Racists disturb me when they shift from “dogwhistle” social media posts to saying things out loud.
This isn’t a dogwhistle
There’s a lot of online nonsense currently on social media involving the Louisiana Deserves Better (LDB) organization. LDB coordinates the movement to recall Louisiana Governor Jeff Murray and Attorney General Liz Murrill. Two women stepped up and organized LDB as a means to collect signatures on legal, verifiable petitions. The movement and organization achieved unprecedented levels of support since its inception.
Online isn’t reality
Disagreement and dissension among liberals on social media exist in quantities much greater than real life, IRL, meatspace. While I hesitate to give too much oxygen to a person known online for disruption of progressive causes and organizations, there are times when comment is necessary.
Leila Habib can be best described as a person who regularly disrupts progressive discussions. To make a point, she clipped a scene from Disney’s movie The Jungle Book in a recent social media post. Again, this is social media nonsense, but it speaks volumes about the person posting. That’s because this is absolutely racist.
Why is this racist?
This social media post shows an orangutan, “King Louie.” The jazz musician Louis Prima, from New Orleans, voiced the character. While Disney always rejected the notion that their portrayal of orangutans in the film were racist caricatures, the film received criticism. The studio argued that Prima provided a recognizable voice and that was that. In spite of that defense, Jungle Book is one of five movies the studio later added a “Cultural Warning” to.
In my NOLA History Guy writing and podcasting, I deal with an extensive amount of primary source material. Discerning someone’s meaning when using these sources often presents a challenge. You can almost hear someone in a Disney writers’ room saying, “we’re not using chimps or monkeys for this, orangutans are orange!” Then they hired a Sicilian jazz musician. The relationship between Creole musicians and Sicilians in the city was fraught. This dates back to Nick LaRocca, who argued that the Sicilian musicians owed black musicians nothing with respect to the development of their jazz interpretations.
In short, a Sicilian voicing a character representing a Black person is problematic.
Ignorance?
Is it possible the OP here is ignorant of the background here? Of course. The Jungle Book came out in 1967. A lot has happened in the intervening sixty-odd years. Still, when someone wants to make a point about an organization that is led by two Black women, reaching for a clip of a dancing primate doesn’t leave me with questions. This isn’t subtle. It’s racist.
The ownership group of 1031 Canal Street was never held accountable.
Hard Rock Hotel, 21-October-2019. Infrogmation photo.
1031 Canal – The Hard Rock Hotel Disaster.
While city tut-tuts over the indictment of Mayor Latoya Cantrell, 1031 Canal Street remains an empty lot.
In October, 2019, construction continued at the corner of Canal and N. Rampart Streets. Developers demolished an old Woolworth’s store. They planned a hotel development. Tragedy struck on Saturday, October 12, 2019. The structure collapsed. Three workers died. Dozens received injuries. Almost six years later, no one from the ownership group has been held accountable for these deaths.
Media coverage
Imagine if WVUE-TV (FOX 8)’s Lee Zurik pursued 1031 Canal Partners with the passion he’s pursued Mayor Cantrell.Zurik would report on the progress he and his team made as they reviewed hundreds of hours of property surveillance video from the Upper Pontalba building at Jackson Square. He searched for months for anything incriminating on the mayor. Arguably his team’s work bears fruit in the federal case against Cantrell.
Then there’s WDSU-TV’s Aubrey Killion. Killion pursued defocked Catholic priest and child abuser Lawrence Hecker, even though he was in his 90s and dying. Hecker was eventually charged with child sexual assault, based on his own admissions in various interviews. Most of Killion’s coverage of the case focused on whether or not Hecker was competent to stand trial.
So, they chase the Black woman mayor’s $70,000. They hounded the senile 94-year-old priest near death. Additionally, newsrooms considered both cases more important/significant than the deaths of three construction workers. How much time did these lead investigative reporters spend on 1031 Canal? Not much. They clearly had bigger fish to fry.
This weekend local denizens of social media dance with joy at the mayor’s predicament. This morning’s Times-Picayune calls Cantrell the “lamest of lame ducks” as her term nears its end.
