Example of Racist Media Caught by Web Surfer During Hurricane Katrina Coverage

Bloggers are outraged over the different captions on photos of blacks and whites in New Orleans.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/09/01/photo_controversy/index_np.html

Neil Cavuto opened Your World today (September 1, 2005) saying it was a special edition titled, "America's Challenge." He said, "New Orleans is under siege. Fights and fires breaking out. Rescue helicopters being shot at. And all across the Big Easy, a big uneasy." A chyron at the bottom of the screen read, "More National Guard Troops to Combat Looting."

Cavuto tossed to reporter Anita Vogel who was standing high and dry on the median of I-10 in New Orleans where, the "situation is still pretty dangerous." Vogel reported that the "refugees" gathered there were thinning. She then turned and pointed over her shoulder and said, "let me show you what they're leaving behind - a whole lot of trash" and "human waste and every kind of possible debris you can imagine left behind by refugees coming from the inner-city."

Vogel talked about how much people have lost, and how frustrated they are and then wrapped with, "and then, of course, there's all this trash, left on the interstate and someone has to clean that up."

Next it was on to Shepard Smith near the Superdome. Cavuto reminded Smith that National Guard troops are on the way, and Smith said they'll be welcome because,

This place collapsed into chaos, Neil. There's no other way to put it. There were bands of thugs roaming the streets with AK-47's. Police were being ambushed. Police precincts shot-up. A Chinook helicopter shot at. Many riots inside the Superdome. The convention center torn apart last night. First hand reports, multiple, including some from police officers, of carpets being ripped up, shots being fired. Reports of murders all over the city. 47 carjacking's in one night. Looting in every neighborhood in the city as the water rises. Police not able to get out and about. There's just not enough of them to control all the chaos. On top of that, no businesses open. No food available. No water available. No air conditioning. No shelter now from the rain and thugs roaming around and hunting each other.

Smith said it was a, "third-world environment," people are anxious for, "all that help coming from the federal government."

Smith told Cavuto, who whined Tuesday and Wednesday that foreign countries hadn't "called" to express their sympathy, that "20 different nations have volunteered with monetary aid so at long last," it looks like "things around here will turn the corner."

During Smith's report, Fox ran the following chyrons at the bottom of the screen:

-President Bush urged 'Zero Tolerance' for Lawlessness.

-Report: US Military Helicopter Was Shot At.

-New Orleans: Mayor Ordered Cops to Drop Rescue Ops to Fight Crime.

-Nat'l Guard Soldier Was Shot and Wounded in the Superdome Arena.

-La. Gov: Will Do What it Takes to Bring Law and Order.

-Bush Condemned the Rampant Looting after the Storm.

-Bush Warned Against Price Gouging at Gasoline Pumps.

-Report: Evacuation Put on Hold When Shots Were Fired at Choppers.

-New Orleans: Gunshots Repeatedly Rang out & Fires Flared.

The second part of Smith's report was about the inevitability of a rise in the casualty count.

Comment: Superimpose these two reports over 48-hours of near-continuous video showing hundreds and thousands of disheveled, dazed, dirty, wet, starving, frightened African-Americans, who, as you probably noticed, Fox refers to as "refugees." Never mind that the Bush administration has been missing in action since late last week, at the least. Never mind that we have known for years and years that something like this could happen in the New Orleans area. Never mind that the people stranded in New Orleans are the poor and vulnerable; people living on the edge in the best of times. Never mind that most of them have lost their homes, possibly family members and friends, and most likely, their livelihoods. Never mind all the questions raised by this horrific disaster. Never mind any of it. On Fox, the "news" consists of blaming the desperate and stranded citizens of New Orleans. Fox is looking down its long, aloof, arrogant, nose; what's going on there is racism and classism live, on a TV near you.
http://www.newshounds.us/2005/09/01/fox_news_racism_classism_live_on_a_tv_near_you.php

The obvious Chaos in New Orleans will NEVER be solved. Rebuilding that sewer is a JOKE. Spending good $$$ over bad building 18-25' BELOW sea Level was a prescription for Disaster...........& it Finally came home to roost. WHY Spend $$$ to rebuild it? Money the Federal Govt (OUR TAX $$$ For ALL AMERICANS) Would be Better spent by lets say Giving Each of these refugee Families that know ONLY GOVT Handouts & making more Illegitimate babies..........$10,000 per family & a 1 way ticket somewhere else. GUARANTEED if the Govt Feeds, Clothes, & Houses, these refugees it will cost significantly MORE in 6 months & we'll be NO CLOSER to CLOSURE........................Think About IT !!!

Why is this crap on Indymedia?

"exactly" means "precisely"

You did not do just that *precisely* or *exactly*. You also managed to throw in an insult to this site.

Others say something more like "Editors please hide this racist crap" and it seems to disappear at some point in the near future.

You work against the folks that run this site at the same time you pretend you are working with them.

