Dove & Pigeon

Important.

Homes are meant to be lived in.  You know, because otherwise we’re just like primates.  Outside and shit.  It may not last in the long run, but this kind of action points out the disparity in how America thinks about housing.  This will come to Seattle, and very soon, I imagine.

Best Headline I’ve Ever Seen

It’s true, I think the snow has put everyone on a crazy edge.  Like, we’re still saying, ‘Oh yay, isn’t it pretty?  And to think *some* places have this all Winter long!  Hah hah, hah!’ but in a forced way, now.  Because the buses are down, the taxis are gone, and good golly Miss Molly, there’s a damned FOOT OF SNOW ON THE GROUND.  Snowpocalypse, indeed!

The most disheartening thing is that in the comments, no one mentions the homeless.  It’s all about the fickle forecasters and how much it sucks when the city shuts down.  What about when you’re sleeping in a doorway?

The church is, understandably, anxious to clarify that hosting Nickelsville is not, for them, meant to be a political act.  Is human right to shelter ‘political’?  Is taking a stand for this basic human right only to viewed in terms of ‘politics’?  When a community sees a need, calls for action and is ignored because it’s easy for those in power to do, does it not have the right to provide for itself?  

I understand that the church is acting out its mission, and that’s commendable.  But I want to look at it like this:  We live in a reality where basic right to shelter needs to be a political act in order to come into existence.  University Congregational has the right idea, as do so many other faith communities and their myriad of works in the name of social justice, in that they are simply called to help Nickelsville.  

Why aren’t we all?

It’s a bit of a read, but I feel like it’s well said.

Everyone needs food.  What happens when you can’t afford it?

Everyone needs shelter.  What happens when you’re priced out of it?