I have toyed with this idea for a while and wasn’t inspired to actually put it together until I read this editorial published the day after America’s birthday. In it, the author, Robert M. Thorson, blatantly speaks out against the recovery of the city and demands that no further federal money be spent attempting to bring it back.
I don’t have it in me to issue a retort to him. It would be the same argument I have had for some time now. Perhaps my passion-filled and acid-penned brothers-in-blogs Ashley or Mark Folse could adeptly deal with him. And, since he is a professor of geology at the University of Connecticut’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, perhaps our resident geologist Maitri could address his concerns in that field.
What I am going to do is make him the first inductee into my “Enemies of the State” list. The list will consist of public figures who have spoken out against, and therefore advocated the destruction of, The Peoples and Cultures of New Orleans and South Louisiana.
These are people who support the evacuation and abandonment of the New Orleans and South Louisiana in lieu of any engineering or or environmental vision to save it. These are the short-sighted, inspirationally-challenged citizens of America. These are individuals who have become detached from the spirit of accomplishment that led to the greatest public works projects of the 20th century. They are also scoundrels whose infatuation with tax dollars overrides their humanity. And perhaps they were unaware that when they decided to go out of their way to address and support the forced evacuation of millions of people, they happened to be walking on the fighting side of those very people.
Congratulations Robert M. Thorson. You are the first inductee to The Chicory’s Enemies of the State list.
I’ve added a link to the list on the sidebar and there are a few other people right off the top of my bald head who need to be categorized as contributors to the destruction of an American city and culture.
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Robert M. Thorson
Enemy to the Peoples and Cultures of New Orleans and South Louisiana
E-mail: profthorson@hotmail.com, robert.thorson@uconn.edu
Homepage: http://www.stonewall.uconn.edu/thorson/index.html
He has said:
My plan has only one point. That we not spend another dime on U.S. properties below sea level – and use that money instead to help sea-level refugees find safer homes elsewhere.
I believe that the real reason New Orleans remains unfixed – without police and fire protection and with vacant hospitals – is because objective visionaries and smart money sees such rebuilding as a risky, if not wasteful war against nature.
A rational yielding to nature’s greater power inspires only a few voters of my persuasion.
I tried not to put too much acid in the ink, but I did reply to the mook.
Wow. A public enemies list. Wow. I’m not sure what to think about this. I mean, I feel you. But I also believe in keeping it positive. I’m not saying this is a bad idea. I’m just thinking out loud.
I thought about how it would be perceived and it’s potential for negativity for a long time. Which is why I held back from creating it for some time.
But then today’s editorial convinced me. These people who are spreading the word about “letting it sink” beyond any other scope relating to our love of the city, are advocating the decline of my emotional, social, financial and one day perhaps famial investmentse. They are attaching their name to an opinion that, if accepted by the masses, spells doom for the culture of South Louisiana.
I wrote about it a while back, stating: “Hey, everyone’s entitled to their opinion right? Yea, … But when they go around posting it on the Internet or writing about it in newspapers then it becomes more than just an opinion. Then it becomes a notion they are trying to spread. And then they become a threat.”
If these people can’t take the time to think about what they are propagating (the destruction and disenfranchising of 1.3 million people), then perhaps they deserve to be on an “enemies” list.
This is a good idea darlin’. It perfect for our checkpoints once we shed the American nightmare from our world.
Why stop with sea level, Thorson? Severe hurricane surges can be as much as 35 feet above sea level. Let’s also abandon Miami Beach, Galveston, Charleston, Jacksonville, and lower Manhattan, among many other cities. How about the billions of dollars of beach-front development up and down the Atlantic and Gulf coasts? All to be abandoned, thanks to the Thorson theory of redistributive geography.
I wrote a kind-poison note to Herr Professor. If you have to say shit like this, don’t say anyting. Thanks for his e-mail. Tomorrow I’ll send one to the hotmail address. I’ll brew some strong espresso in the am and start in.
I understand where you’re coming from, Varg. Misinformation on New Orleans is not just small talk, it can spell doom if a critical mass think of this city in a bad light.
Here’s my response to Thorson.
‘Enemies of the state’ list – that is an excellent idea! Love it. You should put out a call for nominees. I could certainly think of a few that would make it on the list easily.
I also wrote a response to this guy yesterday morning, but since caffeine had not been consumed and my pregnancy hormones were raging, I wasn’t very subtle 😉
THE PRESIDENT: I just remember, all I’m doing is remembering when I was a kid I remember that they used to put out there in the old west, a wanted poster. It said: “Wanted, Dead or Alive.”
Dear Professor,
When was the last time you were in New Orleans? Well, evidently you were never there. If you ever were and had the least bit of sensitivity of soul, you would have never penned such an ignorantly disdainful article. Let the Courant buy you a ticket to NOLA and meet some of the people who have rebuilt with their own hands and savings. It will give you pause to think more before embarrassing yourself in print.
Marco
Here’s the answer I got from Thorn, as he calls himself:
“Thanks. The Inuit and Yupik have a whole different attitude towards
land. They surrender to a higher power rather than fight it. The
fact is, I’ve never been to New Orleans, though I have seen plenty of
low-lying bayous and marsh and have reflected on its geological
setting for years. For each letter like yours, I have at least one
congratulating me on being so straightforward. Of course I might be
wrong in this case. It’s an opinion piece, not a legal brief.”
I wrote him back and said that New Orleans has a spirit of place that’s unique. I told him he should visit in the fall. Maybe The Courant could buy him a ticket. It might not change his mind, but then again…He might be totally opaque.
I wrote Thorn for Thor, which how he signed the note back. It might be a better moniker for him.
First, I find it difficult to believe, based on the overwhelming amount of comments opposing his article, that he receives as many letters supporting his position than against it. I would like to ask him to produce these people so that we can contrast them with more than 90 responses to his article.
Second, the nerve of this man to advocate the destruction of a city he has never even visited shows the level of flagrance with which he wields his opinion. It also shows how little he has considered the ramifications of the proposed action. Clearly, some of the after-effects have not been considered. That’s preposterous considering he is talking abgout the homes of 1.3 million people.
That’s why I came up with the list, to let public figures know that the currency in which they are dealing in is not simply tax dollars, but lives and cultures of a huge segment of the American population. That is, one out of every three hundred Americans would need to find a new place to live on the Government’s dime. Unless of course they intend to scuttle the city in direct rebuttal to their decision to permanently stay the course of the river in the ’50s.
We simply can’t let uninformed opinions malicious to our vested interests continue to roam the Internet, airwaves and print media free and unchallenged.
Marco,
Tell Thorson that he doesn’t know anything about the cultural requirements of the Inuit and Yupik, either. Tell him to read this article on them, which Colleen over at the Voices of New Orleans blog brought up.
It was the government, they say, that insisted decades ago that they and so many other villages abandon their nomadic ways and pick a place to call home. The current village site was once only a winter camp, and the people of Newtok say they are not to blame just because they are now among the first climate refugees in the United States.
“The federal government, they’re the ones who came into our lives and took away some of our values,” said Nick Tom Jr., 49, the former Newtok tribal administrator. “They came in and said, ‘You aren’t civilized. We’re going to educate you.’ That was hard for our grandparents.”
Again, maybe he should read the papers and understand the cultures and realities of other people, instead of make things up as he goes along. And tell him to think VERY VERY carefully about the moves he advocates.