2 Years Post Hurricanes Katrina/Rita: Call to Action

[MsDelta797]

I apologize for the double post.

As for General Honore,
I was like it took a Black man to get things moving. Ya'll remember his "don't get stuck on stupid" remark to the reporters asking silly questions? I think everyone was sad to see him go.

[Old Head Ape]

Being from the N.O. and knowing that because of the levee breaches, my parents and other relatives loss everything, it was kinda hard to watch. BUT I thought the documentary was excellent...It made me angry all over again...it was sad how the brother had to leave his dead mother...that tore me up....As we knew, the dopes in FEMA, Homeland, and the White House did not and DO not have a clue.....

[jessikay1922]

Just powerful! And moving! And sad! And most of all.... BALANCED!

[kiml122]

This was very powerful and moving thta I can't even describe it. The man whose mother died and then he had to leave her was just so sad. The kids whose mother needed the oxygen and died and then was left in the house with the kids was so sad. I mean the entire thing was just so sad. I mean what I want to know is how did the TV crews get to these people and you are telling me that Bush 7 the rest of the Gov't couldn't. That whole thing just wasn't right.

[pinkies up]

I live a couple of hours away from Biloxi, Mississippi and went down there two weeks ago. I promise it looks like the hurricane just left there. It's sad how we can get all this money to get those Americans out of the caves and rocks of Israel, but we see people on top of their houses, stuck on bridges, in water; we know where they are and they couldn't even send boats, airplanes, hell, drop some water and food from the sky. The government did nothing and if you watched anyother channel all they talked about was Jonbenet Ramsey. WTH!!??? There are people who are still missing!!!

[OrangeMoon]

George Bush I haven't forgot so please share with me why AOL reports a boost in your Presidential rating? America is the Captin Save 'Em for everyboby else but WE(the government) failed OUR OWN CITIZENS!

I should renounce my citizenship

[kiml122]

I will post more tomorrow, but the show just went off, and all I can say is AWESOME!!!!! Spike Lee did an AWESOME job....

I need to write some stuff down because I know that I am going to forget it tomorrow, but just remember the chick who said that she was born 12-24-63 and that she was going to f*cking die there, and the dude who was like he wasn't going to sell his house but he was going to throw up some sheet rock and wave and speak to the people as usual when they go by......

Terrence Blanchard and his mom

Wendell Pierce talking about his dad and him being jerked over by the insurance company

The young student who left and his mother stayed and when he came back, he saw that there was a ZERO on the door meaning no dead body found but then he realized that the doors were all locked, so there was no way that they checked the house. Here he is thinking that his mom got out and she is somewhere, and in the end she was found dead in the house....sad . That was truly heartbreaking

[CrimsonTide4]

Originally Posted by kiml122

I will post more tomorrow, but the show just went off, and all I can say is AWESOME!!!!! Spike Lee did an AWESOME job....

I need to write some stuff down because I know that I am going to forget it tomorrow, but just remember the chick who said that she was born 12-24-63 and that she was going to f*cking die there, and the dude who was like he wasn't going to sell his house but he was going to throw up some sheet rock and wave and speak to the people as usual when they go by......

Terrence Blanchard and his mom

Wendell Pierce talking about his dad and him being jerked over by the insurance company

The young student who left and his mother stayed and when he came back, he saw that there was a ZERO on the door meaning no dead body found but then he realized that the doors were all locked, so there was no way that they checked the house. Here he is thinking that his mom got out and she is somewhere, and in the end she was found dead in the house....sad . That was truly heartbreaking

In addition to the woman whose 5 year old daughter was with her dad and they did not evacuate. They found the daughter drowned in April.

All the stories about the trailers

Overwhelming is the best word to accurately describe all four parts as well as eye opening but necessary to watch.

[Obsession8]

Hearing the survivors talking about not having a home for the holidays also got to me, especially since *my* family used to gather at the grandmother's house for holiday dinners. It's just not the same anywhere else.

On a brighter note...

Ditto on all of Mrs. Montana-LeBlanc's "color commentary", esp. when she gave out her phone number (in response to what Barbara Bush said); she had me rollin'. Also liked when they talked about the culture with N.O. music, second lines, Creoles, etc. And, LOL at the Mardi Gras t-shirts montage! Gotta love that N'awlins spirit!

All in all, even with my initial reservations, I'm glad I watched this tour-de-force documentary. I love (most of) Spike's "joints" (haven't always agreed with his politics, though); this would rank in the top 5 of my favs (Malcolm X, Do the Right Thing, etc.). If he doesn't win an ishtload of Emmys for this next year (yes, I know this isn't about awards, but still...), the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences is going to receive a very nasty letter from me.

(ETA: Kinda surprised Spike didn't interview Mike Tidwell, author of Bayou Farewell, which was my school's summer reading program book last year. He came to speak at our convocation a week before Katrina's devastation. Basically everything he "predicted" in the book came to fruition...irony just isn't the word.)

