Unique New Orleans / Unique New York
In New Orleans, we've witnessed looters run amok, thugs and addicts go on shooting sprees and multiple arson incidents. We've watched as large numbers of police abandoned their sworn duties (huge credit and appreciation to those Police who did not abandon their post). In general, we saw complete anarchy, societal break down and a total lack of local leadership.
For me, the events in New Orleans this week have highlighted how truly special the people of New York were during 9/11, how incredibly brave their first responders were, and how impressive Rudy Juliani's leadership was. My admiration was immense before. It's mega-immense now.
For me, the events in New Orleans this week have highlighted how truly special the people of New York were during 9/11, how incredibly brave their first responders were, and how impressive Rudy Juliani's leadership was. My admiration was immense before. It's mega-immense now.
posted by Nordeaster | 6:53 PM
1 Comments:
I’m so glad you found the correlation, and it’s so true! When we visited New York in Sept. ’01, I was impressed by how it truly was a melting pot where the various nationalities and religions accepted their differences and lived side-by-side as friends. After all the years our nation has been trying to create this acceptance, New Yorkers were actually living and co-existing that way.
An explicit example was two outdoor vendors, one a Jewish man, and the other of Arabic descent. Their carts were next to each other, and they were chatting and laughing together. When the sun began setting, the Arab rolled out a small rug, knelt down facing the East, and recited some prayers. After he rose, the two men smiled at each other in understanding, then went back to their original conversation.
We witnessed the scene on the same day we were to leave New York and return to Minnesota. Since our plane was late, we didn’t arrive in the Twin Cities until 2 a.m. On the way to work that same morning, we heard about the terrorists attacking the Twin Towers. It was 9/11.
Whether the government was aware of what would happen or not, I'm considering the behavior and conscience of the people themselves. While New Yorkers can accept each other with their opposing beliefs, apparently the looters, etc. in New Orleans can’t even accept themselves.
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