"Excessive gentrification destroys the biodiversity and ecosystem of a community."
― Khang Kijarro Nguyen
The night was drenched in the sweet scent of magnolia. It was a soothing smell, familiar and comforting. Every time the door opened the scent exploded into the main room on the warm night air. It had been too long since she'd enjoyed it. Ame was sitting at a table at Boucherie, located on South Carrollton Ave, Uptown New Orleans, in the Carrollton Historic District, a block away from the famous Carrollton Station. The restaurant had moved from its old location on Jeannette Street, to accommodate a daiquiris and wing shop.
When Ame was a girl a Boucherie meant brothel. It was a play on words back then. Boucherie means butcher shop in French, i.e. meat market. These days it was a restaurant. It still serves tourists and locals alike but instead of lust of the flesh on the menu it was beef, pork, and chicken with an occasional addition of whatever fish is in season. Things do that in New Orleans, they change and instead of bringing sorrow or sadness, Ame smiles.
Change happens and Ame has learned to accept it. She wasn't really given a choice.
There had been many changes to the city since Hurricane Katrina. Some were good, some not so much. But as the French like to say "C'est la vie", 'such is life". The aged, once glorious in her sordidness, Mistress New Orleans was being gentrified or, as many of the locals snidely called it, "disneyfied". It was a slow cruel death of the city's past as history was being erased in the name of reconstruction with a dash of whitewashing of American history. Many and varied subcultures suffered the most as their once proud neighborhoods were razed of the broken bones of houses lost to the rising tides from broken levies. Only to be replaced with cardboard cutouts of "modern" housing that wasn't likely built well enough to withstand the next big storm. There were some exceptions, but they were rare instead of the norm.
The Carpetbaggers were back and attempting to remake their North here in the Deep South without the first idea of Southern culture or hospitality. Their invasion wasn't going well and many of them complained bitterly about the locals. But when one cannot treat others politely Southern folk tend to take offense. Northerner's have long forgotten what manners and polite behaviors are, they displayed this daily in their crude conduct. Just last week Ame witnessed a man spit on the sidewalk. It was still illegal in Louisiana to spit in public. Yes, it was an old law, created because of the plagues that stalked the area during much of the state's history. Some might even argue it was an outdated law, up until a new plague hits anyway. It was still a law. Locals see such behavior as crass, disgusting and crude, overall socially unacceptable. But Northerner's think nothing of it. They can scream and yell, spit and swear and somehow still wonder why the Southerner's turn their backs, refuse them service and, in some cases, outright ignore them.
The education system of the "modern world" has failed the North. If they had been taught to respect the culture everything would be going quite differently.
When in Rome" do as the Romans. Or expect the Roman's to find ways to get rid of you. The South was not that different from Rome. Northerners with their crass crude tones, their lack of polite intercourse, and their unacceptable social behaviors were akin to barbarians invading Rome here in New Orleans.
Attitude matters, and here in the South, it matters a lot. Ame understood this because she was raised here in the city where social graces were a must no matter what social standing one might have.
Of course, they claim to have come to "rebuild" the grand dame but their ever changing goals seem more like an attack against the culture than an attempt to restore the city's grandeur. As rent throughout the city skyrockets more and more of the working class became disenfranchised. The music industry has been decimated as artists are forced to flee to places they can afford. Next the service industry will feel the bite for the same reasons. If the invaders were smart they would consider the consequences of their actions. But alas, they are blind by their belief that because they have money they are superior and hence right. Ame has money but she doesn't use it to control the change in New Orleans, she uses it to aid those in need instead; to preserve what culture is left as best she can.
Carpetbaggers - They never change, they are always looking to exploit the south when it is at its lowest. They offer aid, but are merely looking for profit. They are the knife in the backs of the locals. They sit in judgement without understanding, they seek change where change could be ruinous.
They want to make the Quarter a haven for the rich and that would mean pushing everyone else out. The music clubs and bars had to go due to all the noise. Strip Clubs, a notoriously famous aspect of Bourbon Street, were also targets, facing potential evictions. No more music clubs or bars would be allowed to open and those that were there were in a fight for their lives. They faced losing their liquor licenses which would surely doom them. The Quarter, where once Storyville thrived, would become something it is not. Locals were fighting vigilantly, but as Ame has witnessed in this new 21st century, money talks and everything else pales in comparison. The Carpetbaggers have always worshiped money. They do not understand what holds true value and it was obvious in the goals they were setting for the city that they still didn't get it.
But Ame knew something the invading horde did not. All their work was a futile effort. For as soon as their grip loosened the city would flow back to her origins as effortlessly and graceful as a dancer gliding across the stage. The invaders would either adapt or be forced to wander elsewhere. You can try to steal away the culture, erase the past, but here in New Orleans it has a habit of coming back. New Orleans would never give up her identity so cheaply, no matter how hard the invaders try to dominate her. New Orleans would rise again. She is a majestic creature used to hard times and dark moments, yet she has always found her way back to herself. This time would be no different then any of the others.
Ame knows that New Orleans cannot be tamed, not by the Carpetbaggers with their northern crassness and their need to force their lack of morals and values upon the populace, or by the corrupt politicians seeking to lay claim to her many treasures. New Orleans was a wise lady, she will allow the mortals their follies while nurturing her spirit and awaiting the day when she can regally stand over their dust and bones as magnificent and majestic as ever. She will survive, much as Ame will. They were linked that way.
