New Orleans Crime and the National Media

Ok, so I've been meaning to vent about this for a while now. I cannot stand how New Orleans is portrayed in the national media. Television, newspaper, what have you. Every time there is a murder in the city it is reported it is nationwide news.

This is the problem. New Orleans has always been a violent city. It has always been poor. There have always been murders. Do your research people - New Orleans was one of the national leaders in homicide before Hurricane Katrina. Instead of the local news showing a map with car wrecks, there is a map with murders.

While I don't condone these murders, it is something I came to accept while living in New Orleans. It's just the way it is. Homicide in New Orleans was never national newsworthy prior to Hurricane Katrina, so why is it now. Get over it people. New Orleans will remain corrupt. It will remain poor. It will remain homicide ridden. There was a slight hope that the city would change after the hurricane, but I must admit that I was slightly excited when I saw a homeless person the first time after I got back. Granted, it wasn't until December, and I got back to NOLA at Halloween. But it proved to me the city was coming back.

So - if you've never lived in New Orleans, stop freaking out about the crime in the city. If you've lived in New Orleans, you know what I'm talking about.