A Comparison of Character

By Alan Burkhart

With so much attention focused on New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, a significant fact has been largely overlooked. As a proud citizen of the Magnolia State I believe it’s high time to make a comparison of just how folks from Mississippi dealt with the storm’s aftermath compared to those in and around New Orleans.

One of my brothers was involved in the relief effort. A cross-country trucker like me, he spent 30 days hauling FEMA trailers loaded with ice and food into Southern Mississippi. We spoke on the phone at length just last night, and I discovered how deeply moved he was by the whole experience.

He told me of how people would walk or drive up to the back of his trailer and ask for only what they needed, rather than pushing and shoving and fighting, as happened in New Orleans. He spoke of how locals would pitch in and help him unload his trailer rather than stand there demanding a handout. He spoke of the graciousness, patience and courtesy of Mississippians, both black and white, who were showing a strength of character that was scarcely evident among the riotous masses in Southern Louisiana.

From New Orleans, we hear numerous stories of volunteers who were shocked and disgusted at the utter lack of civility and gratitude. We hear stories of violence and lawlessness by the citizens, and of near complete abandonment of the city by local law enforcement. It would be pointless to detail all those stories here. We’ve all heard them more than once already. The important thing to understand is why there is such a difference between the people of Southern Mississippi and those in New Orleans.

Certainly, there were instances of bad behavior in Mississippi, but they were a scant few compared to the nearly animalistic behavior in Louisiana’s largest city. What my brother and others, including myself, saw in Mississippi was nothing more than the good old-fashioned American “Can-Do” attitude. It was remarkable only in that it was so sharply contrasted by the Third World mentality in New Orleans.

So… why the big difference? People like Jessie Jackson would point out the prevailing poverty of blacks in New Orleans. If you listen to Jessie you’ll end up believing that Katrina only hit poor black neighborhoods and that only poor blacks were left homeless by the storm. Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin have done nothing to dispel this myth. New Orleans is saturated far more thoroughly with liberal dogma than dirty water. The city is a working model for the Welfare State desired by Leftists across America.

If you were presented with two images of rioting, hungry blacks clamoring for food, would you be able to tell the difference between the one from New Orleans and the one from any of the impoverished and corrupt African states? New Orleans is a cesspool of defeatism and political corruption. So-called leaders in that city, both black and white, have for decades worked to keep blacks dumb, dirt-poor and angry. They’ve succeeded. The poverty-stricken masses in New Orleans are absolutely dependent upon the bureaucracy for their needs.

So, it’s all the fault of the city’s corrupt leadership, right?

Nope. Every single coherent adult in that city knows right from wrong. If these people choose to be deceived by a slack-jawed buffoon like Jessie Jackson, or if they choose to remain in a city that holds little promise for them, then they deserve to sleep in the bed they’ve made. And please don’t tell me about how they’re “trapped” in that city. If you don’t have a car, you can get a used bicycle at any junk shop for under twenty dollars. You can pick up aluminum cans and sell them at a recycling facility. You can always find a way to change your situation.

I’ve been poor. I’m intimately familiar with the feeling of not having food in the refrigerator and no car in the driveway. Been there, done that. But I went out and changed my situation. Was it tough? Hell yes it was tough, but it wasn’t impossible. I hitchhiked a thousand miles away from my failures and started over with $10 in my pocket and my clothes in a paper sack. So don’t tell me that these people in New Orleans can’t cope. There is no such thing as a problem without a solution.

Rather than looking for someone to blame for their troubles, people in Mississippi by and large just rolled up their sleeves and went to work. Certainly we had help; FEMA was there with food and supplies, the National Guard was there, and utility companies from all across America sent trucks and crews to help repair downed power lines, remove fallen trees, and provide temporary relief. But… we didn’t have any more aid than what was provided to New Orleans. And we didn’t stand there with our hands outstretched waiting for the next ration of compassion. We just did what Americans have done since the founding of this nation: We worked together to fix what was broken.

Such was not the case in New Orleans. Too many people in that town are conditioned to believe in their own helplessness. They’re taught that a gang of Evil White Men are the root of their troubles. They have for generations been brainwashed to believe that when things go wrong in their lives, it’s impossible for it to be their own fault. Was the hurricane their fault? Of course not. Their reaction to their situation however, was no one’s fault but their own. They lined up and held out their hands in expectation of someone else solving their problems for them… just like they’ve done for untold generations. Other people were expected to feed them, clothe them, and clean up after them. When aid didn’t arrive immediately, despair often turned into violence.

There’s an old saying that applies here…
“If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always got.”

Until the people in that city recognize that their problems are their own and actually stand up and do something on their own, they’ll keep right on getting what they’ve been getting all these years. There’s a word for what they’re getting, but it would be a bad career move for me to use it here. The saddest part is the simple fact that they’re doing it to themselves.