- Top Features:
- War Room
- Glenn Greenwald
- Broadsheet
- Joan Walsh
- Camille Paglia
- Since You Asked
- Follow Salon:
Read other letters about this article
As a former New Orleans resident, I am a little sensitive about the Katrina comparison. It strikes me as a non-sequitur. Ms. Dickerson makes no effort to draw concrete parallels between Houston's problems and her own, nor does she sort out the fact from fiction regarding Houston's issues with Katrina evacuees.
While 100,000 refugees is a lot, in a city like Houston with nearly 5 million people, 100,000 is a small number. It is difficult to believe that less than 2% of the population is responsible for all of Houston's crime.
It is also worth pointing out that politicians can be very slick about designation people "refugees." I moved from New Orleans to Mississippi, and immediately bought a house and started working. I have never been called a "refugee." I am sure Houston has many transplants like me that they classify as residents instead of refugees because they are homeowners and gainfully employed.
At any rate, while I sympathize with Dickerson's plight, I have seen people like her neighbors everywhere. Katrina has nothing to do with it. Her story would have been just as strong without mentioning Katrina, and only serves to intensify the stigma Katrina refugees have to carry.
