Insider Outside: Looking from the Outside In …

By Aimee Thibodeaux

Welcome to Insider Outside. 

So, just what is this column about? 

It began in my head during Katrina as I listened to the news coming out of New Orleans and the comments being made by public officials.  But, before I get into the ‘why this column’ let me set the stage.

I am a life long resident of New Orleans and I finally left in 2003.  Although I live now in Chicago, I still spend a lot of time in the Crescent City – it’s a hard place to leave for too long.  Like most New Orleanians, I lost everything I owned in Katrina so I can relate to the pain, the loss and the frustration.    The only difference was that I was in Chicago watching the whole thing on television and the Internet as 50 years of personal and family possessions were washed away.

Listening and watching, I completely related to what was going on from having lived through so many other hurricanes.  At the same time, I knew that what the world was seeing and hearing would create a perspective that would eventually impact the city and region’s recovery.   

Through most of the coverage, I barely believed what I was seeing and hearing and how unacceptable much of it was.  From this outside perspective, my perch here in Chicago, I began to see New Orleans, Louisiana, the Gulf Coast and the South as it is often perceived by those who don’t understand the unique cultural customs and way of life that permeates this area.

As I have watched New Orleans and the Gulf South struggle to rebuild, I can look at both sides – as a New Orleanian and as an outsider, with an insider’s knowledge.  Most of us who have lived our whole lives in New Orleans for the most part don’t care how the rest of the world perceives us.  We also don’t care to step away to see how this perception affects us nor do we often think that this outside perspective can help us. 

When I talk to people in the city and region, often what I hear is “if I could just get outside the daily environment (crisis, craziness, trauma, news, politics – fill in the blank, please) maybe I could make some progress.”   It often seems that most folks ‘can’t see the forest for the trees.’

What I hope to do in writing this column is bring you an outside perspective, tempered with an insider’s knowledge, so perhaps, you can use it to your advantage to see the forest and the trees.

This column will appear once per week on Wednesday and will focus on New Orleans and Louisiana’s issues as seen from an insider on the outside.   It won’t always be the biggest issues because, lets face it, sometimes there’s nothing anyone can do about those.   I’ll choose issues, news items or comments that impact the area’s recovery potential.  They may be controversial, such as the recent report on Representative LaBruzzo’s proposal to offer voluntary sterilization to poor women for $1,000 or light-hearted such as, the soon-to-be-released documentary on Henry Butler’s summer music camp for blind students.   In most cases, the information that I’ll analyze for my commentary will come from outside sources – whether it’s resources on the Internet or personal interactions.

Your job as readers is to take this outside perspective and put it to good use.  You may not agree with me – that’s OK – it is, after all, my opinion – but if it spurs you on to take action then I’ve done my job. 

Aimee Thibodeaux is a pseudonym for a native New Orleanian living and working in another state.  She make frequent trips to the Crescent City to work, follows local news on-line and has her favorite Community Coffee dropped shipped to her home.   She can be reached at aimeethibodeaux54@gmail.com. 

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