The city of Corvallis, in the state of Oregon is quickly moving towards a two tiered society. They are putting in place laws which allow police to discriminate against the poor and homeless. It is not enough for law enforcement to profile the less fortunate they need to have laws in place to justify this behavior. The law is being crafted to divide the haves from the have nots. Soon enough there will be walls and checkpoints. Seem outrageous? Look to other so called free countries and you will see that these types of class dividers are common place.
In the USA we don’t expect to see walls and checkpoints, it’s beyond our imagining to see our so called “land of the free” acting in this blatantly authoritarian way. We also can’t imagine that there are concentration camps for children in the USA, but that IS the state of our democracy, we separate children from their parents based on race and nation of origin, this represents the literal definition of genocide “ the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group” as defined by Merriam-Webster.
Be aware that on a national level our country is content to stand by while the children of immigrants are punished for their parents behaviors. This is as clear of an example of xenophobia as exists. We would never tolerate a country incarcerating America’s children without intervention. By creating an “other” that threatens the safety and security of the whole the population can justify their violent response as self defense. This is the tactic being used against the poor and underprivileged of Corvallis Oregon.
The politicians, business people and media are creating a narrative which casts all of the poor and homeless in a negative light. Their story line portrays the people who are not wealthy and privileged as being a drain on society, and as criminals. This narrative is familiar to Indigenous people, and people of color who have faced biased reporting as a form of oppression since the founding of this “democratic republic” come kleptocracy. Law enforcement, judges and lawyers act in concert to gain convictions or ignore guilt depending on the wealth of the individual, you may want to argue this point, but the numbers don’t lie. Wealth buys freedom in the USA, and poverty is a crime which will land you in prison, there is no amount of good behavior which exempts you from prosecution. It is a crime to be poor in America.
Last night I attended City Council here in Corvallis Oregon, I am somewhat of a regular face in the room. I steadily attend and speak to the elected officials. I also make a point to speak with them outside of council chambers. I am an engaged member of our community.
The budget was under scrutiny last night. The public always has a chance to comment on budget priorities, although the council chambers are not a place for the public to ask questions of the council. When I show up I always have something to say, however the comment time is limited to 3 minutes, and they always seem to fly by. The vast majority of the people at council were talking about the importance of the men’s cold weather shelter, as there was $60,000 in municipal funds going to support the project which will be a low barrier homeless shelter, as well as a soup kitchen and resource center for people who are a part of the poor and underserved community. The project is organized by a coalition of nonprofits which have been working jointly to find a site for this “all under one roof” service center for the years. This same group had purchased a property and was working towards their goal of assisting “The People”, when they were sued by a wealthy property owner. The alleged victim was afraid that their property value would suffer as a result of the service center being located in their neighborhood. Their lawsuit halted progress on that site, and the coalition was forced to seek a different location and sell their property. In short the wealthy bullied the poor out of their property.
These same self-serving elites were present at city council last night, they condemned the poor, and made assertions of privilege typical of the entitled class. They don’t want to see the poor, they don’t want to hear the poor, or have the poor in their area. It’s this class of citizen who feels entitled to create exclusion zones to prevent poverty stricken people from accessing the areas of town which the wealthy have claimed as their own. It seems as if city council and law enforcement are working in concert with this minority of influential business owners to create a classist social order in our town.
This value system that says “wealthy people deserve the waterfront and downtown and that the poor have no business in the upscale area” is precisely why our constitution and bill of rights spells out a protection for free travel. The same right to travel unmolested is written into the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, because these types of draconian laws are not new.
Exclusion zones have been found to be unconstitutional in many cases. Exclusion zones have been established in an effort to halt drug dealing and prostitution. Exclusion zones have also been used in an effort to protect children from sexual predators. Many of these exclusion zones have been found to be unconstitutional and been struck down by federal judges. The idea that a person who has been cited but never convicted of a crime can be excluded by law enforcement is what rubs the wrong way. A presumption of innocence is built into the foundation of this country’s bill of rights. Each person is entitled to the presumption of innocence. Furthermore these laws seem to violate the First Amendment of the constitution “Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances”.
So long as the silent majority stand aside and allow the least influential in society to be marginalized there will be politicians who will criminalize behaviors which are considered to be human rights. The rights of the wealthy are guaranteed, they even violate the law, in many cases without repercussion. Law enforcement and the judicial branch work in concert with the wealthy to bank roll their systems of oppression. It is considered the place of the poor to live in servitude. This is why these laws are written. This is also why we need to actively engage speaking out against classism in legislation.
When draconian laws are proposed that clearly violate the rights of the underprivileged it is the duty of all citizens who value freedom to speak out and stand in solidarity with oppressed people. When we step aside and allow the jackbooted thugs to trample our freedoms we do a disservice not only to the individuals who face the laws in the current day, we also harm future generations of people who will have to attempt to survive under these unjust laws.
Class war is a reality where I live in Oregon. The poor people outnumber the wealthy three to one at least. The upper crust of society is a tiny percent, less than 1%. The idea that a vocal minority can criminalize the behaviors of the majority is why our nation sucks. If we want to be proud of being from the USA at some point in the future we must push back against unjust laws. This is a part of my calling in this life, to callout wrongdoing in public offices, and hold accountable the politicians and institutions which would affect fascism in the USA.
See you in the streets comrades!
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