Many of you have read about the plight of Robin Sneed recently. Jailed and treated cruelly for 14 days.... for expired tags. Then fined $1400. Effectively run out of the town of Loveland, Colorado. I've seen many other similar stories here on OS recently, each one worse than the last. I wonder if this is a national trend? I would say the answer is HELL YES!!!
My neighbor from three doors down knocked on my door this morning. His name is Keith, around 52 years old. He lives down there with his girlfriend Candy. Keith asked to borrow two dollars, enough for the gasoline necessary to get them to the scrapyard to salvage some metal they had collected.
Bums? No. More like victims. Please read on..
Keith owns both houses at the very end of this dead-end road, outright. No mortgages owed. The property taxes are up to date.
Until not long ago he owned 22 rental homes (which he had acquired the old fashioned way... working; unlike bankers and bureacrats who never lift a finger, preferring to live off the sweat of others; people like US) and made a good income from them. After his divorce he was left with these two houses at the bottom of my hill. His ex who reportedly never did a thing to help with the properties got twenty houses in the divorce. Keith says she has now lost all those houses... but that's just part of the background here.
This guy is multi-talented (he's helped me several times with things around here that were above my head maintenance wise). After his divorce he still had a thriving drywall business. But we here in America thought we needed cheaper workers. The influx of illegal Mexicans and Hondurans, etcetera were welcomed by the greed heads who figured that each dollar saved on labor was a dollar in their pocket. Keith was run out of business essentially, as were many of our locals who had done fairly well for themselves and raised families in the construction trades. Tough luck there buddy.
If you want to do business here in KCK you not only have to maintain licenses and a couple kinds of insurance and pay for every permit; you also have to underbid the Mexicans.
But this is not even about that. Just background leading up to the real subject here.
After I had shook some loose change from the jar (this was before I had found my misplaced billfold... see my last blog) to loan Keith $3.50 (which he has since repaid) he went on to tell me that the city where we live which is Kansas City, Kansas has placed tow stickers on both of his boats, and on his truck and RV.
They are essentially trying to evict him from his property. Yes, the houses too. The alleged reason?
stickers on everything
Well, this guy has had his share of bad luck, like many of us. His little house pictured above (the other one is to the right, not pictured) at some point caught fire inside. It's apparently uninhabitable right now although he has the skills to fix it completely when business picks up... things get better, whatever. There is some kind of issue with the other house too. I haven't been in either of them.
Keith and Candy are living in the small RV which you can see in the back of the driveway.
THAT is the reason that our fine government plans to kick him off his property and presumedly tow his boats, truck and RV off to wherever they take such things. Because they are occupying a recreational vehicle that they own and is parked in the driveway of the property that Keith has bought and paid for. The city has tagged the houses as unfit, making it illegal for him to even enter them now.
Is that justice?
Is that America?
Keith and Candy both smoke cigarettes (the cheap kind) but neither drinks alcohol. They don't use drugs of any kind. They are not thieves. I would trust either one of them with anything I own. They garden in the summer and eat what they grow. Keith gets a little side job whenever he can but other than that they scrap and salvage and hustle. They are not a burden to anyone, let alone the almighty "Unified Governments of Wyandotte County (named for the Natives that were long ago booted out of this territory) and Kansas City Kansas".
Keith told me today that he will NOT allow any of this to happen. He is prepared to defend what he owns. He plans to make like General Custer if necessary. It is his "last stand". I believe he may die down there at the hands of the police.
I thought long and hard after he had left this morning. I thought about those two... my friends and neighbors. I thought about Robin and David Cox and others whose stories I've read about here on OS. I thought about my own future; one injury or illness or other stroke of misfortune from homelessness.
Mainly though I'm asking myself; what is up with the cops and local governments nowadays? What they did to Robin in Colorado makes me physically ill. Now something similar is happening right here on my street and I'm left shaking my head and wondering where it all stops...
I wonder why we who were once proud are now beat down to our knees and then bitch slapped by an increasingly intolerant and fascist system of governance? Is this what "we the people" desire in our society?
