"Illegals"

NOLA.com commenters are not pleased with the new designated area for day laborers in Gretna, not far from the Home Depot. There is much not to like here but I think that the worst is probably one user referring to the day laborers, who all the commenters assumes are undocumented immigrants, as "parasites who suck the blood out of the American economy," but I posted the first fifteen comments in their entirety so you can chose for yourself:

Dynomoose January 30, 2011 at 6:14PM

I know what would help keep day laborers from blocking traffic, check their green cards and DEPORT the ILLEGALS! That would clear things right up!

6wbbc391 January 30, 2011 at 6:17PM

I. N. S. is the answer.

aricher January 30, 2011 at 6:31PM

According to an inside source in city hall........Mayor Harris spend $ 6,873.00 in taxpayer's money for tents, port-o-lets, catering, signs, etc. for this project. The Congress of Day Laborers spents $ 0, ZERO, ZIP dollars.
But, the city has to raise water rates,don't fix streets, etc.
Way to go Ronnie !

yerpoint January 30, 2011 at 6:58PM

Where is the designated area for crack dealers? They work hard too, and their presence on every streetcorner creates all sorts of problems. If we just had one place they could go hang out next to all the illegals Gretna is supporting with this initiative.

umusbcrazy January 30, 2011 at 7:06PM

The majority of those who hang out in the Home Depot parking lot are illegals. If the taxpayers are going to foot the bill, require that ALL of those looking for work have proof of citizenship or papers stating that they are here legally. If they aren't have a paddy wagon on hand to arrest them. Enough of this B.S. of employers hiring illegals when so many citizens are out of work.

aricher January 30, 2011 at 7:21PM

Yes, UMUSBCRAZY.......the key word here is "illegals". But, being a LIBERAL DEMOCRAT Mayor Harris does not care. As for Vincent Cox, well, he is just as dumb as usual. Vincent would feed a stray cat and wonder why he does not leave and why other cats keep showing up.

Pitapita January 30, 2011 at 8:42PM

aricher

Yes lets blame a Liberal Democrat again......WAKE UP MORON. Bush had the very best chance of any President to seal the Mexican Border and DID NOTHING. After 9/11 Bush had sky high approval ratings and could easily have gotten the Money and Authority to build a fence. But instead he wanted to start a program of Legally allowing workers to come into the USA from Mexico and work and of course they would return home......NOT. Even the Republicans shot down that idea because they said that the people would not leave and not have to pay anyone or even try to sneak into the country, they could just walk across the bridge and fill out some paperwork.. Bush wanted to make sure that the companies that hire the Slave Labor of illegals and also donate a great deal to the Republicans would not get upset or inconvenienced.
Bush had the best chance to seal the border and DID NOTHING. So don't try going around and putting all the blame on Liberal Democrats because BOTH SIDES use the issue of illegals and BOTH SIDES will do nothing about it. The laws have been on the books to hold employers accountable, but the Republicans blocked the attempt to require employers to us E File to verify that their employees were legal.

turbodog January 30, 2011 at 7:54PM

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/749896/

hellofriend January 30, 2011 at 8:47PM

Sure, lets take work from the americain construction workers and give it to the ILLEGALS who don't pay taxes, and why we are at it, lets pays for their anchor babies to have healthcare, foodstamps, and free school etc.
If you hire one of these contractors, you are just as guilty as the crooked contractor! I say we boycotte any buisness that hires these crooks!!!!!!!!!

hellofriend January 30, 2011 at 8:57PM

Vote these fools out! Lets also set up a tent for Pimps, dealers, robbers and any other law breakers! We are losing our jobs overseas and in our own backyards, it's time to quit being so passive and stand up for our rights!

ManyCantReadWriteandDoCalc January 30, 2011 at 9:06PM

I am so glad we are making these people welcome, even though they are not here legally and none of them carry any identification. Do any of you have any kids?
Question No. 1: How many of these people have criminal records from other countries that we know nothing about?
Question No.1A Gets Better: How many of them are child molesters or sex offenders from their own country?
Do you think your family is safe?
Setting up a safe haven also means that we need to feed and clothe them, provide their kids with an education, as well as give them free medical care. Who made this decision? Who has the power to spend my tax money on people from outside the country?
This is why this country is in the state it is in; no common sense.
We would do better with janitors running our government, because at least they have common sense.

