Alright Gentle Readers, I’m going for it, and my language won’t be nice.
It’s the Fourth of July weekend, a celebration of the Founding of this nation called the United States. Almost 203 years ago, our land, my ancestors’ land, was sold to the U.S. We did not get a say in this. Jefferson didn’t want the entire area… he wanted New Orleans. The price of the entire parcel of land changed his and Madison’s minds.
We were bought and sold, just as the slaves were. (I can write this as back in the Sixties, I’d be considered colored.) Our world was given over to another power, and we weren’t consulted. (My folks have been here since the beginning.)
The Isle d’Orleans was taken over by another power, and the effects still occur today. We are constantly being used and abused. Our lands are destroyed for the Nation’s oil/gas interests. Same with our port.
Our lands had Free People of Color two centuries ago…. it was a cosmopolitan mix that couldn’t be found anywhere in the New World. New Orleans was happenin’. It all ended during Reconstruction. The North stepped in and took control.
Yes, we’ve had our share of scoundrals and whatnot, but take a look at the “machines” in the Northern cities’ Past. We ain’t any different from them. So fuckin’ what? We have seen our bad days, and we see the bright Future. We see New Orleans becoming the bright jewel of this country. We just became the beacon of Hope.
The Spirit that runs through this place, just like the flow of the River, is inexhaustable. We won’t quit. Our love for our home is beyond anything you can know. This IS HOME for folks like us, no matter the race or economic situation. It’s WHERE WE BELONG. We ARE all New Orleans, same as SE Louisiana. Same as the Gulf Coast. IT IS OUR HOME!
Anyone from another part of America that wants to come at me for this…. bring it on babe. We’ve been screwed big time, and we are just good folks trying to live in this world. Yes, it’s a freakin’ swamp, but think about the dangers where you live… blizzards, earthquakes, flooding, tornados, etc. We aren’t that different.
We are all Americans, though bought by powers… we are still Americans. We still have the right to declare ourselves citizens of the Isle d’Orleans, and I am totally in support of that notion. Senn Fein, “We, ourselves”.
That sums it up folks, and that’s where I stand, right next to St. Joan, and armed as Hell. I will fight for this city. Trust me…..
“Anyone from another part of America that wants to come at me for this…, bring it on babe.”? Be careful what you ask for my dear sister…you just might get it and you are going to.
For months now I have silently watched your little dog and pony show both here and in your now defunct “Thoughts of the Dark Rose” from sunny So Cal, you remember So Cal don’t you? It’s where you and Betty stayed for five months when you had no place to live. I have watched you and others slam the rest of us as if we are responsible for your situation in NO, well I’m afraid we are not.
You speak of the “Social Contarct” which you allege was broken. Well somehow I seem to remember the rest of the country at least making an effort to come to your aid. I can’t speak for the rest of the people of America but I seem to recall that we out here sent our Urban Search and Rescue Teams, our firefighters and when the NOPD was exahusted to the breaking point the California Highway Patrol and others showed up to help. The California National Guard was there too trying to protect what was left of the city from the fine residents of NOLA who were “liberaiting” more than just food and water to survive on. Let’s not forget the millions of dollars collected all throughout the country and the food, clothing and medical supplies. Oh and the doctors and nurses to go along with them. Then there was the NYFD who did not forget that the New Orleans Fire Dept. showed up in NYC after 911 to help what was left of them when there weren’t that many left. They were down there too as were many others. We (America) broke the “Social Contract”? Shove it Morwen and I think you know where.
You write so eloquently for the amusement of your audience and eloquent you are as always and as always you have placed upon yourself the mantle of the curaidh. I fear it does not fit Morwen take it off. Your refrence to Joan of Arc does not fit as well, she was burned at the stake for heresy you will be burnt for a much worse offense. She at least backed up her words with action you on the other hand merely content yourself with speaking the words. Virtute non verbis, virtus in actione consistit. If you need a translation I’ll provide it but shouldn’t have to, after all you are the literary genius.
Like a wounded animal you lash out with fangs barred and claws ready to slash and you care not whom who you strike. Blinded with pain and rage you insult even those who have helped you I think you know what your reward will be. Once bitten twice shy, the hand you have bitten may not be extended again so be careful with those teeth.
I see you lament the sale of your “Isle d’Orleans” to the United States, well if the French had wanted to keep you they wouldn’t have sold you. They didn’t and so they did. They sold you out we are not the bad guys sorry to point that out to you but there it is.