Anyone have a clue?
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micalpeace
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I really hopes this family fights for their rights. I don't know alot but isn't there someone to call that will fight for them, or have they all been closed down too?
I don't even know what to say, except I have grown increasingly paranoid of government and police. Maybe I'm not being paranoid, though...
so they are crowing that we stated we dont want big government.
TRUTH is, for many places, there were deals made, and at least a handful were running unopposed.
there is no end to the deceit.
there is a part of me outraged and furious that the republicans get to get away with making statements like that.
and then i remember the deals were made with democrats and the democrats let them get away with saying that.
so.
i dont see things improving. unfortunately.
Stacy, well said man
Alexis thanks for visiting... I would say your paranoia is well founded
R~~
The government has to get their money anyway they can.
This just SUCKS!!
Unfortunately I have to go chase duckets... Stupid work. Actually I'm very fortunate to HAVE WORK right now. I'm hanging on, barely.
Will be back to comment early this evening.
Thanks everyone..
I honestly thought Robin was writing something poetic and cryptic. I hadn't a clue that after writing those beautiful posts about hunting and the lodge, she had been in jail. it didn't make any sense to me in real time. I guess there was other information I didn't see, which would have made her situation clearer.
Now for your friends....you have to do something. Perhaps you can hold a party, a "raise the rent" party but in his case additional resources, maybe some hands and strong backs to help him repair his property as well as "raise the consciousness" of others in the area. did he contact the ACLU? this guy's civil liberties are being violated like crazy. YES, the government is bullying. this is what they did during the Depression, when they took away people's property, real estate, rights. This is US vs THEM/the haves vs the have nots in a big way.
What's the deal with the boat and truck - are y'all not allowed to have more than a certain number? The form up there isn't filled out, so what's the actual code they are supposedly violating?
It could be as simple as neighbors complaining or it could be that the city thinks a strip mall or highway might look pretty good going through that guy's place.
The man cried because it was the only picture that the man had left of his lost son. It was the young man’s boot camp photo. The boy died in Iraq and his father mourns for him in a tent on a vacant lot in Sacramento.
Many years ago I was taught a hard lesson about kindness and justice. I was walking across a street with a friend of mine on our way to lunch at a café. My Friend Terry, was a large burly man with a gruff exterior and fierce stare. He yelled out, “Hey! What choo doing!” to man at the back of the restaurant.
The man’s clothes were filthy, his face was dirty with soot and his hair was oily and stringy. He turned and meekly answered; “I’m looking for cans to take to the metal yard so I can buy some detergent to wash my clothes.”
Terry asked, “Where you staying?”
“I’m camping down on the riverbank, my wife had me arrested when I went to the house to get my clothes. I didn’t have any money and I spent a week in jail before I got out so I lost my job. I hitch hiked up here because I could stay in the town where I was. I didn’t want no more trouble.”
Terry reached into his wallet and handed the man a twenty-dollar bill. The man at first refused but then quietly accepted as Terry said, “God bless you.”
In my cynical nature I thought, this guy probably tells this story ten times a day.
About six months later a tall thin clean-shaven man approached the table. Terry looked up and the man said, “You don’t recognize me do you? I was the guy you gave the twenty dollars too. I got a job and a place to stay and I want to give you your twenty back”
The tables were completely turned, this time it was Terry trying to say no. When the man said, “Please take it, it would mean a lot to me.”
And with that he was gone and we would never see him again. But when we got to the register the cashier added. “Your checks were paid by that guy that was standing next to your table.
“I never met a poor man that wouldn’t share what he’s got and I never met a rich man who wasn’t afraid somebody was going to take something from him.” (Woody Guthrie)
The fact is that many government workers can do no other type of work. (I was in retail sales and management for 15 years and I can tell you that if a job applicant had been a government employee for any length of time, they were not considered for the job as they were not considered to be a quality worker) The result is that those on the taxpayer dole are desperate to retain their jobs.
