Eat, drink and be merry
Upon reading Lovell Beaulieu's editorial suggesting we should cancel Mardi Gras, I was reminded of the scene in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night when the prudish and censorious Malvolio interrupts a revel of Sir Toby Belch and his friends. In response to Malvolio's tsk,tsk-ing, Sir Toby responds "dost thou think, because thou art virtuous,there shall be no more cakes and ale?" (Act II, Scene III).
Mardi Gras is not just for the elite
Upon further reflection I was struck by Mr. Beaulieu's apparent ignorance of the modern Mardi Gras, and his repeated allusions to it as a party for the rich and privileged. In the first instance, he has no idea of the economic impact the event has on the city's coffers. -The Times Picayune reported on December 8, that in recent years the city has annually reaped taxes of 20 million dollars on an investment of 5 million for police and sanitation services. While the revenues will no doubt be less this year, even a break-even figure for taxes would be off-set by increased employment opportunities in tourism. He states that the police will be unable to cope with crowds and drunk Mardi Gras tourists, but then laments the fact that we lost such events as the Sugar Bowl and the Bayou Classic, and may lose the Saints. The reason for the cancellation of those events had more to do with the unavailability of the Dome than with the state of the police force. The police have had a rough time, to be sure, but the Chief says they can handle Mardi Gras with a little help. Mr. Beaulieu suggests, at least by implication, that our police force is a gang of racist thugs based simply on one apparently indefensible incident. Doesn't he know that the force is fully integrated racially, and is considered one of the best in the nation in dealing with crowds. He notes with some anguish that hospitals, schools and universities were closed, but apparently does not know that many of these institutions will reopen by Mardi Gras.
Mardi Gras belongs to everyone
His assertion that Mardi Gras is for the rich only is equally uninformed. I believe that no more than 15,000 people actually ride in the parades, but estimates put the number of participants on Mardi Gras day alone at about one million. Those figures will of course be proportionally smaller this year. While it is true that in years past the parade organizations were white and elite, that is no longer the case. Most krewes are open to all, and while riding in a parade is not cheap (about the price of a couple of Saints season tickets), one needn't be rich to ride occasionally. Moreover, all of the city's high school bands, many of which are located in predominantly impoverished areas, are avid participants in the parades, although it is not yet known how many will be able to march this year. The crowds that line the routes are also a cross section of the city. So it is simply not true that Mardi Gras is an occasion for elite krewes to play with their "rolling toys" every year.
The state on New Orleans now
The one thing in Mr. Beaulieu's piece that I agree with is his statement that "New Orleans is teetering on the brink of emotional exhaustion." That we are. Our city has been devastated in a manner that cannot be appreciated unless seen first hand. Our population of 480,000 is reduced to perhaps 80,000, with more only trickling in as electricity and gas are ever so slowly restored. City services are in shambles and the largely imaginary city budget is something that would make Enron financial officers proud. There are trash and debris piles that could only be imagined in a late night creature feature.
The devastation is still here
Driving about the hardest hit areas is startling. And each time you do it, it is even more startling. Mile after mile of empty houses and businesses with a floodwater line three to ten feet high. And then there are the orange spray paint markers left by the rescue workers searching for the dead. The number at the bottom is the bodies found inside. And this macabre message in the Ninth Ward, now made unforgettable by Chris Rose: "One dead in Attic," conjuring up visions of someone without the strength or the tools to break through the roof to escape the rising waters, or without the food and water to survive for long in the stifling post-hurricane heat. And this sad little orange aside in Lakeview: "Dog d/o/a in bathroom."