Now you notice I said “we” and I said it in a manner that implies that you are excluded and why shouldn’t you be? On one hand you you say you are an American and deserve to be treated better than you are by America. In the next breath you curse America and opt for secession. Make up your damned mind will you and while you are thinking about it I’ll remind you of one small fact. Y’all tried that once before and got y’all’s butts kicked and that was when you had an army and something that resembled a navy, you have neither today so I’d place your chances of sucess somewhere between slim to none. Just thought I’d point that out to you while you’re mulling it over. Also as to “your” oil and “your” refineries um they aren’t yours they belong to someone else. Now New Orleans might own the sea port but somebody else owns everything else in it so you might not have much of an argument there either. Besides we’d just mine it like we did the Hiaphong harbor, nothing in nothing out it’s that simple. You also don’t own the Mississippi I know it comes as a shock to you but it’s true. If it belonged to anyone I would suppose it would be well…Mississippi. After all it bears their name and as we all know possession is nine tenths of the law. I guess it’s theirs not yours and they are generous enough to share it with the other states it runs through so your request for control is denied, sorry. Any other bubbles you want me to burst while I’m here? I’ll be more than happy to oblige you.
The bottom line is that your city is going to be rebuilt house by house, neighborhood by neighborhood and business by business. Wasting your time making pretty speeches and blogging about it isn’t going to make it happen. While we are on the subject of making it happen how’s your house coming along? Got it fixed yet? Didn’t think so. My advice? Put down the flask, flush the Paxil, close the laptop, roll up your sleeves and get hands on about it, you’ve wasted enough time with this virtual reality bullshit. I know actual reality sucks for you and everyone else down there but it’s the only place where you will actually fix the problem.
Like Don Quixote you revel in tiling with windmills, likewise you seem to be suffering from a similar from of dimentia as the good Don. Now if you would ever like to try it for real come on back to California and we’ll go up to the stables and I’ll show you how it’s actually supposed to be done. However be forwarned my dear sister, crossing lances with an actual adversary is much diffrent than one that dosen’t fight back and be likewise warned I aim for either helm or heart and am not known for missing either. On second thought you’d better stick to windmills it’s safer that way besides you wouldn’t like it much when the ground comes up and hits your delicate ass after I un-horse you*wink*.
Good luck and
godspeed John Glenn
Candice-Nicole
Comment by Candice-Nicole Carter — July 2, 2006 @ 5:01 am
Amen! We seem to be everyone’s favorite joke and it’s getting tiring. But we here in the SE are the only ones who know what it’s really been like and still is. It’s a slow, slow recovery, but the folks here are gonna make it better than before Katrina. People aren’t in the mood for the good old boy network and I can see it slipping away slowly over the next few years. We’re going through a painful aftermath of a disastrophe and we will come out stronger and prouder.
Comment by judyb — July 2, 2006 @ 11:33 am
I’m sitting this Fourth out. The kids are out of town at Grandma and Grandpa’s, and I’ve got packing to do. But honestly, I’m just not feeling the love for the red, white, and blue these days. Much of America has turned its back on my home town, so I’m not in a big rush to turn the other cheek and take part in their national party.
If I had a house to hang it on, I’d fly the fleur de lis flag.
As it is, instead of frying burgers I’ll probably dig the last bag of duck and andouille gumbo out of the freezer and celebrate with that.
Comment by Ray — July 2, 2006 @ 6:22 pm
Same here. I’m sitting this one out, too.
Comment by Lisa — July 3, 2006 @ 11:49 am
Well, aren’t we a miserable lot! Yeah … I’m sitting it out too. Actually, I’ll probably join some friends this evening, but we won’t be going forth on the fourth.
Comment by Schroeder — July 4, 2006 @ 4:36 pm
Sitting it out seems to be the consensus.
Comment by Charlotte — July 4, 2006 @ 4:45 pm
This year I’m not celebrating the Fourth. We are staying home until Midnight… and then we will be at the Starlight.
There is too much pain this year… folks dead, homes destroyed, and all by the ignorance and greed of our Gov’ment and the corporations.
I agree with the many of you that August 29th is our Independance Day. It is the anniversary of when we realized that the Gov’ment didn’t care for us. (The people of this country did however.) We are the folks of the Isle d’Orleans, a place unlike any other in the U.S., and we love our homeland.
We stand, and I say Thanks to all that fight for the Isle.
Comment by Morwen Madrigal — July 4, 2006 @ 9:36 pm
Thanks for the link, as soon as I figure out how to link yours to mine I will..I am a babe in the woods..as far as the computer goes! I will be at City Council most all day Thursday
Comment by Karen — July 4, 2006 @ 10:00 pm
I spent 4 July in Vienna. Saw a good futbol game. Somebody told me it was Independence day, and I asked, for what country?
Comment by ashley — July 6, 2006 @ 4:24 pm