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Check this out, Rob of HelpyChalk faxed Mayor Ronnie Harris, and the Mayor phoned Rob back:
I just got off the phone with Mayor Ronnie Harris of Gretna. I'm still reeling from the conversation, so all I can do is report approximately how it went.
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» The only thing we have to fear is fear itself from Preemptive Karma
Many of you may already be aware of Gretna story: GRETNA, La. — Little over a week after this mostly white suburb became a symbol of callousness for using armed officers to seal one of the last escape routes from New Orleans — trapping thousands of mos... [Read More]
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Actually, Harris phoned me. It was totally unexpected.
Posted by: rob helpy-chalk | September 19, 2005 at 11:48 AM
Rob is way nicer than me. I have zero sympathy for this man, and I hope that if he ever is in need of food or shelter, he gets turned away.
Posted by: Linnet | September 19, 2005 at 12:35 PM
Unbelievable. Not only does the Mayor think the police actions were justified, he invokes god as the ultimate authority for said actions.
Why did it not occur to anyone in Gretna that they could have taken some of the elderly and children in without damaging their own "security"? The fact that this idea seems to have crossed no one's mind in Gretna demonstrates even further, their total lack of human compassion.
Posted by: ghostcatbce | September 19, 2005 at 07:48 PM
I heard the 'story' revisited today on NPR, including an interview with some police and politicians. My curiosity led me to examine a map of the area- the bridge, Gretna, etc.
It looks like the bridge runs across the river into the Algiers 'hood of West NO, and makes a loop (about a mile or two) before it enters the 'land' portion of Jefferson Parish- although the boundary does appear to pass under the bridge in question, near the middle of the river...
So, why were Jefferson Parish sheriffs on the East bank?
And I'd have to question the rationale that allows those with vehicles into an area where there's an alleged fear of looting, while barring pedestrian traffic. Who is 'shopping with the biggest basket' in this scenario? It's pretty obvious that racist & classist discrimination is the order of the day, there...
Pharaoh 1 : Moses 0 ^..^
Posted by: Herbert Browne | September 21, 2005 at 01:01 AM