umusbcrazy January 30, 2011 at 9:14PM

More and more crimes are being committed against American citizens by illegals. The horrible thing is that once the commit the crime, if given a chance, they flee back to Mexico, only to return using a different alias. I am so sick and tired of this bullcrap of paying for illegals to come here and have babies. I am so happy there are now Urgent Care clinics that don't accept medicaid. If you can't pay, you must go elsewhere. There are actually places working Americans can go where we don't have to sit in busy waiting rooms filled with parasites who suck the blood out of the American economy.

lyle January 30, 2011 at 9:15PM

i notice that most of you attack the mayor and councilman og Gretna but do not mention anything about the illegal employers who hire the in question. You folks who are so quick to attack these people standing out there trying to get work need to go out there and address the real illegals the ones that hire them. You may not want to stop with these small time contractors because you will find out that there are many corporate level illegal employers also. And it is both Republicans and Democrats in DC who get campaign cotributions to not address the problem in the first place.

hark January 30, 2011 at 9:20PM

Can someone go video the people picking up the illegals? The illegals and the people hiring them are breakin the law.
Most of these business would be hurt financially if it became public knowlegde that they broke the law.
Why have any laws at all if the mayor gets to pick which ones to enforce? Let's all stop paying income and property tax and see how they mayor likes that. You work for us you bum!

umusbcrazy January 30, 2011 at 9:28PM

Yes....employers should be held accountable too. Even labor employment agencies are required to check all documents for legality before they can place anyone. But, what can we expect? Even NOPD hired Spanish speaking advocates who can't question the legality of a person being in the U.S. I am blown away.........and sickened by what's become of our country.

***
I do appreciate that the string provoked some parady:

tmare January 31, 2011 at 4:47AM

why don't yall get granddads old klan outfit out of the attic,fire up the torchs pick up some rope at the home depot and take care of the problem yourselfs

Lead Levels

Comment to an article about possible lead risks to children in Markey Park (since removed):

hegemon January 29, 2011 at 9:24PM

Lead makes just the poor dull and violent? And just certain segments of the poor? Is there a correlation between lead levels and melanin levels?

The problem with black people . . .

On an article about the Silence is Violence march to bring attention to the crimes problems in New Orleans, there are a number of comments that make offensive generalizations about poor people and minorities (and their responsibility for crime).

One user articulated his view that black people lack "pride as a a people" and that "the ones who made it" "don't look back":

picklepork January 29, 2011 at 10:11AM

No pride as a people. The ones who've made it need to enlighten the others still stuck in the system. They have to fix themselves. Unfortunately, once they succeed, they don't look back.

But my favorite thing on this string of comments is seeing Ken Foster, a fine writer and teacher who is involved in Silence is Violence, eschew anonymity and call the nasty, cynical commenters out:

kenfoster January 29, 2011 at 6:18AM

It's always fun to come on here and read the ill-informed know-it-all comments. Many of your concerns actually WERE addressed at the event. Parents did talk about the need for other parents to actually parent. The organizations involved in organizing it DO have ongoing programs throughout the year, including in the schools. But you'd have to actually get up from your computer to learn all that.

Getting it from both sides . . .

People like me get upset when NOLA.com fails to moderate offensive comments.

Right wing, birther nut jobs get upset when they do. From an AP article about a bill in Hawaii concerning providing President Obama's birth certificate to doubters:

DCIGeneHunt January 28, 2011 at 10:38AM

Is it my imagination, or did a whole bunch of posts suddenly disappear into the event horizon of a black hole? 

doradoschmitt January 28, 2011 at 11:47AM

DCI,
Oh yes, the TP, in the spirit of surpressing information which has been the hallmark of America's press for decades, regularly censors comments that don't follow the ideology of editor, Yale graduate and Skull & Bones member Jim Amos.

Even with NOLA.com's moderation on this article, there is all kinds of craziness posted about Obama hiding his birth certificate because it would prove that he is a Muslim. I am not sure if this is "offensive" enough to justify removal and, in any event, it passes as news on Fox, so it is probably fair game in the comments?

Jail

There are a few interesting comments to an article about Sheriff Gusman's response to a proposed ordinance that would limit the size of a new jail.

