Myths of New Orleans: Poor, Bad Blacks -- Who Got What They Deserved

[Nbadan]

...Which brings us to the other big lie told about the poor in New Orleans: one that has yet to be addressed in the media, despite how easily it can be disproved by a mere five minutes worth of research. It is one repeated daily for the past eight weeks by conservative talk show hosts and columnists, and one to which I am exposed many times a day in my email inbox, thanks to the efforts of right wing louts without the seeming desire to do their homework. Namely, it is the argument that the reason 130,000 poor black folks were unable to escape the flooding was because they had grown dependent on the government to save them, thanks to the "welfare state," and that was why they lacked the money and cars to get out before disaster struck.

In other words, liberal social policy had rendered the black poor unable or unwilling to work, content to collect a government check, and thus, had made them incapable of saving themselves. This lie -- and it is just that, not an exaggeration or simplification or overstatement, but a flat-out falsehood -- has been parroted by the likes of Rush Limbaugh, S[ean] Hannity, Bill O'Reilly and Charles Murray (of "Bell Curve" fame), not to mention such viciously self-loathing black conservatives as Star Parker, John McWhorter and the Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, all despite the lack of evidence to sustain it, and the amazing amount of evidence, both contemporary and historical, to refute it.

But of course the media, having long ago decided not to challenge the mainstream public's view of folks on welfare -- and indeed to collaborate with the framing of such persons by politicians of both major parties -- has done nothing to set the record straight, suggesting either that they are incredibly inept at research, or just as incredibly craven in their attitudes towards the poorest of this nation's citizens.

But the facts, however unsettling they may be for conservative mythmakers, are clear.

To begin with, as of 2004, according to the Census Bureau, there were only 4600 households in all of New Orleans receiving cash welfare from the nation's principal aid program, TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, formerly Aid to Families With Dependent Children, or AFDC). That is not a misprint: 4600 out of a total of 130,000 households in the black community alone. Which means that even if every welfare receiving household in Orleans Parish had been black (which was not in fact the case), this would have represented only a little more than four percent of black households in the city.

According to the same Census data, the average household size in a welfare receiving family in New Orleans is the same as the citywide average for non-recipients: roughly 3.5 persons. So the number of individuals receiving welfare in New Orleans, by the time of Katrina would have been about 16,000.

Thus, even if we assume that all of the 130,000 persons left behind were poor, and that no persons receiving welfare managed to escape before the flooding with friends or family, this would mean that at most, perhaps twelve percent of the persons left behind (and whose faces we may have been seeing on national TV) would have been welfare recipients at all, let alone persons who had been rendered dependent on such benefits for long periods of time.

And speaking of dependence, or the notion that the city's welfare recipients had grown content to sit back and collect government checks instead of doing for self, this hardly seems likely when you consider that the average annual income received from TANF, for those small numbers actually getting any such benefits at all, was only a little more than $2,800 per year, in New Orleans prior to the catastrophe.

Indeed, such paltry amounts explain why most of the poor in New Orleans, far from being happy to receive so-called handouts, work whenever they can find steady employment, which admittedly, is not often the case.

...

[F]olks in this community were almost nine times more likely to earn their pay than to receive government benefits. Forty percent of workers from the community worked full-time, and the average commute time for Ninth Ward workers was over 45 minutes each day, suggesting that the work ethic was quite common to the folks who lived there, irrespective of commonly held and utterly false stereotypes.

Wise offers additional evidence that undercuts these commonly believed myths. He then moves on to the subject of public housing developments. It is here that Wise provides critical facts that are barely known. In the wake of Katrina, many commentators of the Charles Murray kind would have had us believe that public housing is the root of all evil. Once again, this is a simple story -- and a false one.

In fact, the reality, including the relevant history, is much more complex:

Likewise, in the mid-90s, several public housing developments participated in a national Jobs Program, funded by the Annie B. Casey Foundation: a successful effort that matched low-income black residents with businesses looking for employees. In the former St. Thomas development -- the first public housing "project" funded by the federal government under the Roosevelt Administration -- residents had started their own coffee shop and bookstore, and had created innovative teen pregnancy prevention and safe sex initiatives.

