There was a recent article about how Louisiana is the worst state to live in. Now, I didn’t read it, because I live here and I don’t need to. I can rattle off a myriad of reasons that we might be the worst. On the other hand, I can spout off a million things to make you never leave. While I was mulling this over, it made me think about how sometimes in this state, and more specifically in New Orleans, we just don’t give a f*ck. And it’s applauded. “Hey Sarah! Look at this! They just don’t give a F*CK!”
We do this all the time. We share articles and memes on all of our social media about how no one cares and look how great it is. I’m here to tell you – New Orleanians need to start giving a f*ck about New Orleans. I’m not talking about Mardi Gras or who has the best gumbo, I’m talking about the real nuts and bolts that make this city go round.
1. Littering
Stop. Just stop it right now. I swear it’s like y’all never saw the campaigns about keeping America beautiful and the crying Native American man.
Littering is gross and makes the city look like disgusting. All this litter falls right into our drain, aka catch basins, too. Lord knows we have enough problems keeping those free of debris that we don’t need your Popeye’s chicken bones and the trash from your car filling it up. Where exactly do you think this stuff ends up at when you dump it on the street? There is no trash fairy, y’all.
Littering is something we teach children not to do, so as grown adults find a waste receptacle, please.
2. Following Basic Rules
Basic traffic laws are something that elude the citizens of New Orleans on a daily basis. Use your damn blinker. Get car insurance. Quit running red lights. Don’t drink & drive. Yield to pedestrians.
All of these requests are fairly simple and would go a long way to making our city better.
3. Expecting nothing from our city.
Y’all. We voted these people in and we pay for these services. We have got to take a stand and start voting for people who want to do right by us. Sewage and Water Board is a joke. Air BnB dictated how they would operate to our city council. Cox our only decent internet provider. We can do better than this.
There are people with a multitude of properties in this city claiming homestead exemptions on all of them. I was able to find some within minutes; however, our own assessor’s office can’t figure it out. We can do better than this.
Police take hours to come out, or don’t ever come at all. We can do better than this.
Make some noise. Stomp your feet. But we can’t keep ignoring all these issues and say “that’s New Orleans for you!” Because, WE CAN DO BETTER THAN THIS.
4. Education.
It’s a joke here. There are very few schools here that are stellar and getting into them is close to impossible. Remember after Katrina when everyone was pumped and we were going to change our whole education system here? We were told how great it was going to be!
It’s currently almost all charter schools and it’s a scary situation. When my niece was starting school in the city, my sister had to apply to each one. Then you have to test for said school and *then* get put into a lottery for this school. If you don’t end up in your dream location, then you better hope your back up choice didn’t fill up yet. This was 4 years ago.
Current day, you rank your top 8 choices. Then you hope and pray for the best. Next thing you know, you don’t get chosen for Morris Jeff or Bricolage, and your mom is drinking herself to sleep. My mom friends out there tell me it’s the most terrifying time of their life. And many think it’s rigged to get into the most desirable locations.
We get up in arms when people want to move to the Northshore, but they know they can enroll their kids into the nearby school and be done.
5. Bike riders
The amount of people who are maimed or killed on bikes is out of control. Stop using bike lanes as an extra lane to drive in. Quit flinging your car doors open without looking at your side mirror first. And let them cross the street before you turn. The two extra seconds it would save you isn’t worth hurting someone.
Photo Credit: Crista Rock
These are all serious things that plague New Orleans that we really should be giving more f*cks about.
That being said, you know what we should STOP giving a f*ck about? We stop being judgy about where people are from. IDGAF if you’re from Chalmette, the Westbank, Kenner brah, or Ohio. Hell, one of of our very best New Orleanians is from Cleveland. (I’m looking at you Miss Rock.) I’m sending a cease and desist order to all folks that call New Orleans home from giving side eye to your new neighbor from New York. Instead of whining about it, help show them the way. Take them to the local bar, teach them how to pronounce Milan the way we do, and buy them their first (and likely last) Dixie.
Watch what New Orleans is all about.