Creighton Bernette is Not Alone

HBO's new series called 'Treme' is getting a mountain of press with much of the focus on the character Creighton Bernette played by mega-star John Goodman.

In the premier episode, Bernette became agitated every time he heard the August 2005 flooding described as a 'natural' event. Bernette insists the flooding is due to mistakes by the federal government (Army Corps of Engineers) in building the levee system that was supposed to protect its citizens.

At the Rusty Nail in New Orleans, viewers watch the debut episode of HBO's Treme.
Photo by Judi Bottoni

A Telegraph (UK) article describes Bernette's antics, but seems to depict his message as representative of a small fringe group.

Actually, the concept that the flooding of metro New Orleans was a federal failure is household knowledge in south Louisiana.

Case in point, the New Orleans City Council last October passed a resolution urging all local media to refrain from saying the flooding was 'caused by Katrina.'

Furthermore, actor John Goodman is a spokesperson for Levees.org, an organization not afraid to point out that the flooding of New Orleans was due overwhelmingly and primarily to government mistakes. Goodman volunteered his time to appear in a public service announcement for the group in 2007.

Levees.org, a nearly 25,000 member non-profit with chapters in six states is a highly respected organization. Three of its staffers are members of mayor-elect Mitch Landrieu's transition team on flood protection (Stephen Rosenthal, H.J. Bosworth Jr and Sandy Rosenthal).

Bottom line, the idea that the flooding of New Orleans was a 'federal f-up of epic proportions' (the words of Creighton Bernette) is rapidly becoming mainstream.

And with 55% of the American population living in counties protected by levees, that mainstreaming will benefit the majority.