The Inferno: A ghostly Mardi Gras

[phantom power]

CNN was airing a sort of expose on the continuing devastation in Louisianna, 6 months after Katrina. They seemed to be paying particular attention to the insurance companies, who have been either denying customers' claims on technicalities, or just plain stonewalling. At some point, I imagine that homeowners may start to say "fuck insurance." If you see enough of your neighbors get absolutely nothing, after paying insurance premiums for years, it starts to make plenty of sense to just keep the premiums for yourself.

This Salon article is relatively short, but worth the ad clik-thru. There's been lots of speculation about how all this simmering rage is going to express itself. Many hope that it will express itself politically, by kicking the GOP out of office. I have some hope for that too, but human behavior isn't that simple, or safe. And the 2006 hurricane season is looming.

Hurricane Katrina and the ongoing governmental abdication of responsibility for helping the residents of this stricken city has left the remaining populace angry and weary even as it has geared up for the giant party it is expected to host Tuesday. "The fact that underage suburban tourists can puke on Bourbon Street without fear of going to jail doesn't mean that things are all right with New Orleans," said Terry Fredericks, a cook at one of the French Quarter's all-night eateries, Verdi Mart.

(...)

The floats all depicted harrowing, flame-engulfed scenes from hell, with themes like "The Headless State," "Carpetbaggers," "Homeland Insecurity," "The Pigs of Patronage," "The Corpse of Engineers," "Ministers of Misinformation," and a withering caricature of New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson (who wants to move the team to San Antonio), "Boogieman."

The most dramatic float, "The Inferno," showed Kathleen Blanco, Ray Nagin and Michael Brown as infernal cooks brewing a giant cauldron of human gumbo in the Superdome as members of Congress forced people into the boiling pot with pitchforks, and a leering George W. Bush presided over the whole scene as the horned Satan incarnate.

These startling images expressed the deep rage and sense of abandonment in this city, sentiment that is not about to disappear in the near future, regardless of how many bared breasts appear on Bourbon Street between now and next Tuesday.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/02/25/mardigras/print.html

[WePurrsevere]

1. Who can blame the residents for being horribly angry. This whole thing

from even before Katrina hit has been one big huge SNAFU. Sadly it's cost the lives, homes, well being, etc of way too many.

You're right about it being worth the click-thru (for free viewing). From the one pic of part of the one I think may be the one called "The Corpse of Engineers," I'd like to see pics of the parade and all the floats.

[phantom power]

3. I didn't see any discussion of these floats on that CNN program...

although I did not watch the whole thing, so maybe they brought it up. One thing I did see was an interview with New Orleans' Official Stooge For Tourism (tm). It was all "Hey, things are going really great this Mardi Gras season! Come on down!" I hate interviews with people who are guaranteed to play cheerleader, no matter what the reality on the ground is. Because that's their job. The interviewer showed some healthy skepticism about her subject, but really what's the point of even interviewing these people. Signal entropy is zero: "Great! Great! Great! ..."

Then again, they need the tourism income badly. So I guess I hope lots of people do come, regardless. What do I know?

[TallahasseeGrannie]

2. Good for them.