Unhappy People -

I have written several articles, made many public statements, and filed several lawsuits saying that New Orleans not only left behind the poorest and most vulnerable when Katrina hit, but is doing it now all over again now. Many disagree. These are some emails from people who disagree quite a bit.

I file such emails in a folder titled “unhappy people.”

Unhappy #1:
Mr. Quigley:

On behalf of all alumni of Loyola University in New Orleans, I appeal to whatever remaining sense of decency you might possess in asking that you immediately dissociate yourself from the university.

With each publicized instance of your relentless crusade against the dignity of our profession, our Loyola degrees are cheapened. Drunk on media recognition, you have regressed from the role of ordinary requisite academic activist to being a reflexive-contrarian crackpot - reliable fodder for local press and persistent source of obstructionist, substanceless litigation which often confounds your ostensible stated principles. For example: your misuse of the courts to delay the legal demolition of hazardous damaged housing by the City of New Orleans has prevented the return of sanitary water service to the neighborhoods of which you are a self-appointed advocate.

There is no question that, in your advanced state of denial and delusion, you are capable of quickly crafting an excuse which places the blame for this lack of potable water on corporations, Republicans, anyone who supports the death penalty or makes over $50,000 a year (before taxes), but the facts to which you are consistently so blind always stand bare.

Please, for the sake of the good name of our institution, discontinue to use Loyola Law School as the benign blood-host which sustains your insidious quest for notoriety.

Unhappy #2:
Dear Prof. Quigley:

I read your demands in the Times-Picayune regarding the $6.2 billion in federal money that is to be used to compensate people for their destroyed homes.

I live across the lake, but HAD a house in Lakeview. It was the house that I grew up in and my aunt had put it in my name many years ago. I will not go into the whole story, but this house was my retirement. My husband died just over a year ago. He left me with a pile of debt and son still in college. My son has worked his BUTT off with part time jobs and going to school. When his dad first died, he wanted to quit college and get a full time job to help me out. I, and other family members, told him no, that he was going to finish school and we had family and friends offer to help. We tried to get government help, but got none. I wonder why? Could it be that we were the wrong color?

No one like you came rushing to my aid and Social Security (who has STOLEN money from my husband for years) only gave us $250.00 for the funeral. What a JOKE!!!! They will keep his money and give it to some OTHER PERSON who probably never worked a day in their live, but claims to be disabled. Why is that fair?

My son and I have struggled since the day my husband died. Now my retirement is gone and you think that I should not be compensated for my loss.

Who the hell made you GOD? I know you don't like GOD, but he is about all I have left to believe in besides my son.

My son and I have played by the rules all our lives and so did my husband. I am tired of playing by the rules and getting slapped down for it. I am tired of other people who don't play the rules and look to government for everything expecting me to pay for them. But since they always receive government assistance, why shouldn't they expect it? They
have people like you always insisting that they get more!

There was flood insurance on the house -- it was not enough. I had no control over the amount of insurance on the house and I guess I should have taken out more on my own. But, I am sorry, I was too busy working and paying taxes to think that I needed to see about getting more insurance.

I don't believe you would help me because I am white and so is my son. He is the devil as you liberals want to call him because he is white. He has never gotten any special treatment or aid or anything all his life because of being white. I feel that white males are the most discriminated group in this country. My son has done nothing to be treated like this and I am sick of it. You must really wish that you weren't white so you could relate to your "homeys" even more.

I am sick of playing by the rules and having people like you only wanting to help the "under- priviledged". There are "underpriviledged" people who could get off their butts and help themselves but they won't because they know that you will always get the government to give them everything. Why should they try to help themselves, when they can have other people work for them. I think this is becoming a new form of "slavery" and I am tired of being a "slave" to the underclass that does not and will not work.

Unhappy #3:
Mr. Quigley,
Of course the poor blacks who camped out in public housing are being held out of New Orleans. Would you prefer all of them come back and wreck havoc on the already sluggish recovery? Why don't you put your journalistic skills to work in a factual way. Why don't you contact the cable TV company and inquire how many people in the projects subscribed to cable tv every month? How about HBO and Showtime too? Do you realize for the cost of one year of basic cable, around $400, every family in the projects could've rented a car and paid for over a week in a motel 6 with plenty of food, rather than be left in the superdome? Don't qualify to rent a car? Well, times that $400 by the number of years that family had cable on in their free housing. That could easily total over $3-5,000. Plenty of money TO BUY A CAR. But of course if they had this attitude, they wouldn't be in the projects to begin with now would they? I hired two different ladies on welfare to clean my business for $8/ hour cash. Each of the two black ladies lasted less than 3 days. Meanwhile, an elderly Spanish woman kept inquiring about the job. I gave it to her for the same price and she did the job perfectly, without missing a day, or showing up late with long painted fingernails and a mouth full of gold. We reap what we sew.

Unhappy # 4:
Why should the people of Katrina be treated differently than any other victims of hurricanes. My parents in Irwin lost 90% personal items, all but the shell of the house , and 95 % of the furnishings . All we saw was Red Cross. 3 months later they did get a blue roof . No one paid for food , lodging , gas or anything else . Took 1 year 2 months to get money from insurance.
At no time did I see or hear of telethons for them , see people suing for them to even get into a motel room. Their neighbors were treated the same . No news people running around crying foul.
Where and the hell were all you folks then? To waste my tax monies on these folks only because large amount are black and you and others want to make a name for yourself is disgusting. How do you sleep?

Unhappy #5
Aren't these the same people who have eight kids with eight different fathers and expect ME to pay for their health care? Who live off welfare, off MY money, because they are too lazy and too busy popping out little welfare recipients to get a decent job?