[CrimsonTide4]

Originally Posted by Obsession8

Hearing the survivors talking about not having a home for the holidays also got to me, especially since *my* family used to gather at the grandmother's house for holiday dinners. It's just not the same anywhere else.

On a brighter note...

Ditto on all of Mrs. Montana-LeBlanc's "color commentary", esp. when she gave out her phone number (in response to what Barbara Bush said); she had me rollin'. Also liked when they talked about the culture with N.O. music, second lines, Creoles, etc. And, LOL at the Mardi Gras t-shirts montage! Gotta love that N'awlins spirit!

All in all, even with my initial reservations, I'm glad I watched this tour-de-force documentary. I love (most of) Spike's "joints" (haven't always agreed with his politics, though); this would rank in the top 5 of my favs (Malcolm X, Do the Right Thing, etc.). If he doesn't win an ishtload of Emmys for this next year (yes, I know this isn't about awards, but still...), the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences is going to receive a very nasty letter from me.

(ETA: Kinda surprised Spike didn't interview Mike Tidwell, author of Bayou Farewell, which was my school's summer reading program book last year. He came to speak at our convocation a week before Katrina's devastation. Basically everything he "predicted" in the book came to fruition...irony just isn't the word.)

I had a dream about Mrs. Phyllis Montana-LeBlanc last night. No really.

I really want to read a few of the books by the authors interviewed in the documentary. I also really enjoyed the history lesson -- Creole, funerals, slavery in Louisiana -- last night. It gave me deeper perspective.

"Rebuild, Revive, Renew" ~ Spike Lee

[StarFish106]

My heart broke for the guy that found his mom under the fridge when after the marked the house with a 0. And for the woman who had to bury her child... people who didn't have to die.

Some of the t-shirts that people had on at the Parade had me rollin...if nothing else we are a resilient people. We will rise...

To Phyliss Montana -LeBlanc: I will personally drive you to Babs Bush's house and so you can whup her properly...

The guy who cussed out Cheyney (Beavis and Butthead) you hit the nail on the head! Thank you for saying (or yelling at) Cheyney what others wanted to say.

Once again...Kanye was right

The only thing I wish Spike did at the end was list charities that can still use money, clothing or whatever. The need is still there even if the media is now focusing on the Jon-Benet investigation a-gain. People still need to give what they can wherever they can IMO.

Thank You Spike....the world needed to see and hear this. Thank You

[f8nacn]

I need to watch this again...missed the first hour yesterday do to Big Brother...but my heart dropped again with many of the stories told last night.

[kiml122]

Originally Posted by CrimsonTide4

In addition to the woman whose 5 year old daughter was with her dad and they did not evacuate. They found the daughter drowned in April.

All the stories about the trailers

Overwhelming is the best word to accurately describe all four parts as well as eye opening but necessary to watch.

OMG I forgot all about the little girl that died and they just finding her, and let's not even talk about that trailer BS.

[kiml122]

Originally Posted by StarFish106

Some of the t-shirts that people had on at the Parade had me rollin...if nothing else we are a resilient people.

I was totaly digging the slogans on the T-shirts. I was looking at mnost of them going ummm where can I get one.

To Phyliss Montana -LeBlanc: I will personally drive you to Babs Bush's house and so you can whup her properly...

I tell ya she was my favorite one...she shot straight from the hip and pulled no punches.

The guy who cussed out Cheyney (Beavis and Butthead) you hit the nail on the head! Thank you for saying (or yelling at) Cheyney what others wanted to say.

What I really liked about this guy was when he said it again because he was like well maybe he didn't hear me....

Please anyone that is from N.O. explain to me about the lower 9th Ward. Is this a really bad area, a very impoverished area, what exactly is the deal with the 9th Ward , specifically the lower 9th Ward.

[MsDelta797]

The lower 9th ward is impoverished when you compare it to the French Quarter and some areas of Uptown where there are mansions. This is a fairly large area and was 99 to 99.5 percent Black. It was very family oriented there, everybody knew everybody in the neighborhood. Alot of people owned houses and lived there for 30 or more years. People there worked very Hard at jobs that either paid minimum wage or a little over, what you call your working poor. Now, of course this doesnt apply to every individual there because there are exceptions. As far as a bad area, to me crime was all over the city, maybe a few neighborhoods in the lower 9(as we call it) were "hot spots" for crime, but again we have them all over. It still looks like Katrina just hit there. It's very overwhelming and heartbreaking to know that many people will not come back because they simply can't afford to do so. Almost the entire area would have to be demolished because there, at least the part I saw, was no water line. This is the area of the city that would need the most help.
New Orleans East, is also a part of the 9th ward, just not a part of the lower 9th ward. Many people that stayed there are your lower middle to upper middle class. Many people lost everything there as well.
Although I personally didn't stay in the lower 9th ward, I had family and in-laws that did. I have lived in the East.
Everyone is still waiting for the money from the government so that they can rebuild and that hasn't happened yet. Then there are the insurance companies that won't pay as seen on the documentary. So many people are stuck in limbo.
If any of my fellow New Orleanians can add anything Please do.
I hope that this shed some light and answered your question, Soror.