Sheriff Jack Strain of predominantly-white St. Tammany Parish in Louisiana has a post-Katrina problem: low-income immigrants from predominantly-black New Orleans. More specifically, how to get rid of them:
"The federal government is going to find somewhere for them to live. I don't want to see temporary housing because of Katrina turn into long-term housing for a bunch of thugs and trash that don't need to be in St. Tammany Parish. That's something that we need to be aware of today and all leaders need to be vigilant and observant to see what's going on. We don't want to wake up one day and find out that New Orleans has been damn successful at running all of the trash out of the city and it end up roosting in St. Tammany."
If you had any doubts about exactly who Sheriff Strain is referring to, don't worry.
He doesn't mind saying it outright:
"Now, I don't get into calling people names, but if you're gonna walk the streets of St. Tammany Parish with dreadlocks and chee-wee hairstyles, then you can expect to get a visit from a sheriff's deputy ... We're going to deal with you one way or the other."
I'm a little concerned about exactly what he would have said if he
were "into calling people names," but let's just say that his, uh, crimefighting strategy
has not gone unnoticed by the ACLU and NAACP. His response?
"Shame on them. I hope they go to bed with visions of murdered teenagers in their heads."
We do, Sheriff Strain. We do.
