Zeitoun: Corruption In New Orleans
Zeitoun
Hurricane Katrina was a catastrophe that devastated the New Orleans area in 2005. The mass damage that hit various suburbs, such as the ninth ward passed a tipping point in which seemed nearly irreparable and is still feeling the devastation today. It left New Orleans choking in conditions portraying that of a third world country, in which was responsible for the many death of New Orleans natives and the stranding of hundreds of thousands. One subject matter that contributed to this devastation was the role the government played in the recovery of New Orleans. The insufficiency and corruption amongst the government was strongly displayed in the aftermath, which Dave Eggers’ Zeitoun depicted in Zeitoun’s experience with Hurricane Katrina. …show more content…
Many of the citizens were either unhelped or accused of looting or other crimes. However, prior to the natural disaster, the New Orleans police department had a reputation of being corrupt. Many of the officers were commanded to “shoot looters” and “take back the city”, in which many of the looters were helpless in that situation. Some innocent civilians were even shot during the days after Katrina hit despite them committing no crimes. One factor, however, that stood out of the corruption was the racial stereotyping that was involved. Since after 9/11, muslims were seen as dangerous, often labeled “terrorist” or “Al Qaeda”. This was true for Zeitoun, for he and his friends (whom one was muslim) were accused at the train station and arrested at the Greyhound Center for suspected terrorism. The majority of the civilians left behind were African American, which they were discriminated amongst white police officers as well. This unfortunately happened in many cases, where innocent people were locked up for minor misdemeanors and bails were set at outrageous prices. A misdemeanor whose bail would be $500 under federal law was $10,000 dollars under law forces in New Orleans. This received national attention in which many people blamed both the federal and state governments for not establishing a more organized system of justice. This corruption amongst police forces in …show more content…
The scale that this “man-made” disaster was at seemed unacceptable and disgraceful, as shown through Dave Egger’s harrowing story of Zeitoun. The mass destruction that Hurricane Katrina caused will forever go down as one of the worst natural disasters in American history in which the government unfortunately had a role in. The insufficiency and corruption conducted in that disaster will forever be a reminder of the darkness of government, so a catastrophe will never happen like that in the next phenomenon that
Hurricane Katrina was a catastrophe that devastated the New Orleans area in 2005. The mass damage that hit various suburbs, such as the ninth ward passed a tipping point in which seemed nearly irreparable and is still feeling the devastation today. It left New Orleans choking in conditions portraying that of a third world country, in which was responsible for the many death of New Orleans natives and the stranding of hundreds of thousands. One subject matter that contributed to this devastation was the role the government played in the recovery of New Orleans. The insufficiency and corruption amongst the government was strongly displayed in the aftermath, which Dave Eggers’ Zeitoun depicted in Zeitoun’s experience with Hurricane Katrina. …show more content…
Many of the citizens were either unhelped or accused of looting or other crimes. However, prior to the natural disaster, the New Orleans police department had a reputation of being corrupt. Many of the officers were commanded to “shoot looters” and “take back the city”, in which many of the looters were helpless in that situation. Some innocent civilians were even shot during the days after Katrina hit despite them committing no crimes. One factor, however, that stood out of the corruption was the racial stereotyping that was involved. Since after 9/11, muslims were seen as dangerous, often labeled “terrorist” or “Al Qaeda”. This was true for Zeitoun, for he and his friends (whom one was muslim) were accused at the train station and arrested at the Greyhound Center for suspected terrorism. The majority of the civilians left behind were African American, which they were discriminated amongst white police officers as well. This unfortunately happened in many cases, where innocent people were locked up for minor misdemeanors and bails were set at outrageous prices. A misdemeanor whose bail would be $500 under federal law was $10,000 dollars under law forces in New Orleans. This received national attention in which many people blamed both the federal and state governments for not establishing a more organized system of justice. This corruption amongst police forces in …show more content…
The scale that this “man-made” disaster was at seemed unacceptable and disgraceful, as shown through Dave Egger’s harrowing story of Zeitoun. The mass destruction that Hurricane Katrina caused will forever go down as one of the worst natural disasters in American history in which the government unfortunately had a role in. The insufficiency and corruption conducted in that disaster will forever be a reminder of the darkness of government, so a catastrophe will never happen like that in the next phenomenon that