New Orleans.....

I've got lots to say about the rest of Georgia, but I'm going to save it until I'm in a better mood. Right now I need to talk about my first impressions of New Orleans, because they have made a very strong impression on me and I need to get it out there.

I don't like it here. Sure, the people in the hostel are cool. Sure, there are some aspects of the city that may be cool. Sure, I had fun on Bourbon Street tonight. The bars were cool, the bands were fun, I met some nice girls (who, it turns out, were married), but there is this one fundamental aspect to this city (and to Atlanta, for that matter) that really turns me off. It is SO fucking segregated, I can't handle it. The first I noticed was in the bands. There were black bands and there were white bands. The black bands played soul, funk, blues, etc, the white bands played rock, country, pop, etc (I preferred the black bands, fyi). There was one white band with a hispanic female singer, but that was the extent of integration I noticed. It pissed me off like you can't imagine. But whatever, I'm in the South, I shouldn't be surprised.

What really got my goat was when I left Bourbon Street to head back to the hostel. To avoid spending 10 bucks on a cab, I decided to wait for the trolley. At the stop closest to Bourbon Street there was this black guy chillin at the stop drinkin his beer and smokin his cig. It's all good, I thought, we're both just waiting for the trolley, I don't bother him, he doesn't bother me. Boy was I mistaken...

Bum-dude was sitting on the bench. To avoid confrontation I decided to remain standing. Well, after about 10 minutes my legs started to get tired, so I sat down at the other end of the bench. After sitting down, I glanced over at bum-dude and apparently that just set him off. "Why you keep lookin' at me?" "What's your problem?" "Why you even sitting here?"

**sigh** here we go, I thought. I try to diffuse the situation "chill out man, I'm just waiting for the trolley, just like you" Well that didn't work. "Waiting for the trolley? It ain't even running! You better get on goin where you're goin, bitch. Shit." Pretty much a direct quote.

So I walk down to the next stop, a couple of black dudes talking. One asks me for a cigarette. More racial tension, I thought, so fuck it, head on to the next stop. Thankfully at this one there was a punky-lookin white girl focused on her cell phone. The first thing she says to me is "10 minutes". Thank god, someone who isn't trying to start shit or get something from me. She's just informing me how long I'm going to have to wait for the next trolley.

Then, as I'm sitting there at the stop, I think to myself, what the fuck? Why did I have to walk all the way down here? Are we still this racist that we can't sit at the same fucking trolley stop? Sure, maybe the same thing could happen in Detroit, but I think it'd be more likely that I'd get in to at least some sort of superficial conversation with said bum-dude about the weather or something, rather than him immediately harrasing me for looking at him.

And then I thought well, at least he didn't mug me. What the fuck? What kind of society do we live in when we see someone of a different skin color and immediately worry that they will try to take your money? Once I got on the trolley I noticed another black dude staring at me. He was wearing glasses, so by default I found him less threatening, but still, he was staring at me, and he was black, so I assumed he was thinking how to take my money. In reality, he was probably staring at me because I had put my sunglasses on and my hood up to avoid confrontation. Sunglasses at night will attract attention from anyone.

It's this fucking culture. It breeds racial prejudice. White people assume black people are against them, and so black people assume white people are against them, and vice versa. It's a viscious cycle that, from my one night here, feels impossible to break. White people elected a black President, for christ sakes. When are we going to get over this fucking segregation and move on with ourselves? Being here really sharpens that issue for me. It makes me feel so much less optimistic about this country. Maybe things are getting better up north and out east. But down here in the south we still have a LONG way to go. God it's depressing. Maybe when I get back from peace corps in 2 years things will get better. I'm not getting my hopes up.