A series of essays....
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| BEING EVICTED FROM YOUR HOME WILL LEAVE LIFELONG SCARS ON YOUR MIND, HEART & SOUL!
Courtesy John Moore/Getty Images
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....as seen through my eyes!
By: Jacqueline E Hughes
During a conversation with one of Kalamazoo’s City Commissioners last Thursday, while discussing a grave problem that has plagued our vital, little neighborhood for months now and isn’t going away, soon...I was taken aback by a simple statement he made: “Our offices are going to become quite busy in the coming months as we address the real concerns of those who might (will) be evicted from their homes.”
Instantly, my breath was stifled under my black, triple-filtered mask...more so than usual. I realized that in my attempt to help correct one problem, I’d completely ignored another; a calamity brought about by the inevitable onslaught of a seemingly uncontrollable virus that has given birth to a domino effect that haunts each of us, one way or another.
This ‘Trump Show’ began in earnest back on January 20, 2017, when good men such as Congressman John Lewis understood and refused to personally advance it by calling Trump an “illegitimate president” and declined to attend his inauguration and, subsequently, his State of the Union Address.
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| PORTRAIT OF JOHN LEWIS AND BARACK OBAMA BY DAN LACEY |
Trump, a vindictive and illiterate man, has lied his way into our lives. Unexpectedly finding himself in the White House, his priorities soon became clear: benefit himself financially by any means possible; lie, cheat, and cahoot with anyone, including foreign dictators, in order to serve his own cause; turn against and demean anybody who fails to agree with or challenges him privately or publicly; use his status to breakdown a democratic system that past presidents have rightfully preserved as the backbone of this great nation, and, finally, to quench his desire to totally discredit and wipe-out any good deed, law, or benefit to the people that was initiated or brought to fruition by our previous president, Barack Obama.
Completely oblivious to any form of code of conduct and lacking a moral compass, this man blighted us with, not only, an apparent lack of education when it comes to basic, high school level, U.S. Government knowledge, but subsequently displayed his unwillingness to learn it as a sitting president.
Due to this cavalier attitude, we the people have suffered enormous wrongs, which include: minimizing clean air and water quality; drilling for oil and gold and hunting wildlife within our National Parks; the discovery that Putin had placed bounties on the heads of American troops; the incarceration of children along our southern border; the denial of a worldwide deadly virus and failure to appropriately issue assistance via PPE, testing, and sound virus strategies as the virus spread from state to state, as well as the unconscionable price we have paid for his failures in the midst of this pandemic including the closure of small businesses, loss of jobs, the enabling of personal mental health instability, and the unnecessary loss of so many American lives.
And, this is strictly a ‘short list.’
And, this is strictly a ‘short list.’
Congress approved a bill to provide $600-per-week towards unemployment insurance for those losing their jobs due to the pandemic which has, ultimately, kept the economy stronger than anyone had the right to hope for. The unemployed have been able to pay their rent and/or house payment, purchase food for their family, and pay their bills.
And now, as this important ‘virus relief’ has officially expired and has not been renewed, the talks slog on with millions of people still out of work. Employment, especially minimum wage jobs, are unavailable due to the consequences of the pandemic and financial futures remain unprotected and frightening.
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HOW DO YOU MANAGE YOUR MENTAL HEALTH DURING A PANDEMIC?
Courtesy of FIT
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Progress is slow as the urgency grows on virus relief talks. If the weak Republican proposal is signed and benefits are downgraded to $200-per-week, the compensation will not be enough to keep these families in good stead towards running even a minimal life style or provide protection from banks and landlords who hold jurisdiction over retaining a roof over their heads.
We’ve been here before and not so very long ago. The extreme struggles many of us were made to endure in 2008 are now lurking around the corner, again. The psychological ramifications from having no control over your life is tantamount to having a battering ram threaten to smash in your skull every minute of the day. You can never stop thinking about it and it is certain to take its physical toll on you in due time.
So, when our friend from the City of Kalamazoo reminded us of the inevitable outcome initiated by the government dragging its feet and allowing for hardworking people to lose their homes, my heart skipped a beat. He explained how he, as a City Commissioner, will be one member of our local government who must appropriately handle the calls and text messages filled with emotional complaints and desperate pleas made by desperate citizens living in our area of the State of Michigan in the next few months. Tears fill my eyes as I can already hear these frantic voices cry out and employ any means possible in order to cling to their dreams; cling to the American Dream they have strived for, secured (for the most part) and now stand to lose.
I have labeled one consequence of this sad, repetitive situation as ‘inevitable evictions’ for a reason. The current administration has been notorious for breaking down the little guy, the middle class, the working poor, for nearly four years by way of taking away any means possible towards making life more viable, healthy, and profitable for them. For now, the pandemic has afforded this administration the means to justify their actions.
The protection of fundamental human rights should be the primary objective for supporting democracy and its principles. As our government and all of its elected participants continue talks on virus relief this week, we can only hope that a timely and suitable outcome is achieved before people find themselves living out of their automobiles or stretching the fabric of health and wellbeing by having to move into a relative’s home. I do not see evictions as a feasible, emergency plan for riding out this financial storm during a deadly pandemic.
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| EVICTING FAMILIES FROM THEIR HOMES IN THE MIDDLE OF A PANDEMIC IS CRUEL AND DANGEROUS.
Courtesy Getty Images
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How does one conform to the plausible advice of our public health officials and governors who call for ‘staying home practices’ during this health crisis if people have no place to call home anymore?
We the people need to get a grip on how much we have lost and how much more we stand to lose. In a time when coronavirus heroes, nurses and all healthcare workers, are getting tossed from their homes by landlords who fear they may bring the coronavirus home with them, there is much to fear on both sides of our current situation. I pray we find some common ground when handling our lives and dealing with others from here on out by means of common sense and intelligence thinking, if nothing else.
Reality is that ‘The Heroes Act,’ proposed almost three months ago and immediately passed by the Congress, has waited all this time to gain a reaction from the Upper Chamber led by Mitch McConnell who continues to drag his feet and delay forward momentum. If this non-action continues, it will surely be considered a formula for further disaster.
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| IF YOU CAN’T PAY YOUR HOUSE PAYMENT OR RENT DURING THE CORONAVIRUS CATASTROPHE, LET’S HOPE THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WILL HAVE YOUR BACK...
Courtesy Flickr
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Stay safe. Stay healthy. If you are not already, please register to vote. VOTE IN NOVEMBER! OUR LIVES DEPEND ON IT!
Copyright © 2020 by Jacqueline E Hughes
All rights reserved