When St. Thomas was torn down a few years ago, residents were told there would be mixed-use economic development in its place, and although they mourned for the loss of their neighborhood, many looked forward to participating actively in the economic lifeblood of the community. Then the city reneged on its promises and offered the land to Wal-Mart, which then placed a superstore on the property--the very store whose gun supply was looted during the flooding (an ironic turn of events if ever there was one). Poor folks wanted economic opportunity and jobs; the city's elite (black and white alike) gave them a gun supply shop.

Bottom line: the stereotype of poor blacks in New Orleans (and elsewhere) as lazy and dependent on government is false. ...

Arthur Silbar, Power Of Narrative (http://powerofnarrative.blogspot.com/2005/10/myths-of-new-orleans-poor-bad-blacks.html)

:hat

[RandomGuy]

Astounding.

Once again conservatism's inherent intellectual laziness rears its ugly head.

While I don't think all conservatives are racial zealots, I think a lot of them privately are more racist than the majority would care to admit.

[gtownspur]

according to the Census bureau quickfacts, 1/3 of NO population lived below the poverty line. There were 470K peole in NO. 130K were stuck in the after math. SOunds pretty accurate to me that most that were below the poverty line were the victims stuck there.http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/22/2255000.html

What not only conservatives saw was the dependence of the people of new orleans to liberal politicians. Many of the people in new orleans couldnt get out becuase they had no transportation. Many of them were from the ninth ward. They elected liberals to bail them out and protect them and it was miserable.

[gtownspur]

I also had a difficult time looking for TANF stats online according to the Census bureau. Can someone post the link.

[Nbadan]

according to the Census bureau quickfacts, 1/3 of NO population lived below the poverty line. There were 470K peole in NO. 130K were stuck in the after math. SOunds pretty accurate to me that most that were below the poverty line were the victims stuck there.http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/22/2255000.html

What not only conservatives saw was the dependence of the people of new orleans to liberal politicians. Many of the people in new orleans couldnt get out becuase they had no transportation. Many of them were from the ninth ward. They elected liberals to bail them out and protect them and it was miserable.

Did you read the article? Only 16,000 received government assistance. Living in poverty is a real issue for many hard-working Americans, especially in the African-American community. To dismiss their efforts to improve their quality of life as merely more of the same 'dependence on liberals' is insulting.

[scott]

Apparently the difference between what is defined as "poverty" by the US government and recieving Federal Welfare Assistance is lost on some people.

[Nbadan]

Apparently the difference between what is defined as "poverty" by the US government and recieving Federal Welfare Assistance is lost on some people.

Or some people just naturally assume that everyone living in poverty must be receiving some sort of government assistance.

[scott]

I harken back to the classic Onion article (available only in archives now) - "Millions of Americans Freed from Poverty by Redefinition of Line"

[Nbadan]

Classic Onion:

:lol

Here's mine:

Thousands freed from the Grasps of Poverty by Hurricane Katrina!

[RandomGuy]

Or some people just naturally assume that everyone living in poverty must be receiving some sort of government assistance.

Yup.

The war on the poor continues...

As many have begun to notice, while President Bush was speaking nice words about the effects of racism and poverty on those who became Katrina’s victims, Republicans in the administration and Congress were preparing to use the tragedy as an opportunity to pursue the same agenda they had in mind all along. With an executive order, Bush suspended the Davis-Bacon Act, which mandates that government contractors pay the “prevailing wage” in the area of operation to their workers, thereby enabling contractors to slash the wages of workers helping to rebuild the Gulf Coast. In order to pay for the reconstruction, Republicans in Congress have proposed cutting programs like Medicaid that directly serve the poor. Some have even suggested cutting taxes for the wealthy, because—well, because that seems to be the Republican solution to pretty much any problem.[emphasis added]

Even as Katrina recedes from the front pages, the opportunity for progressives to pose to the public the kinds of fundamental questions that define the ideological divide in America has not been lost. What sorts of security do we expect from our government? Who is it that government supposed to serve? What are our moral obligations to the vulnerable amongst us? What does our vision of the good society look like? If progressives can generate discussion on these questions, they will be able to put conservatives back even farther on their heels.

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20051019/the_new_war_on_the_poor.php

We can only hope...

[Useruser666]

So does this prove that Bush is the devil?

[gtownspur]

Did you read the article? Only 16,000 received government assistance. Living in poverty is a real issue for many hard-working Americans, especially in the African-American community. To dismiss their efforts to improve their quality of life as merely more of the same 'dependence on liberals' is insulting.

