New Orleans' Mayor Nagin and Conspiracy Theory

Some Things Never Change

It seems New Orleans' mayor, Ray Nagin, still suffers from "hoof in mouth" disease or some other malady that twists his words and makes us believe he said something he really did not say. Most are aware of Nagin's "Chocolate City" comments made in a speech during the city's 2006 celebration of the day set aside in remembrance of slain Civil Rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Unfortunately, the malady, whatever it is, has flared up once again.

I suppose my eyes bugged out, though I now wonder why there was any surprise on my part when I learned of the fate of the mayor with the clean-shaved pate. Reading a front-page article in the Times-Picayune (03/19 2007, 171^st Year, No. 57) written by staff writer, Dennis Persica, I realized, with a sinking feeling in my stomach, Nagin had once again made a public utterance. The article's title was "Nagin calls diaspora racial plot" with the subtitle stating, "City's makeup altered intentionally, he says." It seems some things never change. How many times does someone need to step into a verbal "cow pie" before discovering it is not made of coconut cream or lemon meringue and people are not going to swallow it?

Citing his source as The Washington Post, Persica reported that in remarks made during a recent meeting of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, New Orleans' Mayor Ray Nagin asserted that the "slow pace" of New Orleans' Hurricane Katrina recovery effort is "part of a plan to change the racial makeup and, hence the political leadership of the city."

Political Leadership in New Orleans

From where I sit, the city has very little in the way of literal political leadership at this point. In other words, what is there to change? Through my "rat drowning in a storm eyes, I see the current political leadership, at most, "symbolic." While it is true I am not an avid follower of local politics because I want to guard what little sanity I have, the only time I do hear reports of the less-than charismatic leader of "The City That Care Forgot" is a local report informing his constituency where he is other than within the city confines. He seems to enjoy jetting off somewhere other than the city he is supposed to be leading in its continuing fight for survival.

The only other reports of the mayor that seem to reach my ears are the ones like that above, when he has, in the midst of some choice venue, broken my favorite quote and rule of the entire Katrina affair. It seems he should remember the wonderful words of someone who we can truly call a leader, someone Nagin himself praised as a "John Wayne dude," Lt. Gen Russel Honore, U.S. Army. Fielding questions from reporters, Honore was repeatedly asked the same idiotic question by a member of the media during a post-Katrina press conference. After repeatedly informing the interrogator he could not answer his question with any more detail than he had already, the general finally quipped in his unfeigned military commander's confidence "Don't get stuck on stupid!" It seems Nagin would remember those "John Wayne" words.

Race Provoked Conspiracy Theory

In his report, Persica explains that the National Newspaper Publishers Association is a trade group for newspapers that target black readers. Nagin is quoted as saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, what happened in New Orleans could happen anywhere." Supposedly, this was his warning to others about his thoughts that some genius was carrying out a master plot of what has to be of gargantuan proportions to prevent residents from returning to the city. His reasoning for this masterful plot; the conspirators are attempting to change the political leadership of the city by altering its racial demographics. He could not have been insinuating New Orleans no longer has a majority African American population. Well, I assume that is was his thinking because what New Orleans has is a smaller population. African Americans continue to make-up the majority of that smaller number.

I do see that Nagin somehow presumes that race is somehow a major issue in a person's ability to lead our particular city. To show you how far off the mark my thinking is, I am, gullible enough to fully believe a qualified black mayor could run a city that has a majority white or other race population AND I also fully believe a qualified white mayor could run a a city that has a majority black or other race population. Silly me.

Finally, the article refers to Nagin's remarks as his "conspiracy theory." which was all arranged by some mysterious person or group referred to by Ray Nagin as "they." They who??

Learned The Backstroke

Waking up on a new day, I pick up the Times Picayune (03-20-2007) to read that Nagin now claims that his words were taken out of context, turned up-side down, shaken in a can, put in the refrigerator, removed and baked at a high temperature until they were unrecognizable. All this was done, he now claims, by a young upwardly-hopeful reporter from the Washington Post, the reported source of Persica's information. The most recent article had the New Orlean's Mayor sounding as if he thought the Post was playing "Word Hokie Pokie" with the remarks he had made because they put his middle remarks first, his end remarks in the middle and did something else and shaken all about and turned around..

It now appears if Ray Nagin learned how to do the "backstroke" in the floodwaters of Katrina. It could also have been my favorite, former New Orleans Saints' wide-receiver, Joe Horn, taught Mayor Nagin the great spin techniques we now seeing from the latter before the former left New Orleans to utilize his abilities in a city that is not being conspired against.

I Am Very Tired

Considering all that has transpired, my family has been very blessed compared to many who lost loved ones, who are still haunted by the events of the storm, and those who have been uprooted from "their" New Orleans to possibly never return. I cannot imagine what they must feel. My family and I evacuated the New Orlean's area two days prior to the landfall of Hurricane Katrina. Without going into almost two years of blood, sweat, and tears stories, I am just too plain tired and worn out to hear anymore of what Nagin has to say.

Plain and simple-there was a natural disaster that occurred here that went far beyond anything we have experienced in our lifetime. It caused a domino effect in failed levees, loss of life, and exposed major problems in domestic emergency response at all governmental levels. Yes, many African Americans, because they were and still make up the majority of the city's population died in those tragic days. Nothing is going to change that. If one wants to delve into who really died in those dark days, take a look at the number of deceased over the age of 60 or 65 compared to their overall percentage of the city's pre-storm population.

Political bungles, too many hands in the pot, and whatever else is slowing the city's recovery hurts. It hurts bad. However, to even suggest that the slow pace of recovery is really the evil scheming of some mastermind to change the population to change the political leadership, yada, yada, yada, is just too much for me to handle right now. The rhetoric certainly did nothing to help this city, anyone residing here, or anyone wishing to return.

Dear Ray,

I wonder why they chose us. Why didn't they start their scheme with Detroit, Philadelphia, or even D.C.?