Thinking about the breakdown of law and order in New Orleans led me down a rather disturbing logic chain. Here are a few facts/conjectures that seem to be relevant:
- Most of the people left in New Orleans are black and poor
- It seems reasonable to assume that more than a few have had what are euphemistically called brushes with the law
- The NOPD is predominantly white, notoriously corrupt and has an adversarial relationship with much of the community
- The LA National Guard is predominantly white and working class and, unless things have changed a lot since I worked in LA, I'd bet has more than its fair share of racists
- There are reports that the NOPD and the Guard have been actively protecting property in wealthier, white, neighbourhoods while mostly staying well clear of where the trouble is
Now I'm just imagining what would happen in Toronto if the population of the Jane/Finch neighbourhood was isolated without food, water (or, dare I say it, drugs) with just the Toronto Police Service to keep order. Now this city isn't nearly as rough as New Orleans and while our police force has some serious problems it's a heck of a lot better than the NOPD. Anyway, enough to say I think it would be pretty ugly so the fact that things have got as bad as they have in NO isn't a huge surprise.
So now my train of thought goes to how much more serious it is that the US Army, a federal and therefore less tainted body, with its 30% black commissioned officers and 50% plus black NCOs hasn't shown up.