And relying on subsidized wards that do not help people move out of their situation is not cosidered being dependent. The fact that these people were poor is not only because they are losers in lifes lottery. Alot chose to be. And if growing social programs and having the largest govt since LBJ is considered to be a war on poverty. Not to mention that bush has not vetoed any single govt handout program. Then Random has lost all credibility.

[Clandestino]

so, they weren't too poor? they were just too fucking stupid to get the hell out of there? thanks for the post dan....

[Oh, Gee!!]

At the least the Saints made it out

[Mr. Peabody]

I was reading Parade Magazine and a reader sent in a question that asked about Emeril Lagasse and about how he was doing since the flood. The reader said that she had been worried about him and how he would recover from this tragedy.

I am glad she wrote in and asked that question because my main concern during the hurricane was whether Emeril would be able to recover enough to continue making his millions of dollars and living in his house made of gold.
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[SpursWoman]

so, they weren't too poor? they were just too fucking stupid to get the hell out of there? thanks for the post dan....



That's kind of what I was thinking. WTF? I think I'd rather be classified as poor rather than flat-out stupid....perhaps those big-bad conservatives were giving them the benefit of the doubt.

:lol

[Oh, Gee!!]

so, they weren't too poor? they were just too fucking stupid to get the hell out of there? thanks for the post dan....

Some couldn't get out. If a hurricane was coming towards SA, how many elderly or disabled people would be trapped here? How many working people that live paycheck to paycheck could just get up and leave? Take into account the fact that you need gas, money for a hotel if you don't have relatives to stay with, plus food and other neccessities for you and your family.

Even three days notice would not be long enough for a significant portion of our population to evacuate. You need to have somewhere to go and a way to get there. Fucking dipshit.

[Useruser666]

Some couldn't get out. If a hurricane was coming towards SA, how many elderly or disabled people would be trapped here? How many working people that live paycheck to paycheck could just get up and leave? Take into account the fact that you need gas, money for a hotel if you don't have relatives to stay with, plus food and other neccessities for you and your family.

Even three days notice would not be long enough for a significant portion of our population to evacuate. You need to have somewhere to go and a way to get there. Fucking dipshit.

I don't agree with either of you. Yes there are always going to be people who can't leave. But if you have a job, then you can certainly get 50 miles further inland with 3 days notice. 50 miles would have made a hell of a difference for the people of NO.

[Marcus Bryant]

So it wasn't poverty that kept them in New Orleans, it was their race. Got it.

[SpursWoman]

You need to have somewhere to go and a way to get there. Fucking dipshit.


Wow....if it were me & my kids I'd rather sleep in my car that I pushed 100 miles and eat cardboard then die. But that's just me.

And I believe it is understood that there were sick and elderly that needed assistance that they didn't get. A significant portion of them were neither.

[Marcus Bryant]

Was the Klan blockading all routes out of town? If the people weren't poor and they weren't infirm, what was the problem?

[Mr. Peabody]

Wow....if it were me & my kids I'd rather sleep in my car that I pushed 100 miles and eat cardboard then die. But that's just me.

And I believe it is understood that there were sick and elderly that needed assistance that they didn't get. A significant portion of them were neither.

Of course, that's assuming that you had a car. That's also assuming that the city had an adequately prepared evacuation plan that allowed you to get out of town in a timely manner.
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[Marcus Bryant]

Of course, that's assuming that you had a car. That's also assuming that the city had an adequately prepared evacuation plan that allowed you to get out of town in a timely manner.


So they were too poor to own a car but they weren't poor?

[Mr. Peabody]

Plus, lest we forget it was not the hurricane that caused all of the destruction, it was the levees breaching. People rode out the hurricane only to be hit with a deluge of water. So now you're asking people to anticipate the breach of the levees.
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[Mr. Peabody]

So they were too poor to own a car but they weren't poor?

I didn't realize that if you are not on welfare it necessarily means that you aren't poor. This will come as news to a large part of my family that struggles even though they are not on welfare.
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[SpursWoman]

Go objectively re-read the article...I think you're missing the point(s).

[Mr. Peabody]

Why don't we all just be a little more upfront about what we are thinking, which essentially is -- screw those Blacks, if they are too (insert -- lazy, stupid, reliant on others, etc.) they deserved to die.

