Another weekend and another display of lawlessness in downtown New Orleans.
Late Thursday night/early Friday morning, a massive fight broke out between two groups of women on Canal Street at Bourbon Street, which is the beginning of the French Quarter, the city’s #1 tourist destination.
The fact that a fight broke out in that area is bad enough, but the fact that the women were at that location to watch a car show, which includes cars burning rubber and doing donuts in the street to the point where it appears the car is on fire is the bigger problem.
The corner of Bourbon Street and Canal is 3 blocks from my apartment building. During a walk into the French Quarter Saturday afternoon I noticed dark black tire marks in perfect circles printed on the street. My first thought: how could anyone have done what it would take to make those marks at the extremely busy intersection of Bourbon and Canal?
My question was answered yesterday. The video had been posted and had gone viral and was picked up by the local media. Yesterday, I posted a video from the scene of the burned tire marks in the street, which was posted on Scoot On The Air Instagram TV.
I walked away from the scene thinking that if that happened at one of the prime intersections in New Orleans is attracting a crowd, then it means this is a regular occurrence. If a segment of the population knows about this event then, it’s hard to imagine that NOPD is not also aware of it happening.
The fight and the car show both present a threat to citizens, tourists, and businesses. Passively allowing this to happen is an example of accepted lawlessness, which, if unchecked, will only invite further acts of lawlessness.
The blatant disregard for the law in New Orleans threatens the image and the people who make this area a coveted destination. And this is not the only example of tolerated lawlessness.
I have experienced the threat posed by large groups of 4-wheelers and dirt bikes ridden by individuals who dangerously pop wheelies while weaving recklessly through traffic patterns. I have seen the looks on the faces of many of the individual riders that seem to express the intent to disrupt and terrorize everyone. These groups of riders can spontaneously erupt any time, but it's usually on weekends. And this time of year encourages these incidents.
Lawless behavior is now an expected part of life in New Orleans. If one act of lawlessness is allowed to go unchecked, then other acts will follow.
The corner of Bourbon and Canal is the entrance to the French Quarter for citizens and tourists who live or stay in hotels in the Central Business District.
A series of shootings with injuries and killings have occurred this spring at that corner. To its credit, NOPD has recently added additional lighting to the first block of Bourbon Street along with a police crow’s nest to give officers a better overall view of the area; but the lawless mentality of many who frequent that corner does not seem to be curtailed by the physical presence of police.
Near the corner of Bourbon and Canal, there is a van parked in a parking zone that is selling what is promoted as marijuana edibles. The van is painted with marijuana leaves and slogans suggesting that the product being sold contains pot. Is this legal?
Up and down Bourbon Street there are individuals acting as vendors for marijuana edibles. Some are pulling wagons of edible products. This has been going on for several years.
Since I support legalizing marijuana, I’m not bothered by the idea that people might be getting high, but my suspicion is that these products are bogus since selling pot on the street is still illegal. This has been allowed to the point where it has grown into a common practice and it is now impossible to go a block on Bourbon Street without seeing several edible pot vendors. This is another example of tolerated lawlessness.
The city of New Orleans has no option other than to crack down on the general sense of lawlessness that is now part of New Orleans, and that means addressing the behavior of individuals that may be voters or may have the empathy of voters.
Lawlessness is growing in downtown New Orleans and the French Quarter because our city is allowing it to grow. When will this be addressed?