I'm sorry, but I don't find anything to "celebrate" from this "ceremony". Here we have Mayor Anthony Williams, Council Chair Linda Cropp, Ted Lerner and others breaking ground (looks like a pile of sand) for the new Washington National's stadium. How can you celebrate when your groundbreaking displaces a significant part of a community's resources, when there already existed a perfectly acceptable stadium which could have saved millions of dollars just by being renovated?
How oxymoronic it is to watch the news and see the succedaneum crowd around 1/2 and O Sts., SE yesterday. It appeared as though Williams had marched the "queers" out of SE and the "desirables" came in to take over and started by using the area as a lyceum to announce victory; Jazz band and all. Only problem is.....just in the news footage alone, I recognized 3, count them 3 patrons of the infamous Glorious Health and Amusement Center. They loved being amused in a "healthy" way, OH SO MUCH! That argillaceous pile of sand posing as dirt is symbolic of the views the whole kit and kaboodle has of former people that held claim to that area of this beautiful city.
3 comments:
Well written, Martin! You mirror my own feelings about the closure of the businesses in this area. They'll tell you that they have nothing against gay people in general, and gay businesses in particular. But look at what's been displaced and think for a minute. A car barn for the Washington Metro Bus system has to be shut down. I think that the bus storage and repair facility will find a new home. A scattering of poor residents will be forced from their houses. I'm sure that the DC government will work with them to find them a new home. Several warehouses and a concrete company were or will be shut down. I imagine that the DC government will go out of their way to find them a new home.
What will the DC government do about the fags? There were 5 or more legitimate, tax-paying businesses that brought hundreds of law-abiding people into the area on a regular basis, enhancing DC city revenues directly through the tax base, through the use of taxis and local overnight accommodations, the purchase of meals, wines, liquors, and other regular supplies. DC made mega-bucks on parking tickets alone for unsuspecting visitors to the area. Do you think for a minute that the DC government is going to lift a finger to assist the shuttered gay businesses in finding a new home?
I don't deny that the area is 'prime' for a stadium; after all, there are a minimum of residents to displace. Even accepting all of their rather shaky arguments about the need for the site, the unsuitability of RFK Stadium, and all the rest, the plain and simple truth is that everyone else who was or is affected by this situation will get a helping hand to relocate. The gay-owned and oriented businesses get a minimal severance buy-out package instead, and a warning not to let the door hit them on the way out. And what of their customers? Nothing at all, of course. Its as if we don't even e
Oops! Apparently I used a few too many words.
The end of my comment was:
And what of their customers? Nothing at all, of course. Its as if we don't even exist.
How does it feel to be an "undesireable"?
Joe
It sucks to be an undesirable. But I do look at the root of the disdain and undesirability. I think we all can agree on one thing for certain. To each other, both sides are undesirable!
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