Willy Wonka comes to New Orleans

I typically wouldn’t write back-to-back articles on race relations, but Mayor Nagin’s comments the other day are just begging for a good blogging. The Mayor has come under some heat for his desire to have New Orleans become a certain flavor. People, both black and white, are in an uproar. To be honest, I’m not all that offended by what the Mayor said. I admit it was in poor taste, and probably highly divisive. I didn’t appreciate that the comments were made during a Martin Luther King Day address (could you EVER imaging Dr King saying something like that?). I know what would happen to the mayor of Billings, Montana if he were ever to call for his town to become “vanilla”. So I can see how many people would take offense to these remarks. But, to me, it comes as no surprise. Ever since Katrina turned towards his city, Nagin hasn’t exactly given a stellar performance. In fact, it seems that he’s made one mistake after another either by actions (evacuating foreign diplomats ahead of his own people) or by words ("where's the beef?"). So, like with Howard Dean or Al Franken, I’ve come to expect stupid things to emanate from this man’s face, and when they do it comes with little surprise. I don’t think he’s a racist or has any personal vendetta against white people. I think it’s simpler than that. In reality, Nagin is nothing more than a typical politician with speeches that seem to be written by a four year old making a desperate plead to his voting base to return before the next election. He’s under a lot of stress and clearly didn’t think before he spoke. Maybe he just needs a vacation.
However, I do take offense at the mayor’s mischaracterization of God. Apparently, he believes that Katrina was punishment from God for America’s involvement in Iraq. Now, I’m not a theological expert, but I have studied the Bible. I remember God becoming angry about Adam and Eve’s disobedience. I remember Him destroying the world at the time of Noah because of rampant ungodly behavior. I remember the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah because they were filled with immorality. Indeed there are many examples of God’s wrath found in the good Book. But I challenge anyone to find an example of God handing out punishment to someone for bringing freedom to millions of people. It’s just not there. And why would Katrina hit New Orleans? Why not Washington? Well, the point Nagin tried to make is just too preposterous to debate, so I’ll leave him with some heartfelt advice. Mayor, if you want to turn your career around, I suggest that you hire a new speech writer, take a long vacation and, most important, read the Bible a little more carefully before accusing God of attacking your city.