But, as always, there are the wackjobs (the below is a response to another comment comparing the incarceration rate in New Orleans to the rates in "dictatorships"):

roymint January 28, 2011 at 12:22AM

"More than any Tunisian or Egytpian or Iranian dictator ever dared to arrest."
Yeah, Iran would chop their hand off - so go manage your crime family there. Here is a better question to ask - why do the majority of us that never get arrested struggle to keep our homes nice yet we have to pay for these thugs to get rebuilt concrete buildings every 20 years with free cable and a cell that is bigger than your office. If tents are good enough for our heros, are they good enough for criminals. We should have them in chain gangs repairing your streets and send $1 per hour to be split amongst the mother(s) of their children? And when they get out, they should be banned from your town, living in halfway communes north of Alexandria. Their friends could visit them and maybe then you could sleep at night. How much worse will this get before you fight crime?

And I am pretty sure that it is never okay to call an African American man, in this case the Sheriff, an "Uncle Tom" because you disagree with him:

sid2jay January 28, 2011 at 2:28AM

Typical uncle tom here his own race he locking up and showing the need to lock up more .the jails today are a new form of slavery ,its all about money and self destruction because they are not doing anything about the causes that people are going to jail .no prevention programs no recreation for the youth. it just a breeding game to lock up more and more.but the money is coming from us in the end .just look who pays for the incarceration of these inmates us and instead of finding out solutions to decrees our spending he wants to increase it by building more and more jails. does he have any programs to prevent the recurrences of inmates returning to jail or trade skill programs to teach inmates how to become productive citizens. i remember when we as kids coming up in new Orleans we had Pontchartrain beach,city park the lakefront things like that for the youth.to keep they're mind occupied now the lake stays closed the Pontchartrain beach is gone city park is a ghost town. Is this designed to be this way to destroy todays youth because if you open your eyes at this citys management thats just what they age doing.OPEN YOUR EYES PEOPLE.

And sometimes it is difficult for me to distinguish legitimate conservative viewpoints (that I disagree with) from racist and hateful generalizations about poor people and minorities (see the last sentence in the second to last paragraph):

oilybird January 28, 2011 at 6:29AM

Anyone wishing to document just how ignorant people in this area are need to go no further then the blogs on the TP.
For starters, the police are not more inclined to arrest working people over homeless because working people grease the system financially. This is just plain stupid.
To think that they would send out notice that the jail was low on inmates so they put the word out to get more? Wow, and they do it by using black helocopters with no markings and ultrasonic speakers that signal your brain without making loud sounds.
@ CITIZEN: Do the police focus on young males? I would agree with that, but percentage wise, how do they look as far as who is committing most of the crimes and what percentage of the population are they where the crimes are taking place. If there have been 5 drug related murders around Derbigny and Frenchman, would you feel better if the police arrested white kids around the college bars for public intoxication or even simple possession of narcotics (note: anyone with drugs should be arrested).
As far as investing in things other then jails, we have tried that and it has failed miserably, especially in N.O. We have millions invested in schools, after school programs, lunch and breakfast programs, head start, community centers (none of which I have seen built in any area other then low income, including city pools). Then you have your 1st checks for Johnny who is slow, public housing, WIC, food stamps, Charity hospital system and there are more.
What we should invest in is telling people who can't support what they have (multiple kids) is that we (tax payers) are no longer going to support what is no longer working and that is taxpayers carrying the burden of a class of people who have no drive, no work ethic, little morals and very little concern for the future of their children, because they think it is the gov't problem.
None of these billions of dollars in programs has done anything to change the crime problem in N.O. So I say, build the jails and at least keep them from society.

Black votes

Comment to an article about Moon Landrieu's appeal to black voters in the mayoral runoff in 1969:

dayspast January 11, 2011 at 8:14PM

Despite all the black votes, who come so many are still living in poverty? Sounds like the same situation in the Federal government. No government is going to solve that problem with our tax $$. The people have to want to work for a living, not take from birth to the grave.

Just to parse the odd construction, I think that Daypast's proposition is that black people are still living in poverty, notwithstanding their votes for Moon Landrieu, because they don't want to work for a living and all they do is take, take, take. 

He had it coming

The very first comment, to an article about a Central City murder victim:

LaTuTu January 25, 2011 at 8:15PM

Sorry to say..his record speaks volumes, guilty or not. He was a "bad dude" and he "got, got"...Condolence to his family may he R.I.P.

 ***
Apparently, the 14 year old shot in the butt on Annette Street on Friday also had it coming (I see a theme developing):

LaTuTu January 21, 2011 at 8:58PM

Annette Street is bad news...maybe he is a drug runner...

mickcarter60 January 22, 2011 at 3:34AM

well latutu Annette St. is bad news...if the young man dont learn from this your next comment will read, maybe he (was) a drug runner...

