Dirty Dancing with the Developers:
Makin’ Dollars or Manifest Destiny ?
Paul Scott
Dirty Dancing with the Developers:
Makin’ Dollars or Manifest Destiny ?
Paul Scott
“If you dance with the devil, the devil don't change. The devil changes you..."
Joaquin Phoenix from 8mm
When the owner of Dick Dastardly Development first came to town he was met with hisses and boos by politicians and their constituents who cried foul at the mere thought of citizens in their
city being displaced. But when he promised to build a much needed, affordable combination golf course and ski lodge in the hood, the boos quickly turned to cheers and he was awarded the key to the city….
One of the most difficult issues facing the Bull City in 2018 is gentrification. After all, who doesn’t want their modest southern town transformed into a more ritzy area like downtown Manhattan. Well, it depends on who you ask, those who stand to make a load of money from the transformation or those who may lose their be- ever -so -humble homes.
The well off and the poor see gentrification through different lenses. As the old saying goes “whether the glass is half empty or half full depends on who’s a-drinkin’ and who’s a-pourin’.”
Even those who, vehemently, oppose the process have different rationales for doing so. If you are middle class ,displacement means the old oak tree with your childhood sweetheart’s name carved in it might get chopped down. But for the poor, it is the uncertainty of not knowing where your family may end up.
The perception of neighborhood renewal is, also, packed with historical baggage.
There was a time in this country when the powerful could “ buy” Manhattan for 24 dollars worth of beads. Or in some cases just outright take whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted it in the name of progress. As much as we hate to admit it, terms like “eminent domain” and “manifest destiny” are as American as apple pie.
If you come from a wealthy family who have prospered from the American dream , urban renewal just comes with the territory. But what about the descendant of Africans who had their land stolen by colonizers. Or Native Americans and Mexican Americans whose ancestors were removed from their soil ? Not to mention that poor white American of Appalachia who’s great grandfather's farm is now a coal mine.
So, whether you see someone as a shrewd business tycoon or a neo-colonizer is a matter of opinion.
Right now, many Durham citizens, at least in theory, oppose gentrification. Nobody wants to go on record cosigning somebody’s grandma getting kicked out on the street. But people are fickle and public outrage is a fleeting moment soon forgotten. Especially, when it’s so easy to catch amnesia when you get hit upside the head with a stack of dollar bills. Or when some tough guys in dark Ray-Bans drag you in a back room and make you an offer you can’t refuse.
Let’s keep it really real. In a capitalist society, money talks and there is a $6,000 degree of separation between anger and acquiescence.
The guys who come struttin’ in to City Hall meetings with Brooks Brothers suits and penny loafers sleep good at night after donating a couple of grand to an affordable housing fund or to the local schools system.
So, even though I may see developers as ruthless Snidely Whiplash-type villains with black top hats and stringy mustaches who kick puppies when nobody’s looking, the general public is easily swayed by even the cheesiest PR campaign.
Personally. I’ve always rooted for the underdog and patterned myself after the patron saint of the lost cause, so excuse me for being more skeptical than the, eternally, optimistic who believe that all's well that ends well.
Even some Durham leaders seem to believe that ,perhaps, there is a silver lining in this rapidly expanding cloud of doom and despair.
I hate to be a Debbie Downer but there are no happy ending here. Compassionate Capitalism is an oxymoron and someone is gonna be left out in the cold come next winter.
Sometimes there is no middle ground. It’s just the rich once again stickin’ it to the poor.
But you will still have some who are lost in Dave Mason’s 70’s AM playlist purgatory where “there ain’t no good guys. There ain’t no bad guys. There’s just you and me and we just disagree.”
If only it was that simple…
Makin’ Dollars or Manifest Destiny ?
Paul Scott
“If you dance with the devil, the devil don't change. The devil changes you..."
Joaquin Phoenix from 8mm
When the owner of Dick Dastardly Development first came to town he was met with hisses and boos by politicians and their constituents who cried foul at the mere thought of citizens in their
city being displaced. But when he promised to build a much needed, affordable combination golf course and ski lodge in the hood, the boos quickly turned to cheers and he was awarded the key to the city….
One of the most difficult issues facing the Bull City in 2018 is gentrification. After all, who doesn’t want their modest southern town transformed into a more ritzy area like downtown Manhattan. Well, it depends on who you ask, those who stand to make a load of money from the transformation or those who may lose their be- ever -so -humble homes.
The well off and the poor see gentrification through different lenses. As the old saying goes “whether the glass is half empty or half full depends on who’s a-drinkin’ and who’s a-pourin’.”
Even those who, vehemently, oppose the process have different rationales for doing so. If you are middle class ,displacement means the old oak tree with your childhood sweetheart’s name carved in it might get chopped down. But for the poor, it is the uncertainty of not knowing where your family may end up.
The perception of neighborhood renewal is, also, packed with historical baggage.
There was a time in this country when the powerful could “ buy” Manhattan for 24 dollars worth of beads. Or in some cases just outright take whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted it in the name of progress. As much as we hate to admit it, terms like “eminent domain” and “manifest destiny” are as American as apple pie.
If you come from a wealthy family who have prospered from the American dream , urban renewal just comes with the territory. But what about the descendant of Africans who had their land stolen by colonizers. Or Native Americans and Mexican Americans whose ancestors were removed from their soil ? Not to mention that poor white American of Appalachia who’s great grandfather's farm is now a coal mine.
So, whether you see someone as a shrewd business tycoon or a neo-colonizer is a matter of opinion.
Right now, many Durham citizens, at least in theory, oppose gentrification. Nobody wants to go on record cosigning somebody’s grandma getting kicked out on the street. But people are fickle and public outrage is a fleeting moment soon forgotten. Especially, when it’s so easy to catch amnesia when you get hit upside the head with a stack of dollar bills. Or when some tough guys in dark Ray-Bans drag you in a back room and make you an offer you can’t refuse.
Let’s keep it really real. In a capitalist society, money talks and there is a $6,000 degree of separation between anger and acquiescence.
The guys who come struttin’ in to City Hall meetings with Brooks Brothers suits and penny loafers sleep good at night after donating a couple of grand to an affordable housing fund or to the local schools system.
So, even though I may see developers as ruthless Snidely Whiplash-type villains with black top hats and stringy mustaches who kick puppies when nobody’s looking, the general public is easily swayed by even the cheesiest PR campaign.
Personally. I’ve always rooted for the underdog and patterned myself after the patron saint of the lost cause, so excuse me for being more skeptical than the, eternally, optimistic who believe that all's well that ends well.
Even some Durham leaders seem to believe that ,perhaps, there is a silver lining in this rapidly expanding cloud of doom and despair.
I hate to be a Debbie Downer but there are no happy ending here. Compassionate Capitalism is an oxymoron and someone is gonna be left out in the cold come next winter.
Sometimes there is no middle ground. It’s just the rich once again stickin’ it to the poor.
But you will still have some who are lost in Dave Mason’s 70’s AM playlist purgatory where “there ain’t no good guys. There ain’t no bad guys. There’s just you and me and we just disagree.”
If only it was that simple…
