In the aftermath of yesterday's second line shooting in New Orleans came this report from the Gambit:
Among the injured was Gambit correspondent Deborah Cotton, who covers second line, Mardi Gras Indian and Social Aid & Pleasure Club culture for the paper under the name "BIg Red" Cotton. Cotton was hit directly by gunfire and taken to intensive care for surgery. She is in guarded but stable condition tonight, according to doctors. This morning, Cotton had tweeted, "A very Happy Mother's Day to all! See U at the 2nd line today w/ @TBC_BrassBand."
In the above video, (from May of last year) Ms. Cotton talks about the terrible toll street violence has taken in New Orleans.
"I believe that it can be prevented We are just not being smart and strategic about how to address this in a systematic way. ...It's not being diminished at all. Every six months someone you know, a friend of someone or a family member of someone you know is murdered. After a while it begins to really tear at you internally. I feel that we're at the point where we can not NOT fix this any more."