apathy

i read on one of the nola.com forum posts that this guy was held up at gunpoint on st. philip near royal and that the bellhop from the hotel just up the street witnessed the crime but did nothing. he went back into the hotel without so much as calling the police and notice i did not say 911, which is still pretty much broken. later the victim was told by someone that "if you live long enough in new orleans, you learn not to see anything." ok people, i know we are all scared of retribution if we do step in but aren't we scared all the time anyway? i'm nervous to ride my fucking bike now(though i intend to do it)and since i work in the french quarter, i am now nervous to walk alone there. i can't afford a body guard for crying out loud. something has to give. we cannot stay huddled in our houses for fear of going out into the streets and we no longer feel safe in our homes when we hear devastating news like jessica hawk being stabbed to death in her own home. it is enough. fear or no fear, we are going to have to get involved. we are being held hostage in this city. we have to take a stand! if you see a crime happening, call the damn police. you don't have to tell them who you are but for crying out loud, do not let a fellow new orleanian be a victim. the life you save may be your own because unless we present a united front and fight back, it is only a matter of time before we are ALL victims. i'm sick of living in a war zone. i should be able to ride my bike at night without feeling as though i need mad max gear. damn! and we all know that the police are not helping so start raising unholy hell with the higher ups. bombard jindal and all our representatives that new orleans is in crisis and we need outside help. we need a shake down of the police force. we need a new police chief. we need a new mayor. we need some fucking help down here. i sincerely hope to see you all at the protest this friday night out front of the ritz on canal. whatever you have going on on that night, DROP it! this is more important. do it for jessica hawk. do it for shavers. do it for the guy who got his head bashed in with concrete. do it for helen hill. do it for the countless others that have died or been victimized in this endless war. rise up and make some fucking noise.