Images of the Big Easy
Sep. 9th, 2005 01:02 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
walbournI've tried not to spend too much time overexposing myself to the media frenzy over the New Orleans flood. I watch the PBS Newshour and the Daily Show to stay informed, and occasionally flip to CNN. Still, I've seen a lot of the same images as everyone else across the country.
The one that sticks with me most is the scene at the Convention Center. I think what makes the images of New Orleans so much more jarring for Americans than the scenes of crushing poverty and despair in Iraq is that we know what the place is supposed to look like. As far as we know, Iraq was always a dusty shanty town--it wasn't--but most if not all of us have attended a conference, had a vacation, or at least seen a movie that featured New Orleans.
"Hall J". Chairs. Refuse. The powerless unlit interior. The knowledge that thousands of people who lacked the resources to drive out of town sat there day after day after day is just appalling. And haunting.
I went to New Orelans for SIGGRAPH 2000. The conference wasn't well attended because the companies on the West coast figured it was a one-off and they'd just save the money waiting for the following year's return yet again to their backyard. I remember meeting my former business partner at a nearby restaurant for lunch. I remember walking the French Quarter looking for a place to have dinner. I ended up in of all places a "Bubba Gump" shrimp restaurant with Forest Gump playing on infinite loop in the background.
Americans are really good at ignoring the obvious neglect in our cities. We are good at romanticizing the past, especially since our definition of "history" only goes back a few hundred years. We are also a bit too good at forgetting the price we paid for our lack of foresight and collective will to do the "right" thing.
Our hearts pour out after the fact. When will they do so when it might actually do the most good?
The one that sticks with me most is the scene at the Convention Center. I think what makes the images of New Orleans so much more jarring for Americans than the scenes of crushing poverty and despair in Iraq is that we know what the place is supposed to look like. As far as we know, Iraq was always a dusty shanty town--it wasn't--but most if not all of us have attended a conference, had a vacation, or at least seen a movie that featured New Orleans.
"Hall J". Chairs. Refuse. The powerless unlit interior. The knowledge that thousands of people who lacked the resources to drive out of town sat there day after day after day is just appalling. And haunting.
I went to New Orelans for SIGGRAPH 2000. The conference wasn't well attended because the companies on the West coast figured it was a one-off and they'd just save the money waiting for the following year's return yet again to their backyard. I remember meeting my former business partner at a nearby restaurant for lunch. I remember walking the French Quarter looking for a place to have dinner. I ended up in of all places a "Bubba Gump" shrimp restaurant with Forest Gump playing on infinite loop in the background.
Americans are really good at ignoring the obvious neglect in our cities. We are good at romanticizing the past, especially since our definition of "history" only goes back a few hundred years. We are also a bit too good at forgetting the price we paid for our lack of foresight and collective will to do the "right" thing.
Our hearts pour out after the fact. When will they do so when it might actually do the most good?
