I think Texas is in for major upheaval

[Don Claybrook]

I talked to my ex, who lives near Beaumont, TX, which is close to the Louisiana Border, and about 80 miles east of Houston. She tells me that victims are being sent to all sorts of different places. They're being sent to a very nice apartment complex in Kingwood, which is about 30 miles north of Houston. If you don't know Houston, it's one giant sprawling place. Public transportation is pretty much worthless, and the "desirable" places to live are in a huge ring around and well outside of the city, ergo Kingwood being 30 miles or so from downtown (Houstonians, please correct me if I get details wrong...it's been a long time and things may have changed since I was there). So they're putting people who have the clothes on their backs and nothing else in apartments where their access to public transportation would be considered difficult at best. So far as I can tell, there won't be jobs for these displaced people. My ex tells me that the economy there sucks just like it does everywhere else.

How long will it take the hospitality to wear off and be replaced by resentment when displaced New Orleanians are vying for the same jobs as the long-time residents? I got the sense from my ex that this was already beginning to manifest.

And now for the really fun part. Does the town of Vidor, Texas ring a bell with anyone? This is one of the most racist, vile Klan strongholds anywhere. The town is about 10 miles outside of Beaumont, and they're openly racist. Not long after Clinton became President, his HUD Sec Henry Cisneros sent federal agents in with a black family in an attempt to integrate the town. It didn't work out, and I'm sorry but I don't recall the details. Well, I just heard tonight that they're placing displaced victims in the burg of Vidor. I'll grant that Vidor needs to be changed or be torn down, but it's a horrible idea to put victims in this den of hatred and prejudice. They're also placing people in Lumberton, which is another nearby town, and just about as racist. They just never made national news.

But I'm told they still just love their man Bush in that part of Texas. How long will that last?

All of this information is anecdotal and subject to being wrong. But I think I heard enough about the ugly mood just below the surface that I will not be too surprised when a race and class issue comes right out into the open.

Can any southeast Texans speak to this?

[Fenris]

1. I'm from S.E. Texas

And I'm hearing the same things.

Beaumont is really the last of the "Southern" cities in Texas, meaning it has a very, very large black population. I really consider that whole area to be like Western Louisiana (I come from Cajun stock from Port Neches).

Vidor is an awful place. Lumberton is no better. I can see some problems arising from this "unwelcomed" emigration.

[Don Claybrook]

3. a couple of additional things

The ex works at some company in Port Arthur. They manufacture...I don't know, some industrial stuff. Anyway, they're a small company, and they have zero orders in the pipeline right now. They do a lot of overseas sales, and the companies that normally buy from them are apparently buying from other suppliers now. This is because the stuff is put on a ship in Houston or PA or somewhere, but then it is offloaded to a larger ship--at the port of New Orleans. So this thing is going to have a pretty big economic impact far away from the path of the storm.

Terrible Economy + huge influx of mostly African Americans + undercurrent of racism = equals I don't know what, but it promises to change the psyche of the state.

[Fenris]

8. The economic repercussions are going to be really bad

I don't think it's really sunk in yet. There are going to be problems.

[BrotherBuzz]

35. Sounds like a twist on the dustbowl Okies descending upon California

Depression + Displaced busted farmers + Economical discrimination = I don't know what, but believe it or not, you won't find it so hot if you ain't got the Do Re Mi. Yes, I'm thinking of the song Woody Guthrie wrote after seeing the movie 'Grapes of Wrath'. I'm one of those odd ducks that believe the boys in power want and desire us to start thinking this whole mess of whup-ass coming down the road is all racially motivated. The haves want us have-nots fighting amongst ourselves, while they enjoy their good life in their damn gated community. But then, I did say I'm an odd duck.


If You Ain't Got The Do Re Mi

by Woody Guthrie


Lots of folks back East, they say, is leavin' home every day,
Beatin' the hot old dusty way to the California line.
'Cross the desert sands they roll, gettin' out of that old dust bowl,
They think they're goin' to a sugar bowl, but here's what they find --
Now, the police at the port of entry say,
"You're number fourteen thousand for today."

CHORUS:
Oh, if you ain't got the do re mi, folks, you ain't got the do re mi,
Why, you better go back to beautiful Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Georgia, Tennessee.
California is a garden of Eden, a paradise to live in or see;
But believe it or not, you won't find it so hot
If you ain't got the do re mi.

You want to buy you a home or a farm, that can't deal nobody harm,
Or take your vacation by the mountains or sea.
Don't swap your old cow for a car, you better stay right where you are,
Better take this little tip from me.
'Cause I look through the want ads every day
But the headlines on the papers always say:

If you ain't got the do re mi, boys, you ain't got the do re mi,
Why, you better go back to beautiful Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Georgia, Tennessee.
California is a garden of Eden, a paradise to live in or see;
But believe it or not, you won't find it so hot
If you ain't got the do re mi.

