I thought I could let this go at first, but this is still bothering me four days later. So I've decided it's time to say something.
Monday afternoon, under this diary, I ran across some offensive remarks that made me very sad. The commenter refered to Louisiana as
"Lousy-Anna"
and put her down in other ways. More below the fold....
Regarding this initial comment, at first the commenter makes several valid points--however, he had to spoil it at the end. Which, had he not done so, I'd have recommended his remark:
So what?
Recommended by:Hootenanny, vox humana, Jihad Will Eat Itself
Trollrated by:Louisiana 1976
This guy in the House would be a dedicated Blue Dog, guaranteed. He would vote against most Dem bills (that actually square with the party platform) and act as a soft GOPer.
Seriously, it is supposed to be more better Dems, not just ANY Dem. That is how one ends up with a Bayh, a Landrieau, a Schumer, a Reid, an Emmanuel, a Clinton, a Lieberman, a Hoyer, a Pelosi etc. It does NOT serve our ends to actively seek to place our own claymores in our path to Progressive Land. Louisiana is a joke state. Let it vote against its own interests. Focus on non-lost-cause states where people actually THINK.
By the by, I friggin' lived in Lousy-anna for 5+ lost years. What a disgrace of a place. (Emphasis mine.)
What's distressing and upsetting about his comments is that in dissing Louisiana as he is, he comes across not only as a hate-monger but also as an insensitive jerk. What he says in the second which I'll soon be going into is basically true--Louisiana does have her problems. But she also needs help and support, without which it will be difficult to overcome them. Louisiana's problems need to be discussed kindly and thoughtfully, without kicking her when she's down. They need to be talked about in a way considerate of the feelings both of Louisianians and others who love and support the state.
This is a time when a fragile Louisiana in a great deal of physical and emotional pain after New Orleans' flooding and Katrina and Rita needs to be gently nursed back to health. The last thing Louisiana needs is to be demeaned or attacked.
Perhaps had things been going right, or at least, better, for Louisiana and New Orleans, I could have shrugged off
"Lousy-Anna"
and his other insults. But since BushCo's been abusing Louisiana by neglecting New Orleans, with the compliant silence of the mainstream media, many Democrats regarding New Orleans have been betraying their historic principles of looking out for the little guy, and groups calling themselves "progressive" are rejecting as a venue New Orleans, which needs the visitors, cash, and psychological boost hosting such conventions would bring, I have to take a stand.
So here's the commenter's second remark:
The Lousy-Anna comment
Recommended by:Jihad Will Eat Itself
Trollrated by:Louisiana 1976
Refers to the FACT that Louisiana, until VERY recently wrt to the governor, voted for open criminals for office again and again and again. They got what they deserved for doing so.
Louisiana: what I remember is driving into Shrevepit (local parlance) and Bossier Shitty (local parlance) and seeing a mix of normal houses and then a lot bunch of patches of the most decrepit, run-down, disgusting, unfit-for-living hellhole "houses" (mostly/exclusively blacks). Ramshackle doesn't begin to describe... Real nice. Great urban decay and total disregard for the least of your citizens Louisiana!
I remember the racist bastards (KKK sympathizers both in and outside the military). Then there's the intense bible thumpery. Totally wack. Only parts of Mississippi are worse than most of Louisiana by my personal experience - New Orleans, other than the RIFE corruption, was the only bright spot. But that bright spot has been snuffed by negligence by the GOP and now it is to become just another Louisiana religious wackjob community where everyone votes against their own best interests.
Then there was the time I climbed up into a B-52 (in the AF at the time) for a mid-day training flight. Someone had placed a little thermometer in the crew compartment back at the EWO position. It topped out at 140 degrees F. The needle was PEGGED and the metal ladder and pole were too hot to touch without wearing flight gloves. And the humidity...jesus roberts christorama.
I'm now in another Red state that is arguably only slightly better than Louisiana in that regard but it is an improvement. Someday I'll end up living where thinking human beings live and vote. I hope. Other than all that, Louisiana struck me as a great place to be.
Let's look at his points one by one. First of all, Louisiana political corruption, or as he puts it, voting
for open criminals for office again and again and again.