On the same article is a comment that is also familiar to anyone who reads the comments - a mocking, hateful comment about violence in our city and "keeping the brand out there" (a reference to one of Mayor Nagin's more ridiculous statements about New Orleans):

tanneeka January 22, 2011 at 9:39AM

my bros keeping the brand out there......i is tanneeka from the 9th ward ....word!!!!!!!!!!

In House Moderation

Since starting this blog, I have been told a couple of times that a big part of the problem with NOLA.com's moderation is that it is conducted by Advance Publications in New Jersey, or some other far flung place, by people with little connection with New Orleans or The Times Picayune.

Apparently, according to a tweet from Lauren Wilbert, a producer at NOLA.com, the moderation is now conducted in house here in New Orleans: "Oh yes, and they've gotten more organized about it. Also, we do in-house moderation now.". (She was responding directly to a tweet, which asked, "Does advance still have the group in NJ to handle the abuse/inapp comment notifications?") She also notes, in a series of tweets in which she responded to the Gambit tweet about this blog, that "We get rid of 100s of bad comments/day" and that it is unfair for me to suggest that NOLA.com somehow encourages offensive comments. 

One of my hopes in starting this blog was that some scrutiny on the vileness that has been tolerated on NOLA.com FOR YEARS would provoke NOLA.com to take action to prevent its forum from constantly debasing our community. It appears that efforts, while still not sufficient in my view, were well underway before I started here. 

I do not know when in house moderation commenced but, to be fair, I have noticed recently that there are less offensive comments on stories and that the offensive ones are removed with greater frequency than I saw in the past. 

Has anyone else noticed this? Or am I fooling myself?

Death to All Christians

On the homepage at NOLA.com, there is a listing of the articles with the most comments with links to the articles and discussions. Each section of the site has its own "most comments" listing.

The article with the fourth most comments regarding "crime and courts," an AP story about the United States Supreme Court denying certiorari on a case involving gay marriage, has had 37 comments since it posted on January 18, 2011.

In a forum dominated by hyperbole and overstatement, it is always difficult to tell if a user is being ironic but, regardless, the following comment is inappropriate, even if it is satire:

dustaphagus January 18, 2011 at 6:30PM

Christians are absolute morons. The act of marriage or "unions" have been going on for thousands and thousands of years. That's right, thousands of years before there was ever any such thing as Christianity. But now, nobody can get married unless Christians say so? Christians own marriage? Ridiculous. Death to all Christians!

***
I am pretty sure that it wasn't satire, after reviewing the comments from dustaphagus's user profile. Here is a sample:

It should be legal to kill fat people. They're really no different than animals. Fat people are a bigger threat to this country than terrorists.

Posted on Hold the brownies! Bill could limit bake sales on December 09, 2010, 9:06AM

I know for a fact that every single Catholic person in the world supports child molestation.

Posted on New Orleans archbishop says Catholic church still views condoms as birth control as immoral on November 28, 2010, 11:22AM

Exactly. Those people "need" to because they are weak and afraid.

Posted on Catholic bishops say more exorcists are needed on November 14, 2010, 11:20AM

Let me guess, a possessed person will most likely need something inserted into their rear to release the demons! HAHA. Catholic = Child Molester or supporter. Christian = Bigot. Muslim = terrorist. Religious = dumb.

Posted on Catholic bishops say more exorcists are needed on November 14, 2010, 11:17AM

I've never met someone who claimed to be a Christian who didn't turn out to be either a criminal, a bigot, or a closet homosexual. And further more, I would be a Palestinian suicide bomber before I would ever be a Catholic.

Posted on Billboards advertise atheism, provoke discussion on September 20, 2010, 7:59PM

HAHAHAHAHA!!! Spill baby Spill!!!!!!! I love to see all you bickering fools on here. Nothing but prejudiced, ignorant, uneducated morons. This disaster couldn't have happened to a better place! I hope it completely destroys the lives of everyone on the gulf coast! Choke on it morons!!!!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted on President Obama to return to Louisiana on Friday to view Gulf oil spill work on May 26, 2010, 3:25PM

I can't remember the last time I've been this excited. This is looking like it could be what I've been hoping for. Death by oil....priceless!!!! I hope it destroys everything in the gulf and every state's coast. Drill baby drill!!!!!!!!!!!LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted on Gov. Jindal says he's still awaiting specific corporate, federal plan for oil spill response on April 30, 2010, 9:34PM

We could really use another massive hurricane strike. Hopefully this summer won't disappoint.

