Dismantling the South

I love how the recommendation to dismantle FEMA is out there now. Actually, FEMA worked when James Lee Witt was in charge, during the Clinton administration. It is the current administration that allowed it to die on the vine. And I wholeheartedly agree, this FEMA should be dismantled, but with a few caveats. I know the president also wants to curtail the EPA, Health and Human Services, and some parts of the Department of Education. If we make these cuts, might I also suggest eliminating the executive branch.

And everyone white in New Orleans took a group dump on Mayor Ray Nagin. Now sure, the man made some huge mistakes during Katrina and perhaps it is time for the city to move on. But the real reason everyone is pissed off at him is because he said he wants a "chocolate city." Oh the outrage! I remember how upset everyone was and all the web poles that race should not be a factor in rebuilding New Orleans. Well welcome to America, where race is a factor in everything. Doesn't anyone wonder, if New Orleans rebuilds as a 100% white city does that create any moral dilemma? At some point doesn't laissez-faire economics demonstrate racism? Every national survey shows that blacks and Hispanics make less than whites, that women earn less than men. At what point does everyone wake up and say, is it more than two standard deviations? Well something must be screwing up the system? Or are we all just content to believe in the survival of the fittest as we keep our heel on the throat of those who look different than us, or don't help to remove our neighbors heel from that throat? Or worse yet, rationalize that those who aren't succeeding aren't the fittest.

I love New Orleans. Even though I generally don't drink and have only been there one time. I got my rear grabbed by two girls on Bourbon Street. I didn't get a real good look at them but I think they were attractive. My wife clapped as they continued through the crowed and told me they had good taste. The reason I loved the French Quarter though was because it was different. French, Spanish, Creole, Cajun, African. I have the distinct impression that others love it just for the booze and broads. What a waste. New Orleans was appealing in part because it was black. If that ends, the city becomes a Disneyland version of itself.

When my wife and I were there we went on plantation tours, I remember other people laughing about the stories that slaves had to whistle when they brought food from the kitchen to the main house, so that their masters knew they weren't eating food. And at the story of the slave boy who would pull on a cord attached to a fan hanging over the dining table during the white-table-cloth two-hour-feasts. And of course all the slave houses on the plantation had been torn down. After all they weren't built very well and weren't much to look at.

They should tell you about the slaves who were beaten to death when they didn't whistle. And frankly, they should rebuild the slave houses. That's what the plantation tours should be. You should tour the slave houses exclusively. If you want to go on the tour for free, they should let you pick cotton for an hour. You should be able to take pictures of the main house, but not go in.