Wow, it takes a lot of courage to Taser someone from behind bars, doesn’t it?
Photo: AP/Cheryl Gerber
The misery goes on for the lower-income residents of New Orleans, who tried to get into a City Council meeting earlier today that would be discussing the demolition of an estimated 4500 housing units.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004084755_webneworleans20.html
NEW ORLEANS — Police used chemical spray and stun guns Thursday as dozens of protesters seeking to halt the demolition of 4,500 public housing units tried to force their way through an iron gate at City Hall.
One woman was sprayed with chemicals and dragged from the gates. She was taken away on a stretcher by emergency officials. Before that, the woman was seen pouring water from a bottle into her eyes and weeping.
Another woman said she was stunned by officers, and still had what appeared to be a Taser wire hanging from her shirt.
“I was just standing, trying to get into my City Council meeting,” said the woman, Kim Ellis.
Didn’t these people get the memo? The poor have no business in New Orleans these days! They’re standing in the way of development! After all, someone must make money, and it certainly isn’t them!
Welcome to The Way Things Are, circa 2007. Katrina? What’s that? Britney Spears’ kid sister is pregnant! Isn’t that more important? I was interested by the phrase “violence broke out” elsewhere in the article referencing the protesters. I’m wondering if that violence began with the protesters, or the police who were attempting to keep the overflow crowd out of the meeting. Judging by the above photograph, I’m thinking it may not have been the protesters that started the festivities.
Elsewhere in the article:
HUD wants to demolish the buildings, most of them damaged by Hurricane Katrina, so developers can take advantage of tax credits and build new mixed-income neighborhoods.
The council’s approval of the demolition is required under the city’s charter.
HUD says the redevelopment, in the works before Katrina hit, will mark an end to the city’s failed public housing experiment that lumped the poor into crime-ridden complexes and marooned them outside the life of the rest of the city.
But critics say the plan will shrink the stock of cheap housing at a time when housing is scarce and drive poor blacks out of the city. They also say the buildings are, contrary to popular opinion, mostly handsome brick structures that will outlast anything HUD builds in their place.
It’s much more important that New Orleans become Disneyland of the Southeast, isn’t it? King Cake for everyone — well, those who can afford it. Those who can’t, well, maybe they should have just perished in the flooding. It would have been much easier. Did I mention that the suicide rates in New Orleans have increased exponentially since Hurricane Katrina? How dare these people even attempt to rebuild their lives, anyway?
I’m sure the mayor of New Orleans will be proud to feature the above photo on their tourism marketing materials. After all, those who might visit NOLA from other areas will certainly be relieved they won’t have to deal with the poor. They’re — depressing.
In the future, City Council, it might be a good thing to hold your meeting in a venue large enough to allow those who will be affected by your decisions to have their moment to speak about the impact of having the only home they have bulldozed. I’m sure the Superdome might suffice.
Merry Christmas,
-S
