Barb Lickness wrote: > Don't know the neighborhood group here, but, try to > cut them some slack. What they did was probably done > as part of their commitment to citizen inspections. > I learned a long time ago that dealing with criminal > issues is about way more than policing. It's a holistic > approach that includes crime management methods, > stabilizing the housing stock by fixing up dilapidated > or deteriorating housing and adding home ownership > opportunities in neighborhoods that are high rental. > It's about making the local schools and parks attractive > and the library too if there is one in your neighborhood. > It's about developing social service and educational > programs in attempts to address some of the over-arching > issues that are causing social stress in neighborhoods. > > I am sure if you tell them painting isn't something you > can do right now, they will probably work with you to > help out if you need. Give them a chance and give them > a break. They are volunteers.
The Nazi Brown Shirts were volunteers, that doesn't mean that we should have cut them any slack. I don't mean to imply that neighborhood groups are Fascist, but they can be totalitarian. My neighborhood organization always seems to Know what is Right for the residents of Prospect Park. Consider the story in the Tribune about the attempt to turn Fraternity Row into a historic district (a veiled attempt by opponents of LRT to block its development). http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4051447.html The chair of PPERRIA's Zoning and Plan Review committee, Florence Littman (a detail omitted from the article), stated: "I am appalled you think that those buildings don't belong to me as much as those who live in them," she said. "They belong to the neighborhood, because we are all dependent upon each other." Whatever happened to the concept of private property and property rights? My house is 120 years old, does Ms. Littman believe that it belongs to her as well? This type of arrogant collectivism intrudes on the rights of individuals and illustrates why the NRP should require that all neighborhood associations have a statement of residents rights and real grievance policies. Michael Atherton Prospect Park TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