Never ending?
(To be continued...)
The night was drenched in the sweet scent of magnolia. It was a soothing smell, familiar and comforting. Every time the door opened the scent exploded into the main room on the warm night air. It had been too long since she'd enjoyed it. Ame was sitting at a table at Boucherie, located on South Carrollton Ave, Uptown New Orleans, in the Carrollton Historic District, a block away from the famous Carrollton Station. The restaurant had moved from its old location on Jeannette Street, to accommodate a daiquiris and wing shop.
When Ame was a girl a Boucherie meant brothel. It was a play on words back then. Boucherie means butcher shop in French, i.e. meat market. These days it was a restaurant. It still serves tourists and locals alike but instead of lust of the flesh on the menu it was beef, pork, and chicken with an occasional addition of whatever fish is in season. Things do that in New Orleans, they change and instead of bringing sorrow or sadness, Ame smiles.
Change happens and Ame has learned to accept it. She wasn't really given a choice.
There had been many changes to the city since Hurricane Katrina. Some were good, some not so much. But as the French like to say "C'est la vie", 'such is life". The aged, once glorious in her sordidness, Mistress New Orleans was being gentrified or, as many of the locals snidely called it, "disneyfied". It was a slow cruel death of the city's past as history was being erased in the name of reconstruction with a dash of whitewashing of American history. Many and varied subcultures suffered the most as their once proud neighborhoods were razed of the broken bones of houses lost to the rising tides from broken levies. Only to be replaced with cardboard cutouts of "modern" housing that wasn't likely built well enough to withstand the next big storm. There were some exceptions, but they were rare instead of the norm.
The Carpetbaggers were back and attempting to remake their North here in the Deep South without the first idea of Southern culture or hospitality. Their invasion wasn't going well and many of them complained bitterly about the locals. But when one cannot treat others politely Southern folk tend to take offense. Northerner's have long forgotten what manners and polite behaviors are, they displayed this daily in their crude conduct. Just last week Ame witnessed a man spit on the sidewalk. It was still illegal in Louisiana to spit in public. Yes, it was an old law, created because of the plagues that stalked the area during much of the state's history. Some might even argue it was an outdated law, up until a new plague hits anyway. It was still a law. Locals see such behavior as crass, disgusting and crude, overall socially unacceptable. But Northerner's think nothing of it. They can scream and yell, spit and swear and somehow still wonder why the Southerner's turn their backs, refuse them service and, in some cases, outright ignore them.
The education system of the "modern world" has failed the North. If they had been taught to respect the culture everything would be going quite differently.
When in Rome" do as the Romans. Or expect the Roman's to find ways to get rid of you. The South was not that different from Rome. Northerners with their crass crude tones, their lack of polite intercourse, and their unacceptable social behaviors were akin to barbarians invading Rome here in New Orleans.
Attitude matters, and here in the South, it matters a lot. Ame understood this because she was raised here in the city where social graces were a must no matter what social standing one might have.
Of course, they claim to have come to "rebuild" the grand dame but their ever changing goals seem more like an attack against the culture than an attempt to restore the city's grandeur. As rent throughout the city skyrockets more and more of the working class became disenfranchised. The music industry has been decimated as artists are forced to flee to places they can afford. Next the service industry will feel the bite for the same reasons. If the invaders were smart they would consider the consequences of their actions. But alas, they are blind by their belief that because they have money they are superior and hence right. Ame has money but she doesn't use it to control the change in New Orleans, she uses it to aid those in need instead; to preserve what culture is left as best she can.
Carpetbaggers - They never change, they are always looking to exploit the south when it is at its lowest. They offer aid, but are merely looking for profit. They are the knife in the backs of the locals. They sit in judgement without understanding, they seek change where change could be ruinous.
They want to make the Quarter a haven for the rich and that would mean pushing everyone else out. The music clubs and bars had to go due to all the noise. Strip Clubs, a notoriously famous aspect of Bourbon Street, were also targets, facing potential evictions. No more music clubs or bars would be allowed to open and those that were there were in a fight for their lives. They faced losing their liquor licenses which would surely doom them. The Quarter, where once Storyville thrived, would become something it is not. Locals were fighting vigilantly, but as Ame has witnessed in this new 21st century, money talks and everything else pales in comparison. The Carpetbaggers have always worshiped money. They do not understand what holds true value and it was obvious in the goals they were setting for the city that they still didn't get it.
But Ame knew something the invading horde did not. All their work was a futile effort. For as soon as their grip loosened the city would flow back to her origins as effortlessly and graceful as a dancer gliding across the stage. The invaders would either adapt or be forced to wander elsewhere. You can try to steal away the culture, erase the past, but here in New Orleans it has a habit of coming back. New Orleans would never give up her identity so cheaply, no matter how hard the invaders try to dominate her. New Orleans would rise again. She is a majestic creature used to hard times and dark moments, yet she has always found her way back to herself. This time would be no different then any of the others.
Ame knows that New Orleans cannot be tamed, not by the Carpetbaggers with their northern crassness and their need to force their lack of morals and values upon the populace, or by the corrupt politicians seeking to lay claim to her many treasures. New Orleans was a wise lady, she will allow the mortals their follies while nurturing her spirit and awaiting the day when she can regally stand over their dust and bones as magnificent and majestic as ever. She will survive, much as Ame will. They were linked that way.
Never ending?
(To be continued...)