Tuesday, September 06, 2005

“We're going to make a stand in the lower garden district.”

A first hand account from a retired Navy Captain (O6) sent from one of my readers from the Potomac Strike Group late last week. He sent with his name from a .navy.mil address, so I am going to take him at face value. This is online with other reports I have read.

So shipmate, does this match with what your response would be?

BTW, the Garden District in N.O. is/was a grand old neighborhood that was expanding its “gentrification” of restored and livable blocks. If there is any justice, the slums burned and fell apart and the Garden District will stand and expand. A great urban neighborhood, I hope the good Captain and his band have long term success.
Folks,
I got out of New Orleans yesterday after having fun there since Friday (with an 8 hour break during the height of the storm to drive up to St. Francisville to check on my Dad and was back in The City by 1000 Monday A.M. before the authorities had the chance to close The City).

It was a freak show, and one of the most disgusting things that I've seen in my life. I saw uniformed law enforcement officers, firemen, and EMTs looting the SuperWalMart on Tchopitoulis Street in the Lower Garden District. I saw looters in the Walgreens on St. Charles at Felicity. I saw looters in Roberts on Annunciation. I saw looters shooting looters on Magazine above Camp Street. I saw marauding groups of shitheads just looking for fun and terrorizing the "haves." This is the doomsday scenario that was replayed time and time again in my head while I was growing up in The City.

Well folks, The City may recover from this, but the racial tension there may never be healed. I spent two days armed to the teeth (M1911A1s X 4, four shotguns of various persuasion, two semi AR-15s, and two fully-autos not to be mentioned) defending a two block radius of friends and neighbors houses. My folks are still there, but their position may get overrun. But they won't go without a fight.
It's THAT ugly.

A war zone. And maybe unsavable. And MAYBE, just MAYBE, not worth saving. And I'm from there. And I'm disgusted. But I'm going back, and I'm going back in "hot" and if you think that I was armed before ya ain't seen nothing yet.

Convoy. Generators. Gas. Supplies. EXTREMEMLY VERY well armed. We're going to make a stand in the lower garden district.
Sincerely,
(initials withheld)
Godspeed.

No comments: