Do white families deserve the crime Section 8 tenants bring with them?

Hi Kyra - thanks for reading. I always enjoy your posts, and it's great when people you like read your own stuff.

You're right about the title. I didn't mean it to be misleading, but I can see how it was. Thanks for your comments!

Hi Montie -

I don't think anyone deserves to live in crime. I'm not condemning people to crime, nor am I trying to guilt trip people. What I was trying to say, and maybe that was misunderstood, is that our country's policies over the years of segregation and discrimination created a lot of the neighborhoods that we are now dispersing. People who had no choice but to live in violent neighborhoods succumbed to the violence around them and their families were impacted by that. Now we're dispersing that crime, and alot of people are threatened by that, but I think it's important to see that our policies created that.

I don't understand your points about people not wanting to live in Section 8 housing. I generally agree with you - people use it as a stepping stone and want to move forward. I meet and talk with residents of all kinds of public housing every day, and that's my perspective on why people are there.

As far as guilt, I think there's a difference between guilt and understanding white privilege. I don't need to feel guilty to recognize that society has been structured to give advantages to some people at the cost of others. If people feel guilty about it, I think it's important that they reflect and fully understand our nation's history and the structural - not just the personal - causes of racism and poverty.

Thanks - I will update above.

Hi Andy -

I agree that the issue is not just race and housing. I don't think I can address all the issues in one single blog post. That would be a book. I think if you read my many many other posts, you would see many more issues being presented.

I agree about moving past the us and them mentality. I wanted to right this post to challenge people's ideas about what they "deserve." I think we're all quick to point fingers at each other and not take a wide look at what's happening and how that relates to what has happened. We can't forget our history just by correcting wrongs. It still lives with us and affects us.

However, I disagree with you on your last point. I do think the main issue is crime. But I think you can't put housing and wealth and crime and race into separate little boxes and deal with them. They're all intertwined. If we want to fix it, we have to take all of those things, even the ugly stuff.

Thanks for commenting, though. I really appreciate comments that are both challenging and kindly worded.

Hi Scam -

We're supposed to be a government for the people, by the people and of the people. So can we really separate ourselves from our policies?

An example for you. When CHA officials wanted to put public housing in upscale white neighborhoods in the 1950s and 60s, the alderman blocked them. It became a rule that if an alderman said no, he didn't have to have public housing in his ward. So that's the governments fault, right? Except the reason aldermen were against it is that they knew their constituents wouldn't be happy and they wouldn't get reelected. Our public officials represent us and our interests.

Well, of course, not all the time. Sometimes the government doesn't represent the people, and sometimes, even if it represents the majority of people, it ignores a small group or an individual's opinion.

And I don't think or hope (despite what many of these commenters have said) that people become the victims of crime or pay for failed policies. Not at all. I would never wish harm on anyone. I just wonder if what goes around comes around, and if, like it or not, we are "paying" for what our forefathers bought.

Thanks for reading and commenting.

Hi Tami -

It sounds like what you're going through is really frustrating. It must be so difficult to be a single mom of 2 and working so hard. Rent is so high everywhere, and it's so difficult to make ends meet. I imagine that years and years of that have made it really difficult for you.

I'm so sorry that you haven't been able to find any affordable housing choices. That sucks. A lady emailed me the other day to tell me that she actually did get on the Section 8 list over a year ago, but a year has gone by, and she learned they have not called a single name on it! There is such a shortage of affordable housing for working families like you who deserve it.

Since you have internet access, I saw these ads on the train the other day with two new sites for housing and food help.

They are: http://www.direct2housing.org/
and
http://www.direct2food.org/

Although the section 8 housing list isn't open, the public housing general list may open in this next year. I would also urge you to try local community development places like Bickerdike or Lawndale Christian Development Corporation. If you need help finding places to apply or getting information, please e-mail me at megan (dot) m (dot) cottrell (at) gmail.com. I would be happy to help. I know it's a very confusing and frustrating promise.

Thank you for all you do as a single mom, raising the next generation. It must be so hard to try to keep them on a good path when there are so many temptations out there. What you're doing is so important and I'm sure you aren't thanked enough or given the help you deserve.

Hi Scott - thank you so much for commenting. I appreciate you taking the time to share your ideas.

I certainly don't think that white people deserve to pay or hurt or be in trouble. That's not it at all. I'm asking a question - are we inheriting the consequences of our ancestors? Have we hurt people for so long that what goes around comes around, and we're now paying for it?

As far as being racist, I have already admitted that in a previous post. Thanks for pointing that out. I think it's impossible not to be racist in a society that's so highly racialized as our own.

Of course I know that there are middle and upper class people of color. I'm not talking about income - I'm talking about wealth. While there are many many families that have worked hard, like yourself, to create a good steady income for their family, the wealth gap is still there. A recent study shows that the average white family has a net worth of $90,000. The average Latino family? $8,000. And the average black family? Just $6,000.

Thank you for your suggestion that I learn about the world. There is always more to know. I do my best to read, listen to the news, write and most importantly, spend hours and hours of my time in public housing, listening to residents, going to meetings and understanding urban issues. But I appreciate your suggestion.

If you're interested in moving to another country, here's a site that can help you get a visa somewhere else. The cesspool will still be here if you want to visit.

Hi Scott - Thanks again for commenting. I'm actually quite happy because if you came back another time, it means you were still thinking about it after you left, which is what I intended.

I think you're right. Wishing someone ill would be a cause for alarm. Thank you for inquiring about my mental state and my upbringing. How kind of you to be so caring as to ask.

But, I think I'm doing something different here than wishing ill will on people. I explicitly said in the article that I want everyone to have a safe place to live. You, me, everybody.

What I'm saying is more along the lines of "what goes around comes around." Kind of like the idea of karma (although I'm not Hindu, so I probably shouldn't throw that idea around. Our cultural idea of "karma," I mean.) I think we as Americans hurt one group of people for a long time. We did it through slavery. We did it through Jim Crow, through segregation, through discrimination. And now we're trying to undo it, but it's messy. It means we locked people into communities where there was nothing to do but be a criminal or hide in fear, and now we're trying to undo that. But old habits die hard, and we're finding it isn't so easy to fix. And by fixing it, we're bringing harm on ourselves, which is frustrating and makes us defensive.

I can understand where you're coming from, but I meant the word "deserve" as a sort of a foil to the idea that we "deserve" a safe place to live. I think, as Americans, we also tend to be a bit entitled and feel like because we have a country that's peaceful and safe, that we deserve that when so many other people don't.

I don't hate myself. I'm really proud of my white heritage. My mother and her parents immigrated here from Poland to escape communist rule after WWII. I'm proud of their heritage, and proud that they chose to come here. But I can also recognize that being white in this country has come with certain advantages. They're advantages I didn't ask for, but they also benefited me. I wrote this to help people question the advantages they have had and think about what they are entitled to.

Again, thanks for commenting and thanks for coming back.

Hi urbancitygirl -

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy reading. Perhaps instead of chewing your friend out, you could just shrug your shoulders and say "that's not my cup of tea." I'd hate to be the cause of your friend feeling hurt and upset.

I'm confused about how you think the article stinks of white privilege. Maybe you could explain more about that. I do not, as you say, address the economic disparities between all races and ethnicities. I'm sometimes bothered when people write and say "but you didn't say this..." because it's one blog post, not a book. I don't have time to say everything or you would still be reading or have stopped because you got bored. Of course, problems with race and ethnicity and economics apply to more than just black and white. But I also think that the black/white race problem in America is very distinct and profound. That doesn't minimize the struggles of other people - it just means that it's something we should be able to address.

I also think it's a little funny that you are calling me "ignorant" and then telling me what kind of person I am. Just so you know, I studied political science and economics in college. I spent a summer living and working in Lawndale on the West side of Chicago, where my experience with race and economics led me to want to work in the city. I spend my time in public housing, talking to residents about their experiences and reading public policy books. I've never seen "The Hills," and I apologize, but I don't even know what "True Blood" is. I'm not particularly young, nor spoiled (although I have had a middle class upbringing), and I don't think anyone I know would call me "giggly." But, you are free to still hate this. That's fine.

Also, feel free to get your own blog and create your own journalism that you feel is good. I always find that a better solution than knocking someone else's work.