Local businessmen get to hide behind the relative anonymity of their corporate presence. It wouldn’t take much for the press and the Department of Justice to put the same effort in bringing those dead men some justice as they do coming for the mayor.
TFG really said “they’re eating the dogs” during the debate.
They’re eating the dogs
OK, this isn’t funny. Well, it shouldn’t be funny. It’s a horrible situation in Springfield, OH. Some woman made up shit about the local Haitian community there and how they stole pets to eat them. Haitians get a bum rap from whyte America for a couple of reasons. First, they’re black. Black refugee communities are incredible fodder for racists. Christianists look down on Haitians because they believe everyone from the island practices Voudon and are satanic, demonic, etc. Ask your average whyte person why Haiti is so messed up, they’ll tell you it’s demonic. So, once you’ve established demonic, animal sacrifice isn’t a stretch. Eating the sacrifice, just another step.
Non-whyte people eating animals generally regarded as household pets is a well-established trope in whyte America. When the Carter administration re-settled Vietnamese refugees along the Gulf Coast, the jokes abounded. Why were there no dogs and cats on the streets in New Orleans East? They were in the kitchens.
Weird Al
Then there was “Cat in the Kettle,” by Weird Al. Yankovic parodied Harry Chapin’s lovely father-son song, “Cat’s in the Cradle” by joking how Chinese restaurants served cat. It was kinda gross, but, hey, a lot of people laughed (including me). Folks accepted the song as parody, naturally. Nobody stormed the local Chinese takeaway, demanding they stop turning Mittens into Kung-Pao.
Still, Yankovic capitalized on whyte prejudice, just like all the Vietnamese jokes. It took decades for Vietnamese cuisine to go mainstream. So many jokes about dog and cat, those folks opened “Chinese” restaurants. Their wonderful food stayed in the closet until food critics sang its praises. Now, in New Orleans, there are more pho places than Chinese. That should have happened a decade earlier.
Weaponization
Republicans weaponized prejudice against Haitians. Vance parlayed a small-town lie into a national talking point. What his handlers forgot is that the guy at the top of the ticket is Ron Burgundy. Drumpf will read anything on the teleprompter. He delivered during the debate. The terrible right are beside themselves as they work to clean up the mess on Aisle Drumpf.
While most folks that laughs/laughed at ethnic jokes weaponize them, we all contributed to the culture that enables the evil.
A. Baldwin Wood (left), inventor of the wood-screw pump (photo 1)
Drainage and Racism
As we travel once again into the realm of drainage solutions butthurtia, let’s discuss why whyte people get so indignant and angry whenever it rains.
Meet A. Baldwin Wood, inventor of the wood-screw pump. His invention facilitated the drainage of the city for decades. Those pumps were built in the 1910s and 1920s. They were expected to last for fifty-ish years. So, what happened fifty years later?
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 happened. Whyte people ran from Orleans Parish to the suburbs. The remaining ones pulled their kids out of public schools in the city, enrolling them in Catholic schools. Those schools were able to continue de jure segregation, protected by the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Since they were paying tuition, they didn’t want to pay property tax. That shifted the burden of paying for city services to businesses. Those folks had the money to donate to political campaigns, making sure their property taxes didn’t go up.
“I’m not paying more taxes to give to a black mayor who will misspend it and steal it.”
They said that when Dutch took office in 1978.
They said that when Sidney took office in 1986.
They said that when Marc took office in 1994.
They said that when Ray took office in 2002.
When Mitch took office in 2010, whyte people blamed his daddy for encouraging black people to vote in his first mayoral election in 1971.
All the while, businesses did what they always do, shift the burdens to the residents. Whyte people in the suburbs sat, waiting for the city to tank. Their dream was to have the city fall apart under majority black governance, then step in with regional control. David Vitter led this movement in 2004 with the Recovery School District. By then, Orleans Parish Public Schools were in such a state that the Legislature mustered the votes to take over. The plan was to transition the black-managed schools to charters. (Hurricane Katrina accelerated this like nobody expected.)
