A New Era for Politics?

Forgive the brevity of this post - in writing it, my internet cut out twice, refreshing my page without saving...so this is attempt number three. 

Biden's victory speech on Saturday night gave me some hope about the future of our country - but what I worry about is that people will forget that Trump did not cause the turmoil and division in the United States. People were pushing for more progressive policies (especially in healthcare and housing) under Obama, and I don't personally consider a Biden/Harris administration to be any more progressive than when Obama was in office. 

To truly change the political landscape, to embrace change that will improve society, and to eliminate the two-party system, we need to remember that going back to the status-quo we experienced before Trump took office is not a victory. Biden is our stepping stone out of the valley, but we can reach the top of the mountain without a lot more work. 

Something really important to me, going forward, (aside from getting COVID under control) is accessible, affordable housing. It is embarrassing to live in a country with so much wealth and still see people die on the streets every year because they are unsheltered, or lose their jobs because they have to move too far away from larger towns and cities. In Portland, there are minimal options for day and night shelter, despite constant new developments in areas previously considered run-down. There is also an immense shortage of actually affordable housing - and the waitlists for these units are years long. 

I'm thinking specifically of areas near the bottom of Munjoy Hill and in Kennedy Park - rather than upgrading buildings that exist or building affordable housing for residents, they're forced out to make room for half-million-dollar condos. Affluent, usually white, middle-class individuals move in, the value of the neighborhood goes up, and more people are forced to vacate their rental homes. It's a cycle perpetuated by the "free market" - and idea glorified by capitalists - and makes no attempt to question why it's okay for people to need to "earn" their right to safe, stable housing. 

Biden and Harris both spoke explicitly about pursuing racial justice - I hope they will both explore how racism intersects with all aspects of life, including housing and healthcare. 

Comments

  1. Kathryn WhiteheadNovember 11, 2020 at 12:29 PM

    Emily- I share your thoughts and worry regarding that particular area of Portland and how many people who have been living in that neighborhood seem to be " pushed out" my multi-million dollar investment buyers building massive high rises. What worries me the most about the homeless population in Portland is the fact that many resources and providers are with walking distance for support. Many people have voiced moving shelters/housing options out of the city but isolation does not solve or support any basic needs for the homeless population. Access to safe housing should be a basic human right my hope is that future government leaders start pushing policy forward that supports that.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Doreen AllingNovember 11, 2020 at 2:16 PM

    Emily, thank you for raising this important point. Not only has this been an issue since way before Trump, it seems that even though most of the reasons for homelessness in Portland are widely understood, no one is attempting to solve the problems that cause homelessness. A new development in the South Portland area is that former hotels are not being purchased as "housing" for homeless people. Again, these buildings aren't near any resources that people need to access and hotels aren't meant for long-term living (i.e. they don't have kitchens). The hotel solution sweeps people up and puts them out of sight - a metaphor for how the elite tackle complex problems today.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Daily HaleyNovember 11, 2020 at 6:23 PM

    Hi Emily,

    Great post. Thinking about people experiencing homelessness and the challenges that they face resonates deeply with me. As you pointed out, it is pretty repugnant that we are the wealthiest country in the world, yet we have a significant homeless population. In my opinion, the stigmatization around homelessness is not getting any better, in fact might be getting worse. Currently, my boyfriend and I are looking for an apartment in the South Portland area, and instead of being given positive recommendations we have been repeatedly informed of areas to avoid because "the homeless are everywhere". What is prohibiting us and the government from doing more to help? Why are we migrating those experiencing homelessness even further out of reach to resources? There is so much that needs to be addressed and improved and I just hope that we can make progress with new federal and local administration because our current situation does not foster the dignity and worth of individuals.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Are White People Inherently Racist?

 This week's readings, and especially "I Am Not Your Negro" (2018), have forced me to come to very honest terms with my own internalized biases in regards specifically to race.  I grew up in a small, predominantly white town and so never really thought about race. For years, I considered this to be an asset - how could I be racist if I'd never been told to hate people of color (POC)? How could I be racist when I was raised to judge people based on their character, and not on their appearance?  It wasn't until the protests in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014 that I began to come to terms with the fact that my whiteness, by default, placed me in a position to not only be ignorant to racism, but to perpetuate it without even realizing. I have mostly to thank authors and activists of color for writing articles about race-based police brutality and putting the lifelong experiences of POC into terms understandable by white people.  As we move into what I keep seeing referred ...
Read more

Who is Deserving?

This week, the Ingram & Schneider (2005) article really resonated with me, and felt especially relevant in our current political climate.  While there have long been division among people for various religious, moral, and political differences, the "us vs. them" mentality seems stronger than every these past few years. The divisions also seemed to be fueled by the same mechanisms that are currently bringing people together, such as widespread internet usage and virtual mobilization.  The "deservedness" discussed in the 2005 article refers mostly to who is and is not perceived to be deserving of good, positive things. But it also made me think of the way violence is justified against members of marginalized populations - the 17-year-old who shot and killed two people is justified in doing so because the protesters "attacked" him - they were deserving of death, and he is deserving of mercy.  Ingram and Schneider (2005) also mention the tendency for group...
Read more

A Post-Ruth World

 Friday, September 18th, at around 8pm, two friends were at my house for dinner. One of them looked at her phone and gasped, "Ruth Bader Ginsberg. She died."  My initial reaction was, "oh, shit." As a white woman of European descent, RBG represented to me the voice of gender equality on the Supreme Court bench, and her loss threatened to set back the many advances she supported.  But over the next couple of days, I saw many posts from WOC, Indigenous women, and BIPOC of all genders calling out the many harmful decisions RBG made or supported during her tenure. It's very hard, for me personally, to acknowledge that someone so widely regarded as symbol of progress was, in actuality, only a symbol of progress for a small part of the population.  I'm not saying RBG didn't do great things, nor am I saying no one is allowed to mourn the loss. She made her way to the Supreme Court as only the second woman ever, and the first Jewish woman. Her legacy is certainl...
Read more