We tend to forget that in order to pay a government worker a typical white collar salary with benefits that a private sector employer has to generate a gross profit of about a million dollars to generate sufficient net taxes to pay for that bureaucrat.
To address your friends specific circumstance, he may have to go down fighting. Hopefully his example, and the example set by others like him, would motivate others to deal with the government in the manner they should be dealt with.
Good post Trig. Thanks for publishing it.
I doubt the "Mexicans and Hondurans" were the root of his problem.
I don't understand how they can "seize" his boats/vehicles just because the left house is "uninhabitable"??? WTF?
And I don't see how that has anything to do with whether or not he owns the houses/property vs. mortgage. Geez.
But don't forget that we really never "own" the land we set a house on and can do whatever we want--remember the permits needed for building the deck? Now "they" are telling your neighbor what he can & can't park in his driveway? And where he should sleep at night? Fuck. Just to be an asshole, I would set up a fucking cardboard box and put a big sign on it that says "HOME".
Let us know how this turns out.
Tell Keith & Candy to hang in there. They are lucky to have you as a neighbor.
First, I percieve that someone in the neighborhood dropped a dime on Keith. I feel the "authorities" responded to a complaint or a series of complaints.
I'd be hard pressed to think that the cops drive around town looking for people who are going through hard times. Citizenry complained about this.
If that perception is true, then the "authotirites" are just doing their job. It's gruesome and heavy handed. Just my take on this. I could be wrong. Rated. Very well written piece.
I'm guessing that someone had to have called to city or the police and complain about him/his property.
??????
In addition, isn't anyone connected with anyone else? I mean, here in Chicago, you have wards, aldermen, etc. Yes you pay to play, but it isn't big brother. It's your own fucking brother or brother in law with his hand out.
I have seen some real bullshit laws being enforced simply for the revenue. I have been nicked on that.
It's not that I don't believe the story or that I'm not sympathetic. It's just that there always seems to be a back story. Something more.
The guy arrested in his kitchen? Maybe it was proto fascism or maybe the guy does it a little too often, the window faces the school bus stop, he is sometimes not just naked but.... you get the picture. Maybe not, or probably not, but I don't like to rush to judgment on white American's constitutional rights violations.
Before he starts buying ammo, PM me and I will pitch in a $20. Probably a lot of other people on OS would do it too.
Just saying.
Kisses, take care.
Marcela
As I said yesterday in a comment, we must start thinking in a more local, neighborhood-type way, and stop thinking that TPTB are going to "take care" of us. Our government figures are interested only in gaining money and goods off the backs of the poor, as you say. We must start to be community-minded and stand together.
In Tampa over the summer there was a homeless camp with no record of crime or anything like that. Families with nowhere to go. The mayor ordered the cops to go in and ransack and destroy their tents and their property to run them out of town rather than try to help them get back on their feet. It was a sickening sight.
Protect and serve my ass.
This seems to be a trend. Local government officials could have resolved the issue with your neighbor by personally walking to the door and knocking on it and having a conversation with Keith aimed at "solution" rather than "enforcement". They could have explained the issues to him (some municipalities have prohibitions against too many vehicles on a property, residing in a temporary dwelling, etc.) and come up with some sort of reasonable accomodation. But no, they're the "gubmint". They're too busy.
Too busy to care. I run into this in my own city. And it's getting worse. Government is seemingly run more via the city's website today which is cumbersome even for the "insiders" to navigate. It's getting worse and you've touched on a prime example. It has little to do with liberal vs. conservative. What we need is some good healthy doses of "populism".
In the case of ordinances that require people to behave in a certain way on their own property let me say that while there is a fine line to walk it sometimes is difficult to make exceptions for one and not be forced to make exceptions for all others who come asking. That said, I believe that we have willingly turned our governance over to others. We have ignored the slippery slopes and taken the appathetic stance that as long as it doesn't impact me directly I don't care.
