THE UGLY TRUTH ABOUT SOME BLACK LEADERS

The following is a letter I wrote to columnist Errol Louis of the "New York Daily News." His column criticized the effort in New Orleans. This is my response to his column. Given the size of Hurricane Katrina, the response, though not perfect, was heroic. He writes as though the rescue effort simply stopped everything. He conveniently forgets about the magnitude of the disaster and focuses on only those in New Orleans. But he was and is absolutely wrong. It was nearly impossible to reach everybody who needed help. But help started and has increased daily from everyday Americans in addition to the Federal Government that is absolutely amazing. The death toll is likely to be a tenth of what was irresponsibly predicted by Mayor Ray Nagin. In point of fact, the relatively few number of deaths is a testiment to the success of the effort. Especially given the roadblocks Gov. Kathleen Blanco and Nagin put in the way of FEMA officials it is amazing all rescuers did as well and as quickly as they did. I'm getting more and more tired of hearing the excuses of Black writers and leaders who refuse to examine their own rhetoric, motives and methods.

New York Daily News The Front Page 9-4-05

THE UGLY TRUTH

Why we couldn’t save the people of New Orleans (column title)

Dear Mr. Louis,

So, all of the people of New Orleans are dead?

I am a white man. I assume that the venom in your column “The ugly truth” on the New York “Daily Front Page” is
directed at me. You say it is my fault for what happened in New Orleans. I haven’t given enough. I
haven’t provided enough money. I haven’t handed over those things for which I’ve worked, to someone else. I
haven’t paid enough for black education. I have never helped the black man.

I come from a lower middle class back ground in Los Angeles. I’m from the East side of LA. I went to
night school, paid my own way to college and got an AA from East LA JC and was graduated from California
State University at Los Angeles. The racial and ethnic mix was wide and deep so I can say that I have had
some experience in diversity. My first real boss was a black man who to this day is one of the men I most
respect in my life. He was not like you. He didn’t make excuses. He didn’t blame everybody else for his
problems. He was the hardest working man I ever met.

But, your column has made me ask the question specifically of you:

What would you have us (as the evil “white man”) do? Do you want all whites to hand over all our money.
Is that your answer? Should we be summarily executed because we’ve only given 8-trillion dollars for the
poor in America of all races, ethnicities and nationalities in the past 30-40 years and it hasn’t helped?

What would you have us do? Do we ignore the serious problems in the black community that pit blacks against blacks? Do you want us to ignore what appears to be a “black” anti-education bias, fostered not by whites but by
your own culture? You’ve demanded that we ignore black crime. When we increase police presence, you
complain. When we reduce police presence you complain. When O.J. Simpson and Michael Jackson (both
extremely wealthy blacks) are found not guilty, you cheer but I believe that in the back reaches of your
heart you too believe they’re guilty.

What would you have us do? Do you want us to ignore the Mayor of New Orleans' failures because he’s black,
and only blame white politicians? Should we ignore Mayor Ray Nagin’s failures to use school buses to help
evacuate people out of the city and applaud his criticism of national officials simply because he’s
black? Are you so intelligent or prescient that you could have predicted all the impossible problems that
had to be faced there and instantly solved them all? If you’re that smart why didn’t you tell the Mayor?

What would you have us do? Was it the white man and not “black looters” murdering, raping and pillaging
against their own black brothers and sisters? Why did your race and culture turn on their own? Was that the
white man’s fault? Is it the white man’s fault that “rappers” music frequently calls for murder and rape?
Is it the white man’s fault that teen pregnancy of unwed mothers in the black community is an epidemic
and the “Reverend" Jesse Jackson, your “religious” black leader is setting the example of having children
out of wedlock not to mention infidelity and yet he continues to be held out by you as a religious
example?

What would you have us do? When the apparently prevalent direction toward education is that it is a
white man’s ploy against the blacks while you then complain about the quality of education. Is that too,
the white man’s fault. What would you have us do? When a DEMOCRAT, I repeat a “Democrat” you’ve described as a “notoriously corrupt" named Edwin Edwards ran for governor the black community voted for him and you falsely imply that Republicans supported KKK leader David Duke when, in fact, Duke was repeatedly repudiated and rejected by Republicans. Should we ignore the reality that Democrats have run New Orleans and
there are a high percentage of black officials, whose first call is, “give us money” with no corresponding
demand for personal responsibility.

The huge tragedy in New Orleans is sad beyond my comprehension. But, you as a black leader, offer no
solutions to problems (not created by the white man) but by a black culture that says if it's white it's bad.
Instead many, if not most, of these problems have been created by the lack of demand by leaders like you
who have focused inevitably...no, not just focused...but perpetuated the “anti-white” hysteria as
a method of excusing your own failures so you can maintain your own personal power.

Having lived and grown up in Los Angeles, I was there during the Watts riots. I watched the burning. I
watched the murder and mayhem, always blamed on the white man, while the truth was black on black pain. I have no doubt you instantly labeled me a racist as you began reading this letter, which is the first line of
defense so you don’t have to look at yourself in the mirror and ask, is this really all and always the white man’s fault?

I have seen a whole variety of ethnic peoples flourish in America and most have come here with no more than the
slaves did. I noticed in your rant, that you mentioned the scandals and convictions of 14 Louisiana state judges but
failed to mention their race. I do not now the racial make-up of those judges, but was it intentional that
you did not mention their races? Were they all white? Were there black law breakers? It appeared to me
that you were trying to stack the deck. You implied that only “whites” commit crimes against blacks. Your whole column does that.

Quite frankly Mr. Louis, I find your brand of perpetual excuses for the travails of America’s blacks, as “ALWAYS” the fault of the white man, tiresome and dishonest.
Bill Cosby has been working hard to overcome your type of stereotypical labeling of any and all white people and focus on the problems inherent in
American black culture that are caused by blacks but making excuses by blaming everything wrong on the white man. You label Cosby instantly and reject his call for personal responsibility.

You take the easy way out using
Blame, blame, blame. But it sure doesn’t solve anything.
Look in the mirror Mr. Louis. We “whites” certainly are far from perfect, but then so are you.

I have chosen not to sign this because of the way you find blame. I do not intend this for publication, but
I believe it is a fair and honest criticism of your conclusions. I’m confident you’ll label me an example
of your self-indulgent wrath. Unfortunately, you are perpetually focused on the past and locked in the
blame game and it’s to the detriment of America. I’m sad for you. Your column and conclusions suggest that
you don't want to overcome the problems of slavery, you want to wallow in them like Jesse Jackson and the
race card crowd who need to perpetuate racial division to maintain power.