[Catherine Vincent]

2. Noooooooo, not Vidor, Texas!

You are right, that is a very prejudiced town. At least it was back when that black guy was kicked out of that federal apartment complex.

[Don Claybrook]

4. I'm told it's still the same n/t

[chalky]

5. Vidor, Texas

In 1993 on orders from the Federal judiciary, integration was attempted. Four black families or individuals were relocated into the previously all-white HUD housing complex in Vidor. Within months all four were driven out after enduring many racial taunts, snubs from local white-owned businesses , and death threats -- including "security patrols" around the town by the Klan in a refurbished Texas Department of Corrections bus. Within months all four had left. The last black person to leave was Bill Simpson. Simpson was murdered on the streets of Beaumont in 1993 on the day he moved out of Vidor.

From "A SHORT HISTORY OF NASTY VIDOR"

Vidor isn't the only worry. Lovely Jasper, Texas is also close-by. Remember Jasper? Home of the James Byrd dragging death?

And then there's the so-called "Minute Men". That group that the leader was shocked--shocked, I tell ya!--to find out was attracting white supremacists. The group that's planning to make a splash in Houston in October.

You're not alone in your fears.

[tammywammy]

6. Vidor is a very racist place

My mom grew up in Port Arthur, and I have a lot of family there and in Bridge City.

They were shocked when the Byrd dragging happened in Jasper, because if anything like that was going to happen it would have been in Vidor.

Port Arthur has a large black and Vietnamese population.

Edited to add: I have a lot of family down there, and can say that not everyone down there is racist.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

7. Janis Joplin born and raised in Port Arthur, which is not Vidor of course.

[tammywammy]

9. I know

My mom went to highschool with her younger sister. And also Jimmy Johnson the former coach of the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins grew up there as well (hence the Jimmy Johnson Blvd).

[Catherine Vincent]

11. Well hi there!

My family lived there (Port Arthur) a while but it was quite a few years ago.

[tammywammy]

15. I've never lived there myself

But I vists for a weekend 2-3 times a year. Esp for the family Christmas party for my uncle's gumbo and aunt's potato salad. :P

[me b zola]

10. I think the entire US is in for a major upheaval!

There is going to be hell to pay!!!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

12. The Floodgate Diaspora has consequences for Republicans

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4704084

[wellstone_democrat]

13. west Texas here---same thing plus an interesting twist

only about 400 got to Lubbock but I have some very well educated neighbors who think armageddon has arrived (some co workers as well). They believe that Perry and the mayors are *greedy* and want to bill the feds for all of this and then "stick the cities and towns" with what they relentlessly call the "undesirables."

Now, there is a good group of people working the shelter and so forth but there is *already* some "compassion fatigue" and at best many are saying that they want a "deadline" on the shelter availability. Talking to a friend today after working out there he said even more---and he's a native who knows many more people so he gets around more. His view is that "it all sounded good in the abstract but the reality is that this is not a 'race friendly' area" Tulia is just up the road (where one liar got virtually the whole Black population arrest on bogus drug charges a few years back)

Its surprising to see the general "uneasiness" with which the potential *permanent* presence of the evacuees is greeted.

[Don Claybrook]

14. That is an interesting twist, r.e. gov. "sticking it" to cities

And regarding Tulia, I know they put that bastard in jail and commuted all the sentences. Please tell me the guy has a long sentence.

[wellstone_democrat]

18. hmmm....not exactly

the sentences were commuted but not cleared from their records. Last I heard the guy had dealt down to little if any real jail time. I'll ask a colleague who worked on that as I wasn't in the state at the time the hearings and the guy's trial were going on.

The "sticking it to the cities" idea came out of Dallas from what I understand---it was said there first and someone in from the Houston suburbs today told us the same is being said in that area. They are pushing as many out of the Houston central shelters as they can.

[WiseButAngrySara]

19. Are you in Lubbock? Another West Texas DUer? Can't believe it!

I heard that 1,500 evacuees were in Lubbock. I just found out about it a few days ago, and was surprised. I'm from Houston, and relatively new to this area.

Did you hear Bab B*'s remark on Larry King about (paraphrasing) 'Its a little scary to think that they all might want to stay.'
"Its surprising to see the general "uneasiness" with which the potential *permanent* presence of the evacuees is greeted.'

[wellstone_democrat]

20. texaslftist too

I think that's how you spell it but we are sure we are the only ones. No only 400 came here and they don't know why the rest (once it was going to be 2000) didn't. Oh yeah, I heard the NPR interview and about a dozen times since---when my anger dies down I go and listen to that filth and I'm topped right back up and ready for the fight!!

Good to have more Lubbock residents---this is 300% increase over the last three years I've been on DU!

[WiseButAngrySara]

21. And probably a 500% increase in Lubbock! Are you active locally in a

political way? I've been curious about it since the elections.

