The risk of going to a Mardi Gras parade

[xobelkcat]

Do yall feel it's worth it?

Let me say I've lived in Slidell my whole life, I've been to countless parades over the years.
I work in the city everyday and have for about a decade. I see and hear what goes on.

Over the last few years it seems the number of people shot or stabbed keeps increasing.
I've read replies from members on here, who have been in the worst parts of the world during conflict, say they won't attend parades in the city (N.O.).

My girlfriend, the love of my life, has a completely oblivious view of the dangers of that city. Especially during Mardi Gras.

I try to inform her, try to show her what kind of people are out there and their complete disregard for human life.

She feels like, it's never happened to her so she must be doing somthing right. I think this view point is going to get her in trouble.

What do yall say? I'm I being over protective? What should I say or do? This has been an on going discussion between us for years.

 

[LACamper]

I dont go in town any more. Its not worth it.

 

[charlie12]

Not for me. I think she needs to keep up with what's going on.

 

[oleheat]

No.


Go buy her a large box of cheap beads to throw at her while you drink beer. Same thing without all the hassles.... and if she has a good sense of humor- a lot safer.

 

[xobelkcat]

Worst part is, she reads all the news outlets every morning!!

 

[oleheat]

On a serious note, it's a safe bet that SOMEWHERE in NOLA today, Fat Tuesday, that at least 2 morons at a parade will bump into/look at one another the wrong way, and then the usual feral behavior will follow.

Personally, I make it a point to avoid that mess. But that's just me.

 

[xobelkcat]

That's the exact message I try to relay to her, only she thinks I'm just looking at the worst case sanarios. "Because that stuff never happens".

I show her statistics that show N.O. Having over 300 murders a year and Slidell averaging 1 a year, you'd think that would be evidence enough. She says "bad stuff can happen anywhere".

How do I get her to realize the place is dangerous, and a complacent mindset can get you killed?

 

[LACamper]

she wants to walk bourbon st? or go uptown and watch parades?

Parades would be ok but only with a big group. Even then you have to worry if the kid next to you ticked off someone and is going to get shot at...

 

[oleheat]

I'd point out to her that it's already happened, this Mardi Gras season (on Friday, I believe)....Two shot & killed.

I hear the same stuff. But no one will convince me that your chances of getting inadvertently caught up in a "gentlemen's disagreement" don't go up like a rocket when you attend that 3-ring circus. They can have it.

 

[charlie12]

Get a new girlfriend before she gets you killed too.

 

[Redd508]

The problem is that of the thousands of ppl on the street there are only a relative few that are assaulted. Statistically the numbers are high but many ppl dont believe they can be part of that number. Add on to that the idea that even if it does happen, the desire to be in the party overrides good sense and reason as lightning never strikes the same place twice (so they think). I have a coworker that was robbed at gun point. He saw it coming and just stood there with his hands up. By his own account he saw the gun in hand from across the parking lot. Some ppl are unwilling to see and even less willing to act. He hasnt made any notable changes in his lifestyle 4 years later. He just talks about one day getting a gun.

 

[buttanic]

You are more likely to get killed in a accident driving to the parade than shot at the parade. New Orleans paranoia runs rampant in those who live outside its city limits. I live in La Place and someone pointed out that the murder rate is higher in St John Parish than in Orleans Parish so I guess I would be safer in NOLA.

 

[oleheat]

I bet I'm less likely to encounter a New Orleans pick-pocket while driving there, though.



I mean, if it's someone's thing, who am I to say they're wrong? I just know it's just not for me.

 

[Barry J]

If you want a treat, go to Esplinade and sit on the side of the road near the fire station. As it gets dark, you would be surprised what comes out of the Frenchman Street area headed toward the French Quarter.

 

[xobelkcat]

You are more likely to get killed in a accident driving to the parade than shot at the parade. New Orleans paranoia runs rampant in those who live outside its city limits. I live in La Place and someone pointed out that the murder rate is higher in St John Parish than in Orleans Parish so I guess I would be safer in NOLA.

I understand odds and probabilities. I understand that driving is more likely to kill you. But, my question was, are parades worth the risk. I have to drive, I don't have to drive down I-12 for example, one of the deadliest interstates in the country( or at least it was few years back).

I can go to parades other places like covington, I don't have to go to N.O. To have worthless $h!t thrown at me.
This is not paranoia. If you go to places heavily populated with ignorant people, bad things are more likely to happen.
To make matters worse, Mardi gras attracts a lot more ignorance. And so does alcohol!

I'm I wrong?

 

[Hattrick 22]

If she wants to go just put so many stipulations on it that it becomes impossible to find one your willing to go with. I think women do this to us on a regular basis and we call it being difficult... lol

 

[CUJOHUNTER]

Whether we're talking crime, public lewdness, public drunkeness, lack of parking, lack of toilets, price of parking and the price of food or drink.... parades, IMO, ARE NOT WORTH IT. Of course, if your used to it like am, it's a moot point. I'm a lifelong NOLA resident and Mardi Gras had become more inconvenient than anything. Dangerous? Just as dangerous as any other day in the Big Easy. Street smarts will keep you alive in this city, and they will any other big city. People who live outside of Orleans Parish city limits have more paranoia about living in the city than those that live there currently. To the die hard MG party goers that do this year after year with no incident, the thought of crime will never deter them from their yearly tradition. I've become immune to it and go on with my regular business and deal with the delays and stupidity that grows rampant the closer you get to Fat Tuesday.

 

[mr.z28]

personally because of the activities the city is known for I have no reason to go minus a pels or saints game. with that said I think street smarts and situational awareness will take you a long way. I think if you grow up in a certain environment you can obtain a sense of when fecal matter is about to go down but if you're oblivious it's easier to be a "innocent bystander." just tell her some sappy but true stuff like you'd die if something happened to her and that y'all can have just as much fun somewhere else.

 

[Kraut]

Kinda late to get a good spot now, but go. When you consider the large influx of extra people, condensed into the relatively small area that is the parade route, statistically a dozen people could get shot and it would be a low number day. It's not that the parade necessarily draws any extra violence, it's more like that day's shooting just happened to occur near the parade, and just may have occurred on the same corner at the same time even without the parade going on. It could happen at the red light you're stopped at on the way to work, on the I-10 in the East (several times over the last few years), or even in your driveway in Slidell when you've been followed home (like the Samantha Jaume murder in Mandeville). My point is don't let fear rule your life, and don't let the thugs win. If everybody stays home because someone might shoot someone somewhere at sometime during the parade, then the parade krewes are gonna be throwing all that stuff at a couple dozen criminals spread over several miles of empty streets.

 

[MTregre]

I don't go into the city anymore. And I don't 'P-rade'.

I was glad to read this thread and see like minded people putting up with their GFs or wives arguments and wishful thinkings. I've been preaching the same thing to my wife for over 6years now. I go to our local parade as a compromise.