Monday, January 16, 2012

So . . . Whatcha Gonna Do?

Just got back from the New Orleans MLKjr march. I didn't actually march but I did listen to the speeches including our Mayor ask everyone "whatcha gonna do" to end the violence that is plaguing our streets right now. I like listening to Landrieu. He has the charming Southern politician thing going on. He challenged us all to help make sure that no more young New Orleans boys experience that moment the moves them from a happy child to a cold hearted killer, where they lose their dream. It was good. Folks are really on edge right now. I was sitting at Cassi's house for our irregular girls night where we drink too much the other night. We all talked about how none of us walk after dark anymore. It was a given, I said I don't walk after 8pm and that was surprising to a couple people since the sun sets around 6pm. We acknowledged that even our dogs aren't much security as we know they can easily be shot. And of course we all talked about how scared we are about being shot randomly while we sat in our homes like some many already this year have been. Landrieu reminded us that this is natural. That it doesn't have to be this way. That King gave his life for us all to be more free and that the slaves that met every Sunday in Congo Square, where the rally was held this morning, suffered but we don't have to. He reminded us that King was afraid but met his challengers anyway. It is widely known that the violence in the city continues because of the fear of retaliation both by dirty cops and those angry boys that are holding our town hostage right now.

The best part was seeing all the really young kids with their parents carry photos of Dr King, many dressed suits. And the marching band that danced to Stevie Wonder's rendition of Happy Birthday was pretty good.  Of course being hit on by a charming New Orleanian who asked if I was 22 and I must ride my bike a lot because I got those big sexy legs was also a highlight. Thanks, but that's just my regular diet of bottles of whiskey and Parkway fried shrimp po-boys.

Ciao
Renee Claire

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