In lieu of obviously giving away my political and economic beliefs, I’ve been critically analyzing the root cause of all of the problems we have faced so far in New Orleans, and I whole-heartedly believe that the cause lies in an intensified and corrupt capitalist economy. The very real American drive for money has exasperated the wage gap, limited city resources, and reduced people into simple monetary assets and liabilities.
Today we visited the Whitney Plantation – a historically accurate representation of slavery in Louisiana, the Garden District – an affluent neighborhood, and the Lower 9th Ward – the area most altered by Hurricane Katrina.
The Whitney Plantation was the most obvious example of the use of humans for capital gain. It is also incredibly important to note that the plight and struggles of African Americans in the United States is real and prevalent, even today. A reflection with Kaylan – our only African American NOLA Bear Breaker – was incredibly eye-opening and heart-opening. My struggles as a middle class white woman are nothing comparatively.
The stark contrast between the affluent Garden District and the obvious deterioration of the Lower 9th Ward was striking. And it is all about money; the people of the Lower 9th Ward have none. They cannot afford to rebuild or repair their broken homes, and less than 50% of the displaced persons affected by Hurricane Katrina have been able to afford to return. People ask: why doesn’t New Orleans fix this disaster area? Well, New Orleans doesn’t have any money either. This is apparent in the crumbling infrastructure, even found in the Garden District’s safety hazard sidewalks. Without doing extensive research, I think I can safely assume that this, too, is due to the intense, corrupted value of “my money is only mine”. In the last decade or so, political lobbying has led to huge tax cuts for the wealthy and less money for the government, because “hard work creates equal opportunities, right?” But the people who believe this fail to understand that there are social and institutionalized barriers for people of different races, income levels, nationalities, and the like. But, I digress. A lack of public funding leads to privatization of any recovery efforts, which in turn rebuild areas that produce the most income (like the French Quarter), and ignore the areas of the impoverished people who do not provide a direct benefit to investors (like the Lower 9th Ward). And even when companies or people do invest in these areas, either for publicity or a true drive to help, it can lead to intense gentrification- intentional or not.
Anyway, I do see that there are probably faults in my argument, and would love to hear any differing opinions.
One disclaimer: this is not a deeply researched idea, simply some basic observations of one day in New Orleans.
Regardless, I have really thoroughly enjoyed my time in New Orleans. I love the enthusiastic culture, the architecture, the music, the people; I have loved it all. I cannot wait to see what else comes my way during this week of service.
-Kara Venzian