been significant statistics that revealed a large portion of individuals in New Orleans have low socio-economic status. The great Hurricane Katrina in 2005 did not help these statistics improve. In fact, it increased due to the damaging effects from the hurricane. Prior to the hurricane, there wasn’t a significant plan to address the vulnerable population, especially how to handle the mental state of children within this population after a major disaster. The individuals within this population includes the minority, low income, non-English speaking, and non-educated. Even though warnings and methods to prepare for the hurricane was given, not everyone fully understood the extent due to language barriers and inability to access essential supplies to protect themselves.

Hurricane Katrina is infamous: the storm that buried the vibrant city of New Orleans under up to sixteen feet of water. Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster, but the crimes committed against the storm’s survivors in the months prior, setting them up for devastation, were the true tragedies. Not only were the citizens of the Big Easy neglected pre-Katrina, but they remained on the back burner of the federal government for days after the storm hit. Citizens of New Orleans - who had just been put through one of the worst natural disasters the United States had ever seen - were treated like animals, or foreign refugees seeking sovereignty in the US. They were not treated with the common decency an American citizen deserves, but why did this happen? The answer is simple, because the politicians on all levels, before, during, and after the storm, neglected the citizens that trusted them. City, State, and Federal government officials incorrectly used funds that had been allocated for disaster relief, and to the repair of the levees for many years leading up to the disaster. Because of this corrupt behavior, the people of New Orleans were caught in a very unnatural disaster to accompany the storm. The low class citizens of New Orleans were hit with unparalleled injustices. The atrocities committed against these innocent people was no less than a war waged against them, but the

While racism in the handling of the disaster was evident to many Southern blacks, some believe that poverty was a contributing factor. Not only were 90% of the citizens of New Orleans black, they were also extremely poor.

In times of emergency, life and death, and tragic despair, people often are reminded of the umbrella of stress that hangs over us. With such a world people live in today, at times its common to be caught up in the minor details of life; rather than enjoying the beauty of it all. Almost everyday, we live in a sheltered life, hidden away in our communities, just trying to skate by. But there are sometimes moments that occur in a lifetime, where that sheltered routine, that is so ingrained in our minds, is taken upon differently. August 29, 2005, day one of hurricane Katrina; this date, is one that is permanently ingrained in thousands of citizens of New Orleans. On this day, people have seen family members drown, houses destroyed, as well as

The opinion of New Orleans residents regarding how Hurricane Katrina was handled by the government also depends on the resident’s race, class, and gender. Many of the poor urban residents in New Orleans that were the most devastated by Hurricane Katrina were African American (Pardee, 2014). These residents felt that they were forgotten by their government and left to die because they did

First, one must understand what human flourishing entails, in order to understand what might compromise it. Several different events in the United States provide examples of members of society coming together. Generally, disasters represent the events that bring members of society together, such as the September 11, 2001 disaster involving the Twin Towers in New York City, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana, and the destruction caused by severe tornados in Oklahoma (Grossheim & Brodak, 2015). After each of these disasters, members from all over the United States participated in donating essential items, such as clothing, food, and shelter, to those who were negatively effected