The real world.

Things just got more interesting.

If you read my last post, you may have gathered that there is something strange going on with the New Orleans Police Department.

Here's the deal. The city of New Orleans is short on money. As I understand it, polices earn higher wages the more people they put in jail, and the more people the city jails, the more money it receives. So, in order to make some quick cash, it seems, the city has turned to its police. Now, minor offenses that would usually warrant a ticket, such as riding a bike with one hand, are resulting in arrests. We have been told to be extra vigilant and extra careful not to have any run-ins with the law, and for good reason. They have it out for you, especially if you are a black, African-American male.

That's the context. Now, the situation. Common Ground has had a few close encounters lately. Several CG volunteers were arrested at the Woodlands Apartment complex, on trespassing charges. Two of them were students from our group. They go to court tomorrow, and most likely will get out unscathed, but nonetheless, the message from the department is clear. Common Ground is not a friend of the police department, and we best keep to our own business.

The NOPD has a few reasons to fear CG. A commune of anarchists with an agenda, CG poses a threat to the New Orleans government. CG wants to move residents back into their homes, while New Orleans authorities want to keep them out. Tensions are growing very high, as Common Ground recently announced its intent to save the 7th Ward --- a former public housing complex that the city intends to turn into a "multi-purpose" complex, that is to say, housing with higher rents.

And last night, things only got worse. Brandon Darby, our operations director and leader, notified 911 about an altercation between one CG worker and a man in the neighborhood. This man had harrassed CG before, and was here again, giving verbal threats and I believe holding one woman at gunpoint. However, things did not go as expected. Brandon was greeted by two police officers. "Finally, Brandon," they said to him, as if this was the moment they had been waiting for. They took him for a ride, and emotionally assaulted him, telling him essentially that, if CG ever calls for help again, they will be in trouble.

The man, it turns out, was related to one of the biggest drug lords in the area --- a drug lord that the NOPD is in cohorts with. And if anyone was messing with his relative or with his business, they would pay for it. Brandon was that person. He was brought to the station, where the cops said, "We don't know what to charge him with, but we'll think of something." Battery was the charge they picked. He spent a night in a urine-soaked jail cell, surrounded by domestic abusers who, in the words of Brandon, spent the entire night trying to kill one another. Battery, for trying to protect Common Ground from a dangerous individual.

But protecting Common Ground, I suppose, is a threat to the crack cocaine industry, something the corrupt police department will not have. As I write this, a police car is outside on the steps of St. Mary's Catholic School. They are trying to intimidate us, and they do not want us to be here.

And we won't stand for it. Brandon has sworn to stay here and he will die if he has to, and the rest of CG has risen on its feet in support. Solidarity is our name, and we intend to stay solid throughout.

It's interesting how quickly the Woxy kids, who have been here for barely a week, have adapted this group mentality. Just days ago I was a spectator to the cause, and now I'm playing a part in it. Maybe my health is at stake, but that doesn't really matter to me or anyone else. We're here to serve the greater good.

As far as I understand it, the people in power in New Orleans are not. This is a police department who will keep a cocaine ring running, issues out needless arrests for money, and murders innocent civilians. This is a mayor who wants to racially cleanse the city. These are businesses, such as Halliburton, that are taking over the land. There is a lot that I have learned that I haven't written about here because I can't remember or don't have the time, but this is the gist of it. There were all kinds of problems in New Orleans pre-Katrina, and the hurricane has only exacerbated them. The elderly and impoverished residents of the 9th ward have little say in what is happening to their city and their community, and the local government is reaping the rewards.

It's all very serious and all very intense, and truth be told, I don't think I understand it all. I take what I hear at CG to be truth, and who knows if it really is. There is so much going on and it's really difficult to take it all in and know what is at play. But it seems very obvious to me and everyone else that people are being screwed over in this town, and that things are complex and terrible.

The majority of the nation, I believe, thinks New Orleans to be okay. They see the downtown and assume all has been righted. But there are still so many wrongs going on here, and more people need to know about it. I understand that this blog is not the most informative of resources but it's something. I have done my little part in trying to advertise it, but I don't know how much I can do. Please tell your teachers and your friends and coworkers and whoever, just to let them know that there is rampant racism, greed, and corruption happening in their back yard.

Now there are two policemen outside.

We have been raised to believe that we now live in a better world than generations older than us lived in.

We do not.