I have heard it time and time again. I was at dinner with a wealthy individual from Houston and he was talking about how the educational system failed the people of New Orleans because they were too stupid to leave before the hurricane hit. He made his point by telling me about he had the brains to retreat to his ranch in North Texas for a few days when Hurricane Rita hit.

Go figure.
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[Mr. Peabody]

Go objectively re-read the article...I think you're missing the point(s).

No, the point is that the people of New Orleans were not as poor as people make them out to be. The author uses their lack of reliance on the welfare system as evidence of the lack of poverty and reliance on others. My point is that just because you are not on government aid doesn't necessarily mean that you are not poor.
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[Marcus Bryant]

No, the point is that the people of New Orleans were not as poor as people make them out to be. The author uses their lack of reliance on the welfare system as evidence of the lack of poverty and reliance on others. My point is that just because you are not on government aid doesn't necessarily mean that you are not poor.


Can't disagree with that.

[SpursWoman]

Why don't we all just be a little more upfront about what we are thinking, which essentially is -- screw those Blacks, if they are too (insert -- lazy, stupid, reliant on others, etc.) they deserved to die


Nope, I wasn't thinking that at all. Sometimes I have a knee-jerk reaction to post something smart-ass in a thread started by NBADan because it amuses me. :)

[Useruser666]

Plus, lest we forget it was not the hurricane that caused all of the destruction, it was the levees breaching. People rode out the hurricane only to be hit with a deluge of water. So now you're asking people to anticipate the breach of the levees.

I don't think you are correct on the point of the levees. The water was actually flowing out of the levee breaches for days after the hurricane hit. Many of the breaches were in fact caused by water flowing over the top of them during the hurricane. The city was not completely flooded by the breaches as much as there was no way to hold the water back to attempt a draining of the low lying areas.

Also, the only people who have an excuse for not getting out of the area are those you can not MOVE on their own. I mean people who are infirm or disabled. I can walk 50 miles in three days. 50 miles would mean the difference in drowning or living in New Orleans during the hurricane.

[Oh, Gee!!]

Wow....if it were me & my kids I'd rather sleep in my car that I pushed 100 miles and eat cardboard then die. But that's just me.

And I believe it is understood that there were sick and elderly that needed assistance that they didn't get. A significant portion of them were neither.


I'm sure you would get out. So would I. Doesn't mean I'm going to pass judgment on those that couldn't get out. But hey, that's just me. I care about those that less fortunate than I am.

[Useruser666]

I'm sure you would get out. So would I. Doesn't mean I'm going to pass judgment on those that couldn't get out. But hey, that's just me. I care about those that less fortunate than I am.

Who says they don't care about those less fortunate?

[SpursWoman]

I'm sure you would get out. So would I. Doesn't mean I'm going to pass judgment on those that couldn't get out. But hey, that's just me. I care about those that less fortunate than I am.



Okay...*they* weren't too poor, too lazy, too black or too stupid. The only other explaination I can see is that they had to have been suicidal. Because that is the only rationale that doesn't fall under "too stupid" for an otherwise healthy person to stay in a death trap.

[Oh, Gee!!]

Okay...*they* weren't too poor, too lazy, too black or too stupid. The only other explaination I can see is that they had to have been suicidal. Because that is the only rationale that doesn't fall under "too stupid" for an otherwise healthy person to stay in a death trap.


they were/are poor.

[Useruser666]

Even the poor can walk.

[Oh, Gee!!]

Even the poor can walk.

good idea. Why don't you start now?

[SpursWoman]

That was relevant ... good response. :tu

[Oh, Gee!!]

That was relevant ... good response. :tu


We'd never come to an agreement, so I have to resort to personal insults.

[SpursWoman]

If you were in that situation and didn't have a car, would you just sit there or would you do whatever you could do to GTFO of dodge?

[Oh, Gee!!]

If you were in that situation and didn't have a car, would you just sit there or would you do whatever you could do to GTFO of dodge?


I'm not 100K poor, bleck people.

[SpursWoman]

I'm not 100K poor, bleck people.


I didn't ask your nationality or financial status....I just asked what you'd do. :)

[Oh, Gee!!]

I'd get me a plasma screen and several cases of Heineken

[SpursWoman]

:lol :lol

[Mr. Peabody]

If you were in that situation and didn't have a car, would you just sit there or would you do whatever you could do to GTFO of dodge?

