NOLA Cred? My Ass
Today I am going to write about something that I find to be completely assinine: the constant pissing contest over who has “New Orleans cred,” and how much.
As someone who had ancestors on the first boat to arrive, I can trump most claims of “superior cred,” quite handily. That being the case I am the perfect person to note that simple bloodline or amount of time in the city pale into insignificance next to ho much that person “gets” the city and its rhytyms.
I know people who moved to NOLA after the levee failure that are more True NOLA ™ than people from families as old as my own. I know others who are so clueless it’s mind numbing.
Get off your high horses and judge people on their actions and the content of their characters. That is how we will build a better New Orleans.
-Loki, HumidCity Founder and Publisher
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I’d rather not judge anybody, ever.
What a horrible & difficult job it must be.
This quote was given to me recently, and seems to apply quite well:
“Some people sit ’round a ring and suppose, but the secret sits in the middle and knows.” — Robert Frost
New Orleans;
Live it or live with it.
Love it or leave.
I don’t think there is an “or” in the phrase love it or leave. I offer myself as one of those who left who disputes any assertion I do not still love NOLA. (No, I did not take it that way, just stating the facts.)
I am REAL tired of those who say they’re new orleans, when in fact they don’t even LIVE here. they post comments about our mayor, our governor, and the “summer home” they DON’T have.
I know several of you, who know who I’m talking about. They claim to be raising money for charity, and then only donate to a few, and pocket the rest. They say they work in the quarter doing history tours, when they aren’t even american citizens. They say they own a festival that goes for ten days, that they didn’t do the footwork on, nor give credit to those who did it all. Carpetbaggers, theives, liars, and pretend to live in nola.
I’m real tired of it. I’m not from here, but I’ve embraced this city, I’ve been through hell and high water, and am a nola daughter.
I’m ready to call those out, right now. Its been five years, and its time to move forward, with those who CALL IT HOME.
Well, some of us are trying to get there, but given the suckass economy, being able to just pull up stakes and leap – it’s not happening. I’m not 20 years old anymore w/no belongings to deal with, no cats to move with… Just because some of us don’t have an address in New Orleans does not make us all ‘the enemy’.
Wendy
Not You, Miss Wendy.
You got more friends here than many locals I know.
Put me way up on that list, willya?
Yes, there are carpetbaggers (and carpetbloggers), but the jockeying for superior “disaster status” amongst those who are not is a pernicious and unpleasant thing.
This post was incited by having someone who moved here after the levee failure go off on me about how I’m not in NOLA anymore so my opinion is invalid. Utter BS.
My bad – I must have been a bit ‘sensitive’ that night. I love you all – y’all are my ‘chosen’ family in my ‘chosen’ home city (once I finally pull up stakes and leave Houston as nothing but a heat mirage in my rearview mirror…!).
Mwah! Now where is my Sazerac…!??! It’s been too long!
See y’all at Rising Tide! And the HiHo on that Sunday!!!
Well said Loki! Your love for New Orleans should certainly never come in question to anyone who follows yer work here (or anywhere online). The same can be said about many folk in or outside of NOLA – a large percentage of the NOLA population came from elsewhere to make it home – and many who don’t live in the city still call it home in their hearts.
It’s unfortunate that some folk don’t get the point – but then some folk aren’t happy unless they have something to whinge about…makes them feel important. Unfortunately that kind of attitude doesn’t endear this (or any) city to anyone or encourage those who don’t know better to help.
Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies. (Nelson Mandela)
i’m with Mardi Claw on this one.
i’ve sat back and watched the shenanigans of others since the storm hit our beautiful city. it’s been pretty upsetting and hard to swallow for those of us who have worked so hard to bring New Orleans back to it’s original grandeur.
shame on those of you who have used our rebuilding efforts for some sort of personal gain.
**with the 5-year make approaching, please be mindful of those of us who have lost so much.
this isn’t a celebration.
I was up in Montreal recently and overheard a converstation about New Orleans/ Katrina. The general consensus was that the city was awful before and no matter what happened it couldnt have made it worse.
It pointed out to me how grateful I to all people who love this city…those us who spent our childhoods here, those us us who learned to love this city as adults, those of us who have lived or visited at one point in their lives and still love this city and those of us who just have a facsination with the city and love it from afar.
There is no doubt in my mind that our recovery would have been much more difficult if it hadnt been for the love of people outside this city. There is no doubt in my mind that property values would collapse, retail, bar & resturant sales decline and people would be out of jobs if we didnt have ‘outsiders’ as customers, renters & property owners.
You will notice that I didnt print my “local status”. it doesnt matter. What matters to me is that people love our fair city.
The Tshirt after katrina said it best:
” Be a New Orleanian wherever you are”
with the five year anniversary approaching, those of us in the st roch neighborhood will be pushing forward with a very positive approach mixed with culture/music. A pub crawl with the Mardi Gras Indians has formed, to aid them in their quest to raise money for this years suits. I’ve been working with Wild Man to get him to that point.
So many come to New Orleans, or Live here and take photo’s of these guys, and gals, and then sell the photo’s, never returning a dime to that part of our special culture. We will be celebrating the return of the historic st roch neighborhood on Aug 29th, 2010. No Oil Outbursts, only positive vibes and song with the Indians. All are invited to join in with drums and tambourines.
Another positive experience planned for that same day will go down in the Ninth Ward on Forstall and Johnson. Miss Collette’s mama will be returning to her home, five years after being flooded out, and misplaced. A block party begins at two pm. All are invited.
And Capt John Swallow? that comment above was directed at you. Funny how y’all haven’t been seen since you bought that “summer home”.
Mardi Claw: Please, please, please keep us informed of this ‘pub crawl with the Mardi Gras Indians. Those guys party very hard, make great music & exemplify the true sense of Loyalty to The People that makes this place so unique.
