Dawnsinger

Today is Twelfth Night . . . Epiphany . . . the first day of Mardi Gras (or Carnival, to the purists).

There’s an almost obscene irony in the air today, in this city whose mystique derives from historic juxtapositions of deep miseries and joys.

On Friday, two items illustrate this perfectly.

From MSNBC, commenting on the numbing bloodbath ongoing in New Orleans:

In the last week more Americans have died in New Orleans than in Iraq. Since Dec. 29, there have been eight military deaths. In the Big Easy, there have been 14 murders.
(read full story)

We did the math here, too, based on the national “shock” over the American death toll in Iraq reaching 3,000. On a per-capita basis, one of every 100,000 Americans have died in Iraq. On a per-capita basis, from 60 to 80 of every 100,000 New Orleanians died in the past year. Just to put things in perspective.

And now 14 slayings in a week. Seven slayings within 24 hours. That’s just the dead. And scattered geographically in a way that proves there are no safe neighborhoods. The fear in the city, and in our office, is palpable.

Friday morning’s lead headline in the Times-Picayune had to use lurid terms even to approach a description of the situation: Killings bring city to its bloodied knees

This headline also noted grabbed the attention of MSNBC

And in the middle of this bloodbath, it’s Mardi Gras.

While the Times-Picayune was describing a city under siege, Mayor Ray Nagin’s office issued this release:

MAYOR NAGIN KICKS-OFF 2007 CARNIVAL SEASON

NEW ORLEANS, LA (January 5, 2007) - Mayor C. Ray Nagin will kick-off the 2007 Carnival Season with the city’s annual King Cake Party on Saturday, January 6, at 10 a.m. in Gallier Hall. The University of Maryland at College Park Marching Band will perform at this year’s event . . . Carnival begins with the Feast of the Three Kings (Epiphany) on January 6 and concludes at midnight on Mardi Gras Day (Fat Tuesday), February 20, 2007.

So in a few hours, the Mayor and the monarchs of Mardi Gras will meet to slice king cake. At the same time, the first parade of the season, Alla, kicks off in Gretna. And at roughly the same time, the jazz funeral of a band leader gunned down earlier this week will step off.

At 7 p.m. Zeus rolls in Metairie, and the Phunny Phorty Phellows “hijacks” a streetcar for its traditional Mardi Gras kickoff event. On Sunday, there will be a march on City Hall to demand action on the slayings that are the last straw for many residents on the fence about whether to leave, stay or not return.

At NOLA.com, which slugged its way through Katrina and its aftermath, staffers are seriously discussing leaving town. What Katrina left standing, the post-apocalyptic killing frenzy is tearing down. And as Jose Narosky wrote: “In war, there are no unwounded soldiers.”

Last year, Carnival was a show of determination to survive and rebuild. Today it feels like a desperate act of denial.

Let the good times roll. Let them eat king cake.