I would sit in my home hundreds of miles away from the hurricane and in my quiet, peaceful solitude, I would criticize those who couldn't get out in time.

Oh wait, did you ask what I would do or what you would do?
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[Oh, Gee!!]

I would sit in my home hundreds of miles away from the hurricane and in my quiet, peaceful solitude, I would criticize those who couldn't get out in time.

Oh wait, did you ask what I would do or what you would do?

Game. Set. Match.

[Useruser666]

good idea. Why don't you start now?

That was a personal insult? Can the poor not walk? I really don't understand the point to what you are saying. Even a person who has no money and has nothing but the shirt on their back can move a significant distance on foot or whatever means they may have availible to them. Only the infirm, disabled, or otherwise immobile are exempt from this. I wasn't attacking the poor, or any other groups of people if that's what you were implying. I would rather walk 50 miles than be at 20 feet below sea level at land fall of a hurricane. Race and poverty would not keep me from walking.

[Useruser666]

I would sit in my home hundreds of miles away from the hurricane and in my quiet, peaceful solitude, I would criticize those who couldn't get out in time.

Oh wait, did you ask what I would do or what you would do?

I would critize someone for stating their opinion on something I have no greater knowledge of myself.

[Oh, Gee!!]

That was a personal insult? Can the poor not walk? I really don't understand the point to what you are saying. Even a person who has no money and has nothing but the shirt on their back can move a significant distance on foot or whatever means they may have availible to them. Only the infirm, disabled, or otherwise immobile are exempt from this. I wasn't attacking the poor, or any other groups of people if that's what you were implying. I would rather walk 50 miles than be at 20 feet below sea level at land fall of a hurricane. Race and poverty would not keep me from walking.


Walk to where? What do they do when they get there? What about money and food? When would they be allowed to walk back home?

[SpursWoman]

Oh wait, did you ask what I would do or what you would do?


Of course. But I asked what he would do IF HE WERE IN THAT SITUATION. If you were in your home hundreds of miles away from the hurricane then that means you weren't in that situation. Which wasn't my question.


But...


I would sit in my home hundreds of miles away from the hurricane and in my quiet, peaceful solitude, I would criticize those who couldn't get out in time.


Of course you would....just like you are free to do so in every thread on an internet opinion forum that you participate in. Just like this one, as a matter of fact. If it's not black people, poor people, Presidents, Senators, Spurs players or whatever. That's what forums are for.

[Oh, Gee!!]

What if you have young children and infants? What if you have nobody to provide shelter to you? The evacuees had no clue where to go. They trusted that the local government was giving them good advice when they were told to make it to the superdome. That didn't work out very well.

[Mr. Peabody]

That was a personal insult? Can the poor not walk? I really don't understand the point to what you are saying. Even a person who has no money and has nothing but the shirt on their back can move a significant distance on foot or whatever means they may have availible to them. Only the infirm, disabled, or otherwise immobile are exempt from this. I wasn't attacking the poor, or any other groups of people if that's what you were implying. I would rather walk 50 miles than be at 20 feet below sea level at land fall of a hurricane. Race and poverty would not keep me from walking.

You're right. You're so much better than those people of New Orleans. They must not be as intelligent and capable as you obviously are.

You're awesome man :tu
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[SpursWoman]

What if you have young children and infants? What if you have nobody to provide shelter to you? The evacuees had no clue where to go. They trusted that the local government was giving them good advice when they were told to make it to the superdome. That didn't work out very well.


I don't live my life expecting anyone to give me anything or bail me out if I'm in trouble.



Maybe that's the problem?

[Oh, Gee!!]

I don't live my life expecting anyone to give me anything or bail me out if I'm in trouble.



Maybe that's the problem?

I think the point of the article was that most of the stranded NO residents weren't leeching of the system as your idols Rush, Hannity, etc. would suggest.

People were caught up in a bad, unprecedented situation. To blame them is wrong (or worse yet, racist).

[Useruser666]

You're right. You're so much better than those people of New Orleans. They must not be as intelligent and capable as you obviously are.

You're awesome man :tu

You're just making stuff up now. Quote me where I said I was better than anyone else? Show me where I called anyone out? I said if I was in that position this is what I'd do. 50 miles means that when a hurricane hits you are on ground that is above sea level. Tell me how that is not a good thing? How long does it take to drown compared to starving to death? When you are faced with survival, you don't worry about such things as food and water until you are out of harms way. Sorry if that offends you, but there's no reason it should.