I would be honored to take any part in this at all.
xoxoxoxo
Wendy, you aren’t the enemy. Your a new orleanian. You’ve lived here. My comment was directed at those who have NEVER lived here.
My bad Mardi! I was (as I stated above) a bit touchy – and as usual, my Cancerian self got a little ‘hey!’ LOL!
Ever since I got the FB heads-up about the St. Roch Neighborhood commemoration of the 5th anniversary – it made me VERY glad that I am staying through that Monday so that I can be there to witness and cry and hope with so many others. When the levees broke – I may have been physically in Houston, but my heart was with the NOLA people I didn’t even know. Crap, now I’m getting all misted up – breathe!!!
I love y’all!!!
BTW, a little piece o’ interesting info…Acadian influence, ye think?
The Louisiana Coat Of arms is clearly derived from the COA of me QM’s maternal family – Clan Stewart.
Stewart Clan Crest: A pelican argent, winged, feeding her young in the nest.
Stewart Clan Motto: Virescit Vulnere Virtus (Courage grows strong at a wound).
Traditionally, the end of the encircling belt contains a stylized Fleur-de-Lys, representing the French origins of Stewart (Stuart).
The motto is particularly interesting as it describes the actual look of the Louisiana COA; “The mother pelican is shown tearing flesh from her own breast to feed her three young. ” (though the wound is rarely seen in more modern representations)
being someone who began residing here after the levee failures I have no misgivings about MY place in all of this. It was people like me and other orgs that worked 12- 17 hours a day bringing in fresh hungry volunteers every week to make sure that those living here could focus on coming home, reassembling their lives, getting back to work etc. whilst we gutted houses in August, repainted schools while we had pneumonia, and gave and sacrificed all in the hopes of returning new orleans’ citizens back to some sense of normalcy. I have held homeowners’ while they sobbed and broke down time and time again. I received initiation in trial by fire. And am better for it… i am new orleans and never doubt it for a second.
@ Capt John Swallow:
I find it hilarious beyond all sanity that you’ve joined this thread at all.
Your name is Ed, you’re Canadian, you’ve NEVER LIVED HERE, and yet you go on & on about ‘what we need in New Orleans’.
Do your annual sojourns, for 10 days or so, make you an authority on the city? Do you arrange the Tours of the French Quarter you claim to give by telex or email? You certainly don’t give them here.
I spent eight years bartending in the Quarter (The infamous Sin City on ST Philip was partly my creation) and it’s been another eight running the Skull Club. I’m still considered one of the ‘New Guys’ by the Burgundy St Regulars.
Other readers, like Loki & Termite, have generational inheritance here, lineages including local families of lawyers, and personally named dwarves in City Park’s kiddie land.
This is not about a pee stream measuring contest, either.
It’s about you posting regularly on this site for years now, alluding to being a local, offering ‘wisdom about New Orleans’ that you read in a fucking book, and claiming to know what it’s like to live here every day because of some drawing of a bird on a crest in Canada.
At your last visit, the locals ran you off as best they could, & I, personally, witnessed you using a local promoters name, without his knowledge, to try achieve some minor goals. I’ll pass on the details.
This last bit done in full pirate gear, using an fake English accent.
Man up & be who you are, dude.
That’s the way we roll down here.
And if you’re a low end carpet bagging con man, and that’s embarrassing, then maybe a change of direction is in order.
But don’t you dare come on as one of those who lost houses, family, friends and everything you ever collected from any of them.
There are those who lived here and are away.
There are those who lived here (many) and are struggling to get back.
There are those who never lived here, but come to help as often as they can.
Your decision to come cash in, lie about who you are, fake your heritage, and promote yourself as living here, is not only despicable,
it diminishes the hard fought sanity we cling to on a daily basis.
Knock it off.
Finally this:
Loki, anybody that says you ain’t the truest of New Orleans Sons doesn’t have a fucking clue who & what you are.
Thanks for your guidance and friendship throughout the years.
It means everything.
@ Mars:
Yeah you right.
Hats off, to ya.
Let me by you a drink or five.
Skull Club reopens in the Fall.
Come & see me, please.
No lie.
LD
Gosh, Golly Gee…
I feel SO very special now.
It’s quite astounding that certain people seem to spend hours of their day thinking about me. Please feel free to continue if it makes you feel better. Quite frankly I feel Grade 5 antics are so yesterday and perhaps if you have any big person conversations you would like to have you might have the balls to actually speak to me, but of course that just wouldn’t garner you the attention you are seeking.
Thank You for being so self indulgent.
P.S. If you have anything of any real relevance to say please keep us all in the loop and if you have any REAL proof as to what you are eluding to please bring it on….
Warning: If this thread devolves any further into personal attacks I will shut it down. I encourage free speech as all here know, but I also will not allow another Pirate War to occur here.
Anyone helping is helping and anyone hurting the NOLA community is hurting it. You all know in your hearts which you are.
Well put…
Change is not a slogan. True change takes the Courage to face fierce opposition, the Ability to fight through failure & relentless Focus. (Corey Booker, Mayor of NJ, 2010)
(gag)
“I witnessed the destruction of one of the finest cities in America, her soul bared and exposed, her inequality and inefficiency laid out for all to see. And through it all I saw the grace, courage and dignity of her citizens, forced to flee their homes, their lives, their city, their history.
I trust her soul will be repaired. May we never forget the displaced and those who perished.”
— Charlie Varley
“Yes, a dark time passed over this land, but now there is something like light.”
— Dave Eggers (Zeitoun)
Whenever I get crap for not being “from here” I say “It’s not my fault my hometown sucked. By the way, when was the last time you voted and took part in making this place better??”