Looky Loos: What are we good for?

If you're visiting New Orleans for the first time, or for the first time since the storms in 2005, you naturally want to see the effects of the biggest man-made and nature-made disaster in our country's history.

So it makes sense that enterprising tour companies offer tours of flooded areas as well as tours of the French Quarter, the Garden District, and other points of interest.

You can see a tour van above, operated by Tours by Isabelle, driving slowly through the Lower Ninth Ward. Notice that all the windows are up and the glass is darkened. Isabelle charges $60 per person for these tours.

Perhaps this irritates some locals. You see people sitting on their porches, watching a bunch of nicely dressed people in their fancy cars, and you wonder what they're thinking. How do they feel about me driving through their neighborhoods like it's some kind of wild animal park? I think about this.

One group who has made its disgust about this known is Common Ground, which maintains a house in the Lower Ninth Ward and seems to be populated by good-hearted people doing good deeds. Check out these two hand-painted signs outside their house:

One side of the sign seems OK, but look what it says on the other side . . .

Ouch! Are you talkin' ta me?

I'm a little torn about this subject. I think it's good for as many people as possible to see what's going on in New Orleans. On the other hand, maybe these people are tired of their neighborhoods being spectacles.

What do you think? Should tourists drive through disaster areas? Should we only drive there if we intend to get out and help? Or should we just leave these folks alone?

Comments

[New Orleans Ladder]

Howdy,
welcome home. Nice lookin'blog. I hung you onto today's Ladda.

Please check out the Rising Tide 3 Nola Bloggers conference coming up this weekend. The opening partay is at Buffa's on Espanade, Friday night.
http://risingtideblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/2008-rising-tide-conference-schedule.html

Thanks fo'showin,
Editilla~New Orleans Ladder

[Kathy Price-Robinson]

Hey, thanks for the heads up on the conference. I'm in California right now and won't be back in time. Heck! Sounds like a great event!