[Useruser666]

I think the point of the article was that most of the stranded NO residents weren't leeching of the system as your idols Rush, Hannity, etc. would suggest.

People were caught up in a bad, unprecedented situation. To blame them is wrong (or worse yet, racist).

Who is blaming them?

[Oh, Gee!!]

Who is blaming them?

you. but you're a racist.

[SpursWoman]

I think the point of the article was that most of the stranded NO residents weren't leeching of the system as your idols Rush, Hannity, etc. would suggest.

People were caught up in a bad, unprecedented situation. To blame them is wrong (or worse yet, racist).


My idols? I don't listen to any of that shit.


You don't think those people should bear any responsiblity whatsoever for their own safety?

[Oh, Gee!!]

My idols? I don't listen to any of that shit.


You don't think those people should bear any responsiblity whatsoever for their own safety?


I guess, but I'm not about to judge people that suffered through arguably the worst natural disaster in US history. I hope I would be able to escape with my family, but until I'm faced with something similar I can't answer your question honestly. You shouldn't throw stones if you live in a glass house. Think about it.

[Mr. Peabody]

You're just making stuff up now. Quote me where I said I was better than anyone else? Show me where I called anyone out? I said if I was in that position this is what I'd do. 50 miles means that when a hurricane hits you are on ground that is above sea level.

Statements like "There's no excuse for not walking....I would have walked, etc."

If you don't think those statements are a little condescending it is because you are blinded by your ego and sense of superiority.
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[Mr. Peabody]

My idols? I don't listen to any of that shit.


You don't think those people should bear any responsiblity whatsoever for their own safety?

So what are you trying to get at? We shouldn't feel sorry for them, we shouldn't help them, this is all their fault, etc.

What point are you trying to make?
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[gtownspur]

^^^THe Hannity's and limbaugh's were not blaming the poor, but the Democrat elite of NO who made the poor have no access to betterment and survival. NO was supposed to be a Utopia by liberal standards because they had the Great SOciety at work in NO. It failed. The conservative synopsis was that the liberal policies of "non responsibility" cost the poor who depended on their policies for their betterment. The article dan posted ironically showed no qoutes of the people he attacked.
COuldn't of it been that they, the journalists', "twisted" their message to muddy the conservative point.

[gtownspur]

you. but you're a racist.
[sarcasm] and your anti american! :lol

[JoeChalupa]

I too feel that we have responsibility for ourselves but what about those who have homes on the coasts of Florida and California and they too get govt assistance to rebuild their million dollar homes?

Everyone needs a helping hand sometimes.

[gtownspur]

^^yes everyone does need help at one point or another. The conservative criticism of NO's was on the politicians and not the poor. Only a hack article like the one posted made conservatives turn out to hate the black poor.

[Useruser666]

Statements like "There's no excuse for not walking....I would have walked, etc."

If you don't think those statements are a little condescending it is because you are blinded by your ego and sense of superiority.

Whatever. You come here with a condescending tone towards me. I have never talked down to or put down the people. I said this is what I would do if in a certain situation. How is that condescending? If faced with a choice of drowning or starving to death, I choose starving. Why? Because it takes much longer to starve, than to drown. I even qualified my take with people who are disabled or infirm could understandably not move themselves out of harms way. These are all very basic principles that have nothing to do with putting some one down and entirely with the actual circumstances that happen in a disaster like Katrina.

[Useruser666]

you. but you're a racist.

I'm not a racist and I take offense to be labeled as one. Why don't you bring some proof before you open your mouth.

[Useruser666]

Statements like "There's no excuse for not walking....I would have walked, etc."

If you don't think those statements are a little condescending it is because you are blinded by your ego and sense of superiority.

I never made that statement. You have modified it to try and make what I said into something else. I don't know why you feel the need to vilify what I have stated in this thread. I have not ridiculed, put down, or made any disparaging remarks about anyone in the forum or elsewhere.

This is the statement I made:



Also, the only people who have an excuse for not getting out of the area are those you can not MOVE on their own. I mean people who are infirm or disabled. I can walk 50 miles in three days. 50 miles would mean the difference in drowning or living in New Orleans during the hurricane.

You said I stated there is no excuse for not walking, when I cleary was giving reasons for people not being able to move themselves out of harms way.