the taking is what they called it in boston. it's an apt term for what happens when money talks and people are silenced. it's what happens in the continual war on the poor and the theft of green space. call it land grab, urban renewal, or the taking, it's all the same thing.
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"no ordinary citizens are providing input or have the ability to shape what is happening. and what is happening is a breathlessly ad hoc process. if you are given 15 or 20 acres of public lakefront land, the first measure of whether you respect that invaluable property is if you stay within that footprint. acting as if more land, or that land instead of this land, or land in this park as well as land in that park are all options reflects a kind of casual attitude towards the common wealth that is deeply disturbing. president obama laughs and talks about being able to barbecue at the center. that is because he is taking land that people used as they saw fit- including having birthday parties, reunions, and other get-togethers,- thousands and thousands of people every year, and now he is saying you will not be allowed to do what you want anymore, and he is trying to make a joke of that. i would prefer if he would not take public land and laugh at the people at the same time.
so, there is a fundamental question of respect. what we need is to start over, as if the land was never granted to the obama center- because the original footprint, the only thing that has been legally conferred, is no longer relevant- and renegotiate this whole deal."
-gabriel piemonte
thanks, gabriel. this is in an interview at deep dish chicago, and gabriel's site is: southsideunited.org
my perspective is in my particular fondness for the nature sanctuary, the refuge for animals and birds and people seeking the wonder and solace of this urban oasis. my wish is that this treasure handed down to us from another age can be respected and cared for in this one.
do we care enough to save it?
http://www.savethemidway.org
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