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Things change. Neighborhoods get gentrified. Neighborhoods get bombed. You adapt, or you die. Protesting progressive change is futile. You're not homeless beca

Things change. Neighborhoods get gentrified. Neighborhoods get bombed. You adapt, or you die. Protesting progressive change is futile. You're not homeless because rents went up in your little neighborhood in Oakland. You're homeless because you chose not to move when rents went up. People need to take responsibility for their actions. I would like to protest the protests of today.

drhayes9 13y ago
"Chose not to move" is an interesting angle. I'm pretty sure I don't support these protesters, but you're targeting the poor with your comments and I don't think that's fair. Here are some hypotheticals: * I live paycheck-to-paycheck and can't afford to pay the application fees, deposit, or moving costs to move to a new place. * My child attends a good school nearby and I'm investing in their long-term future; moving would save me money, sure, but there aren't other good schools in new neighborhoods I can afford that give me the same commute time. * My commute to work is bad enough as it is and moving farther away from the city center makes it worse. Higher commute times are long-term stressors to the human body: http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2011/05/your_commute_is_killing_you.html http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2011/05/your... * My blue-collar wage has stayed the same over the last thirty years while the prices of everything else have gone up. I am, thus, poorer. Moving doesn't solve that. * If I move away from my low-cost childcare, who takes care of my kid while I go to work long hours (especially with, say, a longer commute)?
- vacri 13y ago
  On your first point, I find it's a vastly underrated concept. People who aren't poor generally handwave away the costs of moving. In addition to the ones you state, there's also things like connection costs for utility bills. I moved about once a year in my 20s. We'd generally hire a trailer for $50 and move with sweat equity, but all these little "you're now 'initialising' in a new place" costs really add up.

drhayes9 13y ago

"Chose not to move" is an interesting angle. I'm pretty sure I don't support these protesters, but you're targeting the poor with your comments and I don't think that's fair. Here are some hypotheticals: * I live paycheck-to-paycheck and can't afford to pay the application fees, deposit, or moving costs to move to a new place. * My child attends a good school nearby and I'm investing in their long-term future; moving would save me money, sure, but there aren't other good schools in new neighborhoods I can afford that give me the same commute time. * My commute to work is bad enough as it is and moving farther away from the city center makes it worse. Higher commute times are long-term stressors to the human body: http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2011/05/your_commute_is_killing_you.html http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2011/05/your... * My blue-collar wage has stayed the same over the last thirty years while the prices of everything else have gone up. I am, thus, poorer. Moving doesn't solve that. * If I move away from my low-cost childcare, who takes care of my kid while I go to work long hours (especially with, say, a longer commute)?

vacri 13y ago
On your first point, I find it's a vastly underrated concept. People who aren't poor generally handwave away the costs of moving. In addition to the ones you state, there's also things like connection costs for utility bills. I moved about once a year in my 20s. We'd generally hire a trailer for $50 and move with sweat equity, but all these little "you're now 'initialising' in a new place" costs really add up.