> You work against the folks that run this site at the same time you pretend you are working with them.

I am not pretending to work with them. I am using this site to work with like minded activists. That's what I'm supposed to to here. That's what the site is for. I am a Bay Area activist, a part of the Bay Area Activist community. This site was set up specifically for Bay Area activists to use to work with like minded people in the community. That's what I'm doing.

What I'm working against, here, and across the network, is bad politics. Publishing racist propaganda is inexcusably bad politics.

Don't you agree? Our are you, yourself, a racist? If not, why are you defending the publishing of racist propaganda?

And why on earth are you trying to disrupt our humanitarian efforts? Are you scum, or what? Who else but scum would try to disrupt humanitarian efforts. That's not a rhetorical question. Be specific.

dear mr champagny,....

givin money to organisation is one thing ,..changing the complete culture int a more tolerant system is another,..
as a matter of fact 24 % of the afro american people in the u.s. are below poverty level, compared to 8% of the whites ,...
this is a clear language,...and slavery is not over !!!!
workin for minimum weige, without healthcare IS FUCKING SLAVERY,...it maybe diddnt really come clear to your eyes because white people are among the slaves too these days,..
it seems like you cant deal with the tremendous amount of guilt the u.s has been gathering over the last couple of hundreds of years,....

charles
a white german from berlin

This just shows how small some "white" minds are. They apper to think that the blood running through their veins is different. I pity these few. Some of the US media is likewise insensitive which is shocking in a multicultural society.a pity. Might explain why the hurricane caused so much forseeable and unnecessary loss of life and damage. Because the priorities of the US may be upside down. The rest of the world is not surprised.

This just shows how small some "white" minds are. They apper to think that the blood running through their veins is different. I pity these few. Some of the US media is likewise insensitive which is shocking in a multicultural society.a pity. Might explain why the hurricane caused so much forseeable and unnecessary loss of life and damage. Because the priorities of the US may be upside down. The rest of the world is not surprised.

i think that the evacuation was totally racist because look at how many black people are left behind they might have a few black peoplr on there saying they want to stay but when no ones there to help you have no choice but to stay and make the best of it.and the whole rafugees thing is blown out of porportion they are americans human beings not refugees that sounds like something you would call a prisoner ,but then again they are basiclly no ones helping then so there stuck.

While the disparity between white povery and black may seem a certain indictment against American culture, the reason for that disparity is not white America holding black America down. It is the vast majority of so-called black leaders that have been teaching poor blacks to hate America and that America hates them. The Jesse Jackson's and the Louis Farrakhans of the world have made a career of keeping blacks poor and dependent rather than showing them the clear road to opportunity available to every American and every immigrant. That road is called self-reliance, self-determination, personal responsibility and hard work. America has given over six and 1/2 trillion dollars to the "war on poverty" since the 60's. Yet Jackson and Farrakhan continue perpetuate the lie that we "don't care." We care plenty - but our solution is not to throw more money at a problem to which money hasn't helped. Real black leaders, such as Bill Cosby, Condi Rice, Colin Powell and need to refutiate the race baiters and lead their people to the prosperity that has always been available in America.

I love how the right-wing wack jobs always point to the exceptions and imply that it is a rule.

Wow, you're right. You've just changed my mind by the sheer power of your intellect. I am simply awed...

I find it disturbing that there is so little coverage of the good deeds that people have done in light of Katrina. Many people adopted displaced families. Yes, the media holds many biases, but actively seekeng out examples helps no one. Why try to further enrage those who are divided along racial lines? It's discouraging to see so few black volunteers. Its wonderful to see black celebrities hold charity events for victims. Likewise, it's enfuriating to see the predominantly white media label acts of survival by blacks as looting. It is encouraging to see pre-dominantly white volunteers. We don't need people reminding us of the differences in race, we just need everyone pitch in and help.

There are to many racist people in the united states but as long as it remains in their homes and out of my n=view i really dont care but why should it be part of the media why dont you guys just leave us alone we are all people made of the same mateial only our genes are different why should that make you hate us

what a commenter said reminded me of the reaction of a caucasian man in the movie "the color of fear", where just like this commenter, he felt that everyone in america had the opportunity to succeed and that minorities were exagerating when they "blamed the white man." This example of the racist media, and the above reaction, reinforces everything i have learned thus far in my multicultural classes. White privelge is invisable, and so many do not see that essentially, in this country, if you are born white, you are given more opportunities then if you were born any other color. because the privelge is so pervasive in society, it goes unseen. Changes wont start happening until people begin to understand that although we have made some progress, we still have a long way to go. It is still an uphill climb for minorities, and until people inform themselves iof the glass ceilings that exist in the world; and start to understand the plights of the minorities, instead of devaluing their experiences and going on the defensive at the mere term of "racism", can there be any substantial change. And even then, in order for change to actually happen, actions must also follow any epiphanys gained by multicultural education.