The pumps today
Melpomene Pumping Station, named for Baldwin Wood (photo 2)
Back to drainage. Those pumps from the 1920s were in need of replacement by the 1970s. Suburban whyte people missed the boat on where the city anchors the suburbs, not the other way around. As the revenue base in Orleans Parish eroded, the suburban parishes refused to help. They wanted black folks to give control back to them. Regional solutions weren’t going to happen–shit, Jefferson Parish wouldn’t even join the Regional Transit Authority, lest a robust bus system bring more black people near their homes. Republicans in the suburbs wouldn’t pony up to fix the city’s drainage. Federal solutions under Republican presidents weren’t likely, either.
Now, it’s 2023. Louis Armstrong was a twelve-year-old boy selling newspapers on Canal Street when Baldwin Wood’s pumps were installed. They’re still in operation (sort of). Saying you won’t give money to Cantrell because she’s corrupt (translation: she’s Black) is silly. She didn’t create the problem, and wouldn’t have the funds to fix it even if she didn’t travel to Europe and the Emirates.
Reddit downvotes won’t drain the water. Working in the suburbs to affect change in the attitudes of elected officials will.
(h/t to James Karst for the factoid about Pops)
The buried bankruptcy lede in Da Paper is the motivations of plaintiff/creditor attorneys. Featured photo is of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, courtesy Infrogmation.
Corner stone of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 3200 Canal Street. Infrogmation photo.
Buried Bankruptcy Lede
Da Paper did a page one (print) story on the real estate sales the Archdiocese of New Orleans submitted to bankruptcy court. The article (online but paywalled) lists seven properties the Archdiocese wants to sell and have been approved by the court. The article’s headline, describing these properties as “vast” is hyperbolic nonsense. While movement on the bankruptcy is indeed news, these sales aren’t the important part of the story. The buried bankruptcy lede is the issue of new plaintiffs and increasing attorney profits.
What’s for sale
St. Jude Community Center, 400 N. Rampart Street.
The big-ticket items here are the St Jude Community Center and Sacred Heart Church on Canal Street. the Community Center, located at 400 N. Rampart Street, is the “parish building” for Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. It currently functions as a social services hub and food pantry for the neighborhood. Operations there are affiliated with Second Harvest, the regional food bank owned by Catholic Charities.
The other big item here is Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Canal Street. The parish was founded in 1879. The first church stood at 3200 Canal until 1924. The parish built the current church next to the original. When it was completed, they demolished the original church. The parish built the current school building in its place.
The Archdiocese sold the school building years ago. The school, Sacred Heart High (not to be confused with Sacred Heart Academy on St. Charles Avenue) re-organized as Seton Academy in the 1980s. That school merged with Redeemer High School in Gentilly. The merged school, Redeemer-Seton High School, continued in Gentilly until Katrina. The archdiocese sold the school building. It is now the “3222 Canal Apartments.”
Impact of these sales
While these properties will boost the coffers of the Archdiocese, there are bills to be paid. The bankruptcy is in its third year now. The archdiocese retains outside counsel and an outside accounting firm to oversee the myriad of legal activities and financial reports required for reorganization. A significant amount of the proceeds from these real estate sales will go to paying the lawyers and accountants.
The attorneys for clergy sex abuse victims know this. It’s problematic for them, because they’re working on contingency. Chapter 11 proceedings rolled up all the lawsuits against the archdiocese into the overall action. So, the victims are just creditors now. They hold the same status as the water service and coffee service companies that had outstanding invoices at the time of the filing.
Expanding the victim base
That’s the buried bankruptcy lede. Riegel mentions it in passing in the article. The plaintiff attorneys, seeking new clients and new fee potential, want the court to allow new lawsuits against the archdiocese. want the court to allow new lawsuits, based on a 2021 law passed by the state legislature. That law permits claims from years, even decades ago. The law is a part of a current trend to bring sexual assaulters to justice. A related New York State law enabled E. Jean Carroll to take action against Donald Trump.
The crux of the current argument is, should the federal court recognize new claims based on the state law. Bankruptcy cases usually “ban” new lawsuits during the reorganization phase.The theory is, creditors want to see the entity re-organize, so they can recoup some of what they’re owed.
That’s not the case here. There are two groups at odds with the archdiocese who don’t want it to re-organize. The victims share the assets as of the bankruptcy. It’s not clear how much cash the court requires for this. Since the lawyers work on contingency, their share of these settlements won’t be what they desire.