Here in China, Tx, for instance, it is almost impossible to get any citizens to come to the council meetings, and we are constantly seeking people to serve on the council. Let me be clear; I am the Mayor by default. I will need to run for election this coming May but it is very unlikely any one will run against me. Not because I'm so popular or am doing such a great job, but rather because no one is interested
My advice to ALL citizens is to get involved locally. The local little governments around the country have an enormous impact on the lives of the people they represent.
We can fight big developers who want to drive people out of their homes for their own profit. We can firght those who want to impose a fee on every aspect of our lives. Remember, every "fee" is really just a tax in drag, posing as something else.
We can be "of the people, by the people and FOR the people," again. But first we need the people.
Folks, lets not get carried away. Local governments are not trying to make people homeless, or take their property. People get numerous warnings. I bet anything this guy did not pay attention to the warnings and it reached this point.
It's not a matter of not having compassion, it's a matter of learning what the situation is first, then seeing how to help. For Peet's sake, it's not as if there are no remedies. People need to learn how to solve this kind of problem. Pity circles and anger at the wrong things does not help anyone.
But learning about how local governments work and what is the process for untangling such situations is more important. Get the neighbors together, go to city hall with the paperwork and see how you can help the situation. Not doing anything and getting pissed at the locals is simply not a choice.
There are issues of sanitation, hook ups for the RV, housing codes, could be something simple. Many cities have small loan programs with 0 payments to fix up code violations. Habitat and some other groups will take on the house and do the code work. There are other housing non profits that can help.
The state came in and demanded that they get expensive, complete cosmetologist's licenses, despite the fact that their homes were spotless and the customer brought their own materials.
The same went for other specialties where the individual did basic work that did not require special licenses beyond a basic business license.
Bull*&&^, I say. It's time for the underground economy to boom, not bust.
I hope that your friend gets some power behind him. In civilized states, there are provisions for a person to live in an RV while their houses are being refurbished. I think that as long as some work is being done, the person can stay there for certain periods of time.
He can move the RV to another location for a few days, then re start the clock, as long as he (with help, like "Craftsmen for Christ" or the community) is doing something with his house.
You're absolutely right.
R
Incrementally we've allowed bad laws to pass, bad politicians to reign and given up our rights one by one.
Time to take them back.
And I appreciate you asking for clues rather than saying "OK---here's the answer." Because there ain't ONE answer. There never is.
There is rampant desperation from all corners. That includes government. I've worked in government. The parts where people do the actual work, not the elected parts. And nobody sits in a room and says, "OK, how can we fuck with people?" Most of us aren't that smart. There is a HUGE push here to get money because the government---like everyone else is broke. But there is no conspiracy. Stupidity? Well, yeah. Not knowing how to communicate the rules (however idiotic they are) well yeah.
But the problem---as you write---is too big for one answer. Unless maybe that answer is desperation.
Good post. Rated and appreciated.
I wonder this, too. I really believe that there will be a revolt. People are on the verge. You can't run people off their own property because they had a fire. I guess the city just wants to auction off the property in the end--including probably the boat. Anything for revenue.
I know this may sound like a too-tame suggestion, but has he tried getting local news out and getting the point across that 'if this can happen to me, it can happen to you'?
Tell him to make noise...bureaucrats count on their victims being to demoralised, scared and lacking in resources to fight back. Let me know if I can help.
Has this guy gone down to his city alderman's office? Complaining to the news media might get some publicity that would be helpful. Sounds terrible...
Do keep us posted.
Um, there would indeed be some sanitation issues...what do they do for toilet requirements? Is the other house he owns rented out?
Lots of municipalities have a thing about vehicles, etc., parked on one's property. (I once had an old Volkswagen I hoped to get mobile, and got a notice from the city that I had to move it - either under its own steam or by way of towed-to-the-junkyard. I couldn't understand this, since it didn't look like a pile of scrap or anything - what harm was it doing? Had to have been a neighbor complaining...)(This is one of the reasons I moved to the country, in a place not visible from the road...tho *regulations* are starting to encroach here....and some of it is due to city people moving out here, either to live or for summer cottages, and they want things brought up to snuff. Damn - this used to be cheap, unwanted territory, where people could come and do their own thing...)
it works to keep the down down and up.. well up.. you know what i say about the up.. frog you..yes trig I still say frog.. :D
"Is that America?" Yes.
