A thought just struck me : Should the Brooklyn  Labor Day Parade and Carnival be cancelled in the light of the catastrophy Down South? The massive massive destruction to life and property is yet unfolding ..the race and poverty cards will leave the deck and Heads will roll at least hypocritically. America can expect to hear" Physician Heal Thyself" Looking deeply into the soul of the tragedy and recognizing that those who will tomorrow go out to the Parkway and revel Caribbean style are in the main the kit and kin of the thousands who perished in another part of the country, I wonder if it should be business as usual. Just a passing thought.

Well, I think that it is important for people to continue on with their lives while also doing what they can for the victims of the hurricane.  Just because a bad thing has happened doesn't mean that all good things should suddenly be erased.  Plus, continuing with the carnival will help those people who have suffered or lost friends and family get their minds off their grief for at least a little bit, which is actually a healthy thing to do.

Plus I am sure there are going to be many groups that use the carnival and take advantage of a large gathering of people to collect donations to help the victims.  So, potentially, much money is going to be raised for the victims.

On the other hand, http://www.caribbeanchoice.com/carnival/carnival.asp?id=32 - Bayou Bacchanal which was scheduled on Sept. 16th - 18th, 2005 will definately be cancelled.  I haven't heard anything official, but I can't see how they could possibly hold that event or even if they could, should.

If you look at some of the history of carnival, it seems that carnival was sometimes something to celebrate even when there was nothing else to celebrate.  A much needed lift to the spirit.

I think "the show should go on."  And that doesn't mean we don't forget what happened with Katrina and it doesn't mean we stop giving to charity or helping victims.  It is just something to recharge our spirits so we can better help those who are in need.

Don't think that you have been to the Brooklyn Laborday Parade and Carnival. Be that as it is I have a question for you : If some 4-5 days ago a foreign power invaded America knocking out vital supplies , strategic entities and inflicting thousands of ' collateral damage'.....would you support the frolic  and revelry as is evidenced in the Brooklyn Laborday Parade and Carnival ? Just to make it easy let me add :America is at war with the greatest force on this earthplane -Nature.

To be honest with you..I know the parade will go on . ..but it goes to the root and relevance of the Black Church in pointing a direction for a People who they pull in on Sundays and send them out empty till next Sunday.These Caribbean folks will go out there...jump up and wine..wave their flags oblivious of the suffering of their own fellow boat travellers just a few hundred miles away. Sad.How justified are they to complain of benign neglet of their boroughs when they show no empathy with their own .Sad.

Well, whether the parade is held or not, I doubt it would change the hearts of those who would attend, whether it be kind and giving or selfish and uncaring.

I think part of the problem is the blame game in the United States (and other countries), where noone wants to take responsibility for themselves.  Its always someone else's fault.  And this attitude is not just limited to blacks, the whites and hispanics are just as bad.  People trip and fall, and sue someone else for their own clumsiness.  They eat fatty foot, and sue McDonald's because they are fat.  They spill their coffee, and sue because its hot and burned them!  Always someone else's fault.  Never their own.

Some may not like what I'm about to say, but it's true.  Many blacks, especially the blacks in the ghettos, like to blame the white man for keeping them down, but the reality is, in the United States, there really is no excuse to be poor unless you are ill, mentally disabled, recently lost your job, or recently had some other crisis.  I'm not saying that you can go from poor to middle class overnight, but I am saying that there are opportunities available to those who take advantage of them.  With welfare, free or discounted job training, assistance getting a job, and plenty of jobs, there is no reason for an able-bodied person who wants to work to be without work.  Being poor for 5 years while you dig yourself out of a hole is one thing, being poor your entire life when there are opportunities out there is another.

I know a lot of black men who are successful and who make lots of money.  Many of them are very generous with their money too.  They got themselves educated and they went out there and got good jobs or started good businesses.  So I know it is possible.  There are way too many successful black men to say its not possible.

The problem is we have become a culture that only cares about ourselves, blames others for our own actions, and never take responsibility for ourselves and others.  And this is where the caring (or lack thereof) comes in.  People who blame other people for their own problems, also cannot care for other people.  I heard about one narrow-minded individual actually complaining about all the refugees coming to Houston from Louisiana.  His complaint: they are going to take all our jobs.

Where is the compassion?  Where is the love?  There is none.

But interestingly enough, I think that is the real disease in the ghettos.  No love.  There is no love.  And the people who are loving are slowly emotionally killed off by the heartless ones, until the love is gone there too.

My question is, where is the love?

In life we sometimes miss the bullseye by attempting to shoot too straight..I am blaming no one for the Blackman's problem except the black man himself...That's the crux of the post. Let me be brutally frank with you this way : If the American Italian community celebrated Italian Day on the first Monday of September for the last 38 years with music and gyrations in the street and five days ago Strombolio ,all the way in Italy....thousands of miles away, erupted killing thousands of Italians who had never seen America, I will put my neck on the block the Italio American celebration of Italian Day will be called off. Here we are faced with America's Bhopal..thousands of blacks died yet a few hundred miles cross country Blacks are Jumping up with their flag and whine...That's the core of the matter..I am not into the blame game..I leave that to the Cornell West and Crouch to unravel..my bone of contention is The Careless Ethiopian who lacks care and feeling for his own.

Concerning the blacks that have 'made it'..I liken them to that type of mariguana called sensimilla which, based on the propagation, is not allowed to pollinate.. hence few seeds....hence stronger product. In Botany any fruit that has less than 6 seeds is deemed seedless..With 30000000 blacks sitting in one place those that have made it can't even be counted. Peace.

None of my comments were directed at you, scrolljoe.  I was not saying you were blaming someone else.  In fact, you are probably one of the few people who are looking at what is really going on.

You are right that there are not enough successfuly black men.  Although, as Duck Sauce said, in some cities, like Houston and Atlanta, where there are large black populations, there is also a large successful black population.  Even in New Orleans, where the poverty rate among blacks is high, a majority of blacks in New Orleans are above the poverty rate, have decent jobs, go to school, own businesses, etc.

The problem is the negativity of the ghetto kills hope and kills opportunity.  For the few that escape the ghetto mentality, there are plenty of opportunities out there.  The basic problem is that most people learn from their parents on how to live life, and if the parents are poor, they teach their children how to be poor.  If the parents are rich, they teach their children how to be rich.  If the parents are loving, they teach their children how to love.  If the parents don't know what love is, they teach their children not to love.  If the parents are violent, the children learn how to be violent.  If the parents are abusive, the kids learn how to abuse.

Its a nasty cycle that is hard to break.

I think what we have here is a much bigger problem.  Like you said, people not caring for their own.

 I think it is very sad what happened but i also agree people should carry on as normal. That is when the world will begin to crumble if people dwell on events and things to much. I think there could perhaps be a min of silence though during it.