More plaintiffs expand the payout pool. The lawyers receive the same percentages, but on a higher total amount.
Outrage Reporting
Plaintiff lawyers nurture outrage reporting. They’re loving the coverage of Fr. Lawrence Hecker, the 90-something-year-old priest who admits to raping kids. The lawyers leverage the publicity to draw out victims who haven’t spoken up prior to now. So, more victims means more plaintiffs means higher fees. This case has no doubt been a serious financial drain on the lawyers. This became evident when a plaintiff lawyer leaked sealed documents relating to the archdiocese’s finances to the press, which earned him a half-million-dollar fine.
Or maybe not. The other group of people involved here are folks who want to burn the Catholic Church to the ground. I mean, their anger and pain is certainly understandable. The problem here is that bankruptcy law doesn’t know how to handle this grief. In most cases, creditors either want a re-organization, or they want the assets transferred to an entity that will turn things around.
Burning it down
There’s no transferring the church to another entity. It’s not like the Episcopalians or Methodists can just absorb Catholic parishes. The “burn it down” faction wants to put the archdiocese totally out of business. They desire perpetual proceedings here. The more money the archdiocese spends on lawyers and accountants, the more they have to close churches and schools to raise funds. This faction wants to see it all razed.
At some point, however, the burn-it-down group hits the lawyers head-on. While the archdiocese does have assets to sell, the lawyers need settlements. Look for more leaks from these folks as their sense of urgency grows.
Bringing it to an end
The judge wants this case closed. Being party to the destruction of the Catholic church in a city as Catholic as New Orleans is bad politics. It’s also bad business. If the bankruptcy judge allows further asset liquidation, it won’t be open-ended.
I should have read up on the mission and structure of Louisiana Illuminator.
Independent news from Louisiana Illuminator
Count me as one of those excited when Louisiana Illuminator (LAI) started up. The folks writing for them are all top-notch. Even if they don’t align exactly with my take on the state’s issues, they’re smart people I respect. So, imagine my frustration as the 2023 regular session of the Louisiana Legislature (#lalege on Da Twittah) progressed, and LAI wasn’t offering much in the way of opinion. Lots of facts, but no commentary/opinion.
I live on a steady diet of “librul news,” particularly from Slate and Slate Podcasts. Oh, I follow other sources and commentary, particularly old-school locals like Clancy Dubos. I couldn’t make sense of what I saw as a disconnect between the LAI philosophy/mission and this lack of commentary.
The Louisiana Illuminator is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization driven by its mission to cast light on how decisions are made in Baton Rouge and how they affect the lives of everyday Louisianians, particularly those who are poor or otherwise marginalized. Here readers will find in-depth investigations and news stories, news briefs and commentary, all of which is intended to help them make sense of how state policy is crafted, how it helps or hurts them and how it helps or hurts their neighbors across the state.
OK, the part about casting light on issues that affect the poor and marginalized is what I came for. In terms of factual presentation, LAI hits this on the head.
It took a message from Editor Greg Larose messaged me, explaining the part I didn’t get. It’s the “nonprofit” part:
An affiliate of States Newsroom, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by grants and a coalition of donors and readers like you, the Louisiana Illuminator retains editorial independence and is presented to readers free of charge and without advertising.
It’s the 501(c)(3) part that limits LAI’s ability to offer opinions. The reporters can offer personal opinions, but the publication can’t. As I told Greg, Now that I understand, I’ll try to be less of a dick to them on Da Twittah.
Nonpartisan
The temptation to cringe when a writer/writers declare they are “nonpartisan” is strong. That’s because all to many outlets equate “both sides” writing with “nonpartisan.” In truth, “nonpartisan” has nothing to do with both sides. It has to be with an ethical presentation of the facts.
The Truth.
And that’s something that’s lacking in The Media of late. LAI tells the truth.
LAI facts, my opinions
And that’s the bottom line for me. Going forward, I’ll be using this blog to expound on the facts offered by LAI, using them to offer calls to action. Progressive/Democratic/Liberal Louisiana needs this. It’s the trailer that the truck full of facts needs to pull behind it. Sometimes with a large sound system blaring the call to action as loudly as possible.
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