Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Civil disobedience you can believe in
I'm not a big fan of civil disobedience in general. Getting arrested just to get arrested seems generally pointless. Having enough people to occupy and shutdown an airport, as just happened in Thailand, is one thing; having a few people lay down in a street for five minutes until the cops remove them is another.
But this is something quite different:
[Max] Rameau is an activist who has been executing a bailout plan of his own around Miami's empty streets: He is helping homeless people illegally move into foreclosed homes.Here's the simple way Rameau sums up the situation:
"We're matching homeless people with people-less homes," he said with a grin.
Rameau and a group of like-minded advocates formed Take Back the Land, which also helps the new "tenants" with secondhand furniture, cleaning supplies and yard upkeep. So far, he has moved six families into foreclosed homes and has nine on a waiting list.
"I think it's immoral to have vacant homes held by Lehman Brothers or anyone else while you have homeless families sleeping out on the street."Not to mention downright insane.
