Looking into the future the Pelican feeding its young from a self-induced wound in its own breast (as depicted, mysteriously, on the state flag of Louisiana) is accepted as an appropriate symbol of both self-sacrifice and rebirth. Through his selfless efforts, man is raised from the slavery of ignorance to the condition of freedom conferred by wisdom. Given the current state of affairs in Louisiana, one hopes that the understanding of the Pelican as a symbol shall point the way towards a new consciousness of ourselves as a whole, and lead us to face our futures with strength, grace, wisdom and faith, to learn from our mistakes and carry our successes and zest for living to future generations.

---

Blocking the Gretna Bridge, Racism & Resource Scarcity May Be Siamese Twins in a Post-Petroleum World

By Michael C. Ruppert
Reprinted from: www.fromthewilderness.com

Back in the 1950s a black and white film – I forget the title – posed a dilemma that will soon confront all of mankind. It is without doubt a question that most people are totally unwilling to face. In the wake of the sinking of a cargo ship, a group of survivors take refuge in an overcrowded lifeboat. The dilemma, which soon becomes apparent to the tiny ship’s officer in charge, is that there are too many people aboard the small craft and that it will sink and kill all of them unless someone is cast overboard. This actually happened in real life and the officer who made a decision to cast people off was subsequently exonerated. Instead of sacrificing all lives in a politically correct gesture, he saved some lives that would otherwise have been lost.

What happened after Hurricane Katrina is a different story.

In the aftermath of the storm we are seeing many ominous warnings of choices that will come to us all sooner or later as hydrocarbon energy reserves diminish in America and around the globe. None are easy. None are palatable. And none are politically correct. But hard science doesn’t care about being politically correct. Below is a story of what happened when the occupants of one lifeboat felt threatened at the prospect of taking on too many survivors – so they took on none. I neither agree with this nor endorse it. In fact it fills me with rage. The people of Gretna and Tarrytown, places I visited in 1977 during my heartbreaking discovery that the CIA was bringing drugs into this country, could and should have done better as thousands of New Orleans refuges started streaming across the Mississippi into these relatively unscathed communities. Instead of blocking the bridge and threatening to shoot the “unwashed” masses comprised largely of African-Americans, they had an obligation to extend aid to whomever they could. At some point also they would have been justified to say, “That’s enough, we just can’t take any more.” The fact that no attempt was made at all is what will remain forever unforgivable about this tragic episode.

It is a lesson for all of us.

As I continue to lift my eyes above the immediate horizon I see choices like this soon coming at all of us. Will it be the unwashed of Phoenix fleeing to Scottsdale? The gay, lesbian and Democratic hordes of San Francisco fleeing north into Marin County? The undereducated poor of Boston heading towards Martha’s Vineyard or Vermont? Or will it be millions of Manhattanites and Washington office workers eyeing the Amish farmlands of Pennsylvania and Ohio?

We are all only one hot, soothing shower away from being unwashed.

The racism of Gretna is obvious and despicable. But it is also predictable. Psychology 101 in almost all college courses directs our attention to fruit flies and red sturgeon. It tells how species recognize each other and form into societies based upon visual recognition. This is neither good nor bad. It just is and it is also ingrained in human behavior. What this story tells us is that we must chose to act differently if we are to survive as a species or even in a few fortunate communities. It’s easy to distinguish black, brown and yellow from white. It’s also a cop out (pardon the pun). What happened in Gretna is an archetypal model of what is coming for all of us and a warning; a very clear warning.

As we confront Peak Oil and Gas, and as we march headlong into a winter of devastation for the US economy from which there will likely be no recovery, all of us must force discussion of these issues now so that we can be prepared when the time comes and not linger in denial until the only option we have left is to revert to the level of the red sturgeon in panic or of the Gretna police department – also in panic.

Gretna also reinforces my stated position that local police agencies are going to become uniquely important as collapse becomes evident. Scientists like Richard Heinberg and I both see a “devolution” into feudal societies. Feudal societies were maintained by cadres of local knights and their first duties were to the people of their barony or fiefdom. This horrible tragedy took place in a region where racism is about as easy to find as a freshly shucked oyster used to be, so I am not surprised to see how it played out. I am only heartbroken.

My fear is how other, supposedly homogeneous communities will react.

How will all the “have” places react when they see the unwashed “have not” hordes approaching. At some point they will have to say we can’t take any more. At some point, they will have to defend their supply or risk hastening a total ecological collapse. But the decisions about whom and how many to save must be based upon some other criteria than race. Always, wherever possible, attempts must be made to save those who can be saved. It may be ultimately necessary to decide whom to save based upon skill sets. These decisions must be made by the people themselves in each place and not by Dick Cheney, David Rockefeller, Hillary Clinton or any other elite person or persons. Ultimately each locality will be forced to make its own choices and what will decide whether they are correct or not will be solely whether the community itself survives in nature. Diversity is a key to sustainability. I pray that we can do better than Gretna and the only way that we will is if we start talking about it right now.