[tanyev]

16. Ruby red Collin County is taking in a lot of refugees.

I hope many of them decide to stay and register to vote.

[TexanDem]

17. I'm in Beaumont

Definitely good people live in Vidor, Lumberton, and Jasper. Beaumont has a good balance of race, but there is still some active racism. Vidor really doesn't make much of a secret about being racist, whereas Lumberton hides more of theirs behind their "good Baptist" claims. Not all, for absolutely sure, but some bad apples ruin the whole barrel. There are lots of "rednecks" on the one side, and we have our gangs too. So, it is scary. Already hearing rumors of added problems of break-ins and car thefts here and there (mostly heard of it in Orange) and "be extra careful" and all that!
I'm not too worried about Beaumont as far as accepting, not sure about Houston. Hearing some low grumbling from some Houstonians, but their crime is already quite bad and the menial jobs situations is already strained even pre-Katrina.
But all in all, Texas has been a good neighbor, and I'm really proud of that. I'm really afraid the appearances of classism and racism by the Gov will light a fire under the already strained relations and set back our gains in prejudices 50 years.

Heard tonight on Olbermann that Astrodome wants them all out by sometime this month when they have some football game scheduled! Generosity is about to run out, at least down that avenue, sounds like.

[Ilsa]

24. Must be a high school or college football game because the

Houston Texans football team plays in Reliant Stadium, a new field with a retractable roof.

[TexanDem]

33. Reliant Stadium -- that's right.

I didn't rmember because I don't follow football, but yes. Isn't Reliant in same proximity as Astrodome? I understood from the report that it was too close and wanted them all out by whatever date the game is scheduled. It was on Olbermann if you can catch the rerun. He even made fun of their priorities of a football game over the 8,000 people who have no place to go!

[Ilsa]

36. Oh that's right: Reliant and Astrodome are next to each other.

I'm not sure what the urgency is, though.

[Zen Democrat]

22. Actually, it's a good thing.

Houston is moving people into every available apartment in the city and suburbs. Kingwood has direct bus service to downtown -- and the people are being given passes for free rides on all public transportation. Kingwood is one of those Exxon "Master Planned Communities." Not a bad place to live at all. Rent is being paid for 6 months.

[Catherine Vincent]

I wonder if they are sending any to The Woodlands?

I think I know the answer to that.

[Redstone]

23. Beaumont! I'd take flooded New Orleans without water or food

or the wrecakge of a house along the Mississipi coast before I'd stay in Beaumont.

Unless it's changed an awful lot since I was last there in the 1970s.

Redstone

[TexanDem]

32. Beaumont isn't any better than the 70s that I can tell!!

[Redstone]

34. If that's the case, any evacuees from New Orleans probably

already know about the place, and just keep moving.

Redstone

[cmf]

25. You have got to be kidding me.

I grew up mostly in Lake Charles and went to college in Houston, so I know the area well. Kingwood is scary enough (I went to school with a bi-racial girl who grew up there and she had some stories), but Vidor? Hell, I used to hold my breath and pray that my car wouldn't break down on I-10 anywhere near there. (I'm Black)

[Don Claybrook]

26. Not kidding

But I would like to get independent verification on the Vidor story. It's not that I don't trust my ex-wife, but there have been thousands of stories floating around each day, and some of them never amount to anything. So I'm hoping someone will have a link.

And as to the character of the city of Vidor--as someone else said above, I'm sure there are some good people there. Then again, they know full-well where they live, and what the town is like, so they're at the very least acquiescing to some vicious, thuggish attitudes in that place.

My son tells me (he stays with his mom in the summer) that recently Vidor had a "mixed marriage" incident in which a house was burned down and no one was found guilty. Again, no primary source on that one.

[Don Claybrook]

27. found a link, sort of

This article mentions children hurricane victims enrolled in Vidor schools.

http://www.orangeleader.com/articles/2005/09/01/news/news4.txt

The Vidor Independent School District is also accepting students who have evacuated from the path of Hurricane Katrina.

Students sheltered in Vidor may enroll at the campus closest to their place of shelter. Assistance is available for child nutrition and school supplies. For more information, call 409-769-6161 or 409-769-6314.

[cmf]

28. You're right, there are a million stories floating around

I wonder if we'll ever know fact from fiction on a lot of the stuff we're hearing. It's just like after 9/11.

Anyway, I hope it's just a rumor. I feel bad for some unknowing evacuees being moved to Vidor just after losing everything. Wouldn't they give them a choice? Or is it just like, "This is what's available, that's where you're going."

[Don Claybrook]

30. Some victims' kids are at least enrolled in Vidor schools

Presumably this means the families are staying in or near Vidor, but the article doesn't explicitly say.

[Fire Walk With Me]

29. Hopefully the Klan will have to move.

[Don Claybrook]

31. The Klan would've made great human sandbags for the levees n/t