southern coldness and northern charm

Byline: | Category: Uncategorized | Posted at: Tuesday, 30 August 2005

I bet I’ll stoke some anger with this post, but I’m going to attempt to bust some stereotypes here.

Do you remember how in the immediate aftermath of September 11th there were only limited reports of looting?  And do you remember the stories of how New York City neighbors who had never before said a word to each other were coming together in a crisis?

Contrast that with this story out of New Orleans from WKRN:

One man, who had about 10 pairs of jeans draped over his left arm, was asked if he was salvaging things from his store.

"No," the man shouted, "that’s EVERYBODY’S store."

Looters filled industrial-sized garbage cans with clothing and jewelry and floated them down the street on bits of plywood and insulation as National Guard lumbered by.

Mike Franklin stood on the trolley tracks and watched the spectacle unfold.

"To be honest with you, people who are oppressed all their lives, man, it’s an opportunity to get back at society," he said.

Now which city is the town of Northern coldness, and which one has Southern gentility?

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5 Responses to “southern coldness and northern charm”

  1. Blake Says:
    August 30th, 2005 at 4:22 pm

    I’ve never really considered New Orleans a nice city…especially in the Southern sense.

  2. Bob K Says:
    August 30th, 2005 at 4:53 pm

    Blake,

    I think you’re right about N.O. I’d like to think that Nashville would weather a crisis at least as well as NYC did.

    Let’s hope we never have to find out.

  3. Terry Says:
    September 1st, 2005 at 7:05 am

    Interesting how the looters were justifying their actions by making statements like “it’s only fair after years of oppression.”

    Should we be suprised that the reparations argument and bitter rhetoric of Sharpton and Jackson should trickle down to the streets of New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina?

    We’re all Americans–black, white, yellow–whatever our color or origin. The politics of blaming others is yielding fruit in those that today seek to loot weapons, pills, and dvds instead of helping to find, rescue, and assist fellow people in need in the waters and debris of Katrina.

    I don’t think Northern “coldness” vs. Southern “coldness” is the right perspective.

  4. Bob K Says:
    September 1st, 2005 at 8:26 am

    Terry, I think you’re right about the causal link between the bitter rhetoric of victimization and the unfolding terror of New Orleans.

  5. pa Says:
    November 1st, 2012 at 11:53 am

    On the other hand, reports of looting post-Sandy are beginning to leak out:
    http://moonbattery.com/?p=20223