If only that wasn't true. The reality is what we ignore being done to someone else will someday be done to us.
First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me. Attributed to Pastor Martin Niemoller, Nazi Germany.
I've watched appalled as blame was placed, it started with the weakest and like any other opportunistic disease it gained strength. First our problems were blamed on people who didn't deserve what little they had; welfare moms, then illiterate inner city kids, then gang members, then immigrants, then single parents, then drop outs, then anyone without a degree, then sub-prime borrowers, then people with credit card debt, then people with the wrong degree or skill.
The blame lies with blaming.
We failed to protect protection.
And that we made the powerful invincible.
Here's the big lie we were taught to chant; you are responsible for what happened to you because of the choices you made, or because you trusted someone, or should have known better. The mantra of those ruthless enough to cause endless suffering for their insatiable lust for wealth and power.
This has been happening for a long time, the only difference is it's now happening in nicer neighborhoods. Sadly, a falling tide lowers all boats. Soon it will be McMansion neighborhoods, no one is safe.
If we are all responsible then the people who invested with Madoff or in any stocks shouldn't have trusted investments, it's their own fault they made bad choices. People who lost jobs should have chosen to be bank CEO's. People who didn't understand home loans they took should have become mortgage brokers first. People who had medical bankruptcies should have eaten organic food and worked out every day. Absurd when you stop and think instead of just blaming.
Never forget, if it's okay to do it to me, it's okay to do it to you.
I'm just sorry, it can be so much worse than you think.
Also, not to be paranoid, but things seem to be happening too quickly. That suggests to me that someone, somewhere, wants something neither you or your neighbor know about. The highway/strip mall business isn't a bad guess. Find out if zoning has changed in your area recently.
Next, if you can get things slowed down, think about writing and appealing to a group like Habitat for Humanity to come help build the house back to its former state. I mean, if the house is habitable, there aren't many reasons for the man to be kicked out. Not that there should be any. It's ridiculous the way in which the city gov is moving against this man.
Of course, as I said, these suggestions are probably useless, but they are worth a try.
I don't believe so and there's a boil a building, ready to explode and if the government keeps poking it and prodding, it will explode and soon and nothing will stop it.
Now I have to bust out of here so no time today to do a damn thing. Everyones words of wisdom and advice and empathy are very much appreciated. OS land is a kind place to be.
R
I recall a statistic from the Bush reign (rain) that showed that "justice" dept one year prosecuted a total of three (3, 3!, 3!!!!) companies in the entire country for employing illegals (and I'm gonna guess the owners of those companies contributed money to Democratic candidates).
Three? THREE!!!! In the whole fucking country?! I could find twice that many in an hour in this county -- that's county, not country.
And yet millions of working stiffs voted twice for this asshat because they bought into the whole racist reagan schtick. As far as I'm concerned, they got what they deserved, too bad they took the rest of us down with them.
Next question I would wonder is, were the cops just cruising looking for someone's life to make miserable or did some other neighbor rat them out?
You are right this is just horrible. And thank you for bringing this to light. It is something I guess we all need to be aware of. I myself have noticed an increase of patrolling cops lately as well.
I once had a friend happily stay in my backyard in a tiny travel trailer, another on a cot in my shed. They both felt like they would be putting me out if they used my spare bedroom. Hell, I we moved the boxes aside, I could fit 2 single sized air mattreses in there. Our "play-room", where my kids no longer play, can hold 6.
My friends only stayed as long as it took to get jobs that required physical addresses, a landline phone to receive calls. I don't mind guests staying over; they are always willing to help fix dinner, fix things around the house (I was a widow with 2 small kids & couldn't even swing a hammer at the time) and were good people and provided me with good company.
I wish people would just ASK. I loved having them here and would welcome them back.