Comments on: NIMBYs of the Fighting Southeast! In Crosscut.com

By: sfb

sfb — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 03:23:26 +0000

Owners who've purchased under special programs in the last couple of years. Deadbeats come in all shapes and sizes just like teachers or cops.

By: Seattle Renter

Seattle Renter — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 01:55:59 +0000

All this anti-renter bias is just fascinating. Columbia City has one of the highest rates of foreclosure in Seattle. That means the real deadbeats are the owners, not the renters.

By: Denise

Denise — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 00:50:53 +0000

Here's another:

The basic dispute over the Southeast District Council is this: Should a board set up to provide neighborhood representation in city affairs for activist and business groups be subverted to serve the aims of social service groups who move in and take over? Social service groups all share the same basic agenda—they want more public money to be pumped into their groups and especially development money, to allow them to build housing projects and other facilities. These public dollars may provide some benefit to low-income people and renters (while also performing the all-important function of paying the salaries of the social service employees) but does that really mean that social service agency employees are the true voice of low-income people and renters? Not in my book.

Here’s your problem, John: You tried to get involved in neighborhood activism and found that you disagree with many of your neighbors. Here’s your solution: You want to silence your neighbors and give their voice to social service folks who agree with your feel-good, liberal, pro-density agenda. My question is this: Once you have given away the pipeline to City Hall for Southeast residents to paid private-sector employees, how do low-income people, renters, and enlightened new residents such as yourself obtain a voice in city affairs?

— J.R.

By: Denise

Denise — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 00:45:23 +0000

Since you reprinted Hooles piece of fiction, might you also want some of the comments:

I left Seattle due the ramifications of these problems.

FWIW, the worst are the bureaucrats, state and city, working on their own time. Social service types are a problem, but, FWIW, I don't think it's the rank and file DSHS folks so much as it is the rejects from MSW central - the ones that populate much of the 'community service' ranks.

Perhaps the most disgusting thing is the neighborhood representative that thinks they are to high and mighty to even talk with the folks they are supposed to be representing. This, too, is an attitude seen often in government service.

Inclusion and a true diversity must be the hallmarks of a neighborhood group - and, yes, that means folks will disagree more often than not. The important thing is to be able to focus on the things that everyone agrees on and not prevent the good works of eccentrics who aren't otherwise harming anyone.

The whole term 'NIMBY' has always struck me as strange. It is certainly the right of a single family neighborhood to stay that way. What is more absurd is the bureaucrat who starts accusing anyone who doesn't agree with them as somehow being 'negative'.

I saw a classic example of this just yesterday afternoon with a presumably very high paid Sound Transit official, Marty Johnson, if I recall the name right.

The issue involved the Sounder and Link crossing of Pacific in Downtown Tacoma. This guy, rather than actually listening to a group of very well educated lay folks instead insisted on playing PC bulldozer politics accusing anyone pointing out a complete failure of his in a respectful fashion as somehow being rude, or worse.

Remember, we are paying people to call us trash.

— Douglas Tooley

By: Denise

Denise — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 22:27:48 +0000

Trellis,

It is a sad thing that you've chosen to give this piece of fiction any credence. I know most all of these individuals and they are not NIMBY's. Mr. Hoole has not attended community meetings for years as I have and is simply unaware of the truth and following a path laid by SEDC leadership to smear community volunteers. Do you know Mariana Quarnstrom? Pat Murakami? Neither does Mr. Hoole and he did not speak with even one of these people. And it is thought to be true because people like you who know almost nothing about the conflict pick up and spread CRAP like this.

Your neighbor,
Denise Gloster