Posted on Oak Street po-boy festival turns into a food fight: Jarvis DeBerry on April 27, 2010, 2:32PM

I've never met one single religious person who wasn't either a criminal or a bigot. Never.

Posted on U.S. Supreme Court splits sharply on campus Christian argument on April 19, 2010, 10:31PM

I am a socialist and a terrorist and there are hundreds of thousands like me in America already. Only a few more years before our plan is complete. The destruction of America and Christianity!!!!!

Posted on Metairie tea party supporters call for less government, more freedom on April 17, 2010, 3:01PM

I've had a run-in with an NOPD officer myself before....arrogant and condescending. Now when I see a story of an NOPD officer being killed, I no longer see it as a sad story.

Posted on New Orleans police behavior turns believers into skeptics: Jarvis DeBerry on April 04, 2010, 10:22AM

It's a miracle he wasn't caught raping a child.

Posted on Miracle under scrutiny in John Paul II beatification on March 29, 2010, 6:42PM

The great thing about old, fat, white, dumb bigots.....they're dying faster than any other demographic in America. Cheers to another year passing!

Posted on GOP uses radio address to tout new health care strategy: Repeal and replace on March 28, 2010, 4:49PM

I would be a muslim suicide bomber before I'd be a Catholic. God is dead and religion is now the face of evil. Free your minds people. Once you let go of the fairy tale make believe, life is beautiful and you are truly free.

Posted on Wisconsin priest accused of molesting 200 deaf boys on March 25, 2010, 6:38PM 

Senator Douchebag

A Times Picayune article about Senator Vitter recommending Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations to Barack Obama was posted last night at 6:30 p.m.

The very first comment, which I agree with but include for the sake of balance, levels what some might consider an inappropriate attack on Louisiana's Junior Senator:

grovernola January 22, 2011 at 6:37PM

David Vitter is such a douche bag. have YOU even read it Mr Senator? And besides. It is an affront to a well-educated leader to PRESUME it has not been read. This is typical Saturday press-release grandstanding by a NeoCon wonk who thinks he can namby pamby his way to the top of his party by hack-tactic politics. Get real Senator Douchebag and DO SOMETHING for Louisiana rather than your self and your ambitions.

Obituaries

It's pretty clear to me that obituaries are not a good place for anonymous online commenting. While not wildly offensive, the following comments to the obituary of Dennis Dannel, the chief judge of Orleans Parish traffic court, illustrate why, notwithstanding the sensible responses:

dayspast January 22, 2011 at 1:45PM

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what's the big deal about him? We all die one day. Do politicians still get preferential treatment even in death? He is not differnet than any taxpayer who dies. Waste of space.

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bywaterbob January 22, 2011 at 1:54PM

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Your posts are a waste of space dayspast. Its just an obituary..they print them every day for anyone who dies, not just politicians. Dennis Dannel was simply one of the nicest guys you could ever meet.

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topeka1 January 22, 2011 at 1:56PM

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dayspast i hope when you or one of your loved ones passes away that kinder and gentler sentiments are expressed about you and yours....as a human being and a fellow Purple Knight I will pray for his family to find solace in their faith during this time of bereavement.

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LaTuTu January 22, 2011 at 2:33PM

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Judge Dannel may you rest in peace....

ppl like dayspast and bywaterbob don't understand respect for people who accomplished things while here and had a purpose in life. When they pass on, I'm sure there will be no acculads for them.

Introduction

Here is a draft of the first couple of paragraphs of an article I planned on writing about NOLA.com comments, before starting this blog:

[Handle] thinks that blacks are ruining the city and that we need white leadership. [Handle] thinks that the problem is black mothers and their unwilling to work and their expectation of government handouts. [Handle] seems to enjoy, every time someone is murdered, writing “blip” to express the worthlessness of the lost life.These opinions come from a new stable of writers working for Si Newhouse and in their expressions of racism, hatred, rage, and indignation, they represent the publishing giant’s hope that, despite the collapse of profitability in newspapers and magazines, online forums and comments sections in Newhouse websites can squeeze blood from the stone and turn a profit on its newspaper comments.

To be clear, none of these “writers” are paid by Newhouse. They volunteer their opinions in comments to articles in New Orleans’ Newhouse owned Times Picayune that appear on the Newhouse owned website, nola.com.