Now, I'm not saying this sort of thing is right--I'm saying Louisiana is barely alone when it comes to this sort of thing. So why pick on Louisiana?
Take a look at another state near and dear to my heart, Illinois. Not just Chicago, which is famous for this sort of thing, where in past elections the dead have been known to "vote," but the state government. This column from the Chicago Tribune cites some statewide examples from two years ago, but this sort of thing is still going on. The Chicago Sun-Times reports on an investigation into politically-motivated hiring for state jobs by top aides to Gov. Rod Blagojevich. And last but not least, Illinois' previous governor, George Ryan is now in prison because, when he was Secretary of State, his office took bribes for issuing licenses to unqualified truck drivers, one of whom caused a horrible accident.
Back to corruption in Louisiana: Here's something that makes my blood boil. After New Orleans' flooding and Katrina when her people urgently needed help, Louisiana shouldn't have had to plead her case on bended knee before mean-spirited members of Congress who argued that because of her history of political corruption she shouldn't be trusted with rebuilding money. But Louisiana was forced to undergo this humiliating, spirit-shredding ordeal which rubbed salt in her wounds. And do you know who one of those disgusting sleazeballs was, who were so hard-hearted towards Louisiana? Wide-stanced Idaho Sen. Larry Craig, of 2007 Minnesota bathroom-bust fame. It's a pity his men's room dance didn't happen two years earlier--Louisiana would have had some good ammunition.
Now for poverty in Louisiana. That's true--Louisiana is one of the two poorest states in the nation. (Although I'll add that this problem is hardly unique to Louisiana--there are places that look like that where I live.) I've discussed myself how while all classes were affected by New Orleans' flooding, the poor have been impacted the worst in Katrina's aftermath in many ways. But the commenter could have discussed the bad housing and other signs of poverty he witnessed in Shreveport and Bossier City sympathetically and sensitively--not with such a disrespectful tone.
And if the commenter had given it more thought, perhaps he'd have come to the conclusion that BushCo budget cuts in anti-poverty programs could have been at least partly to blame for Louisiana's grinding poverty. The expression
disregard for the least of your citizens
could also be addressed to President Bush and his minions who cruelly allowed poor people in Louisiana to die in New Orleans' flooding. I wonder if the commenter hadn't thought of that because he's a BushCo stooge.
As for racism and "Bible thumpery"--also true in some places, but not unique to Louisiana, Or, I'll add, the South, for that matter. I recall having read around the time of the Jena rallies a HuffPo piece under which people remarked that they'd witnessed or heard about racism in such far-from-the-South places as Washington State. (Sorry I couldn't find a link--guess this was too old.) Again, not saying it's right--just saying it's not just going on in Louisiana.
I'm not going to continue deconstructing his comment because I'm starting to feel even more upset and physically ill. His remarks are excellent examples of what Kossacks--and others who consider themselves progressives--should not say about an agonized Louisiana struggling to heal from the effects of storm, flood, and BushCo's abuse.
No state is perfect--and there's nothing wrong with criticism of Louisiana as long as it's constructive and is done thoughtfully and respectfully. But calling her
"Lousy-Anna,"
a joke, and otherwise dissing her is uncalled-for.
I just don't have the patience for this sort of venom, whether from this commenter or anybody else. I'm just fed up--with BushCo's putting into play a sinister agenda involving ethnic cleansing and genocide intended to make Louisiana a Red state, with Democrats who should pro-actively be helping her standing idly by, with Democratic candidates saying little or nothing so I'm not sure how helpful they will be when elected, with worrying that perhaps underneath it all many Democrats share this commenter's hatred of Louisiana and consider her unworthy of help and support so they're turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to the cries for help still coming out of New Orleans, the symptoms of the psychic anguish Louisiana is still experiencing, and fearing that perhaps the Democrats have written her off as a Red state not even worth caring about--even if she's Red due to BushCo's ethnic cleansing and cultural genocide....
I am sick of such intolerable cruelty at a time when Louisiana needs to instead be getting all the moral support and kindness she can from other Americans as she attempts to heal her deep wounds and become whole.