[StBernard] Who is Blighted?

[Westley Annis]

"St. Bernard Parish officials late Friday issued an updated list of
Katrina-damaged properties designated as blighted and being considered for
demolition because their owners have yet to say what they plan to do with
them."

I'm wondering. What part of "Citizens do not have the answers YET to their
dilemma" do officials NOT understand? WHY are threats "preceding" efforts by
the state to help precious citizens of St. Bernard Parish recover being
implemented and at the cost of citizens who ARE the parish? Is it proper to
discount those who are hurt the most by the storm in favor of a minority who
was not? In moving ahead, what's the benefit of losing good people to
bureacracy and at times, ineptness--believing throat-cutting of the many is
the way to proper recovery? What surprises are being devised to further
exacerbate the many's misery? 


Putting the proverbial "cart-before-da-cart" will send strong messages
alright to citizens who HAD to make miserable choices with the resources
they had. Pushing--surplants a strong distaste to St. Bernardians displaced
that there is no attempt to help their pain, that in order to enjoy the
"fruits of recovery", one must be present in St. Bernard Parish. --that if
one isn't, a strong penalty will "teach" the citizens there is opposition to
NOT be currently living in the parish. What's righteous, Christian, moral,
or proper about ignoring the displaced situation in favor of those who
clearly have the advantage by either being in the parish, have fared
satisfactorily with insurance claims or personal funds? How blessed are they
who doesn't have to experience such a degree of suffering. 


I'm afraid that this storm (and others that may follow in the near future)
has about heartened the hearts of so many people in all types of positions,
strata and means. Distain and impatience runs amuck from the citizens
upward. Can we afford to save our miserable life yet throw away our soul
that supports righteousness? (the adage equivilency of "throwing out the
baby with the bathwater"). If we wish to further the insidious upheaval
that's currently been engaged, do nothing. Recovery means more as an means
to the end than hurting the many to satisfy the few. From an historical
perspective, give enough time to develop ...and we shall witness the
duration's storyline. Demolish all homes through an impatient act of beating
a one-year deadline. Strange how we're begging the insurance industry to
extend insurance claims another year, and someone's deciding to hold
"chariot races" to wipe out our former "bedroom community's infrastructure"
with impunity. Senseless for the sake of a few months that many of us need
in order to get organized properly and recovered humanely with dignity.

==jer==