Stakeholder on “South Seattle Cop on Violent Rainier Beach Crime Wave: It’s Not Complicated.”:
South Seattle Cop said: “Despite these long understood truths, every politician thinks they are the chosen one, the new enlightened mind who has figured out some secret truth that the last 100 years of scholars missed… or they think you are too dumb to remember this come next election time. Usually its a combination of both.”
I couldn’t agree more. But, what South Seattle Cop avoids is the truth that decades of Seattle politicians have steered the low-income and minority populations to one zip code. The Seattle Housing Authority has concentrated their housing units here. So has SEED, Mt. Baker Housing, Union Gospel Mission, and others. If there is nothing wrong with being poor, then why don’t we embrace low-income people and low-income housing in every Seattle neighborhood? Because Seattle is racist and classist, that’s why. Red-lining was outlawed in the 60?s and banks were punished for steering minorities to one neighborhood. Seattle has perfected ‘steering’ of minorities but nobody calls it what it is; red-lining.
Until SE achieves balance, and our middle-class is retored, we will continue to experience higher crime. Your chances of being a victim of crime are about 600% greater because you live in 98118. The data doesn’t lie, poverty and crime go hand in hand. Poverty is the core problem, much more so than the number of cops on the streets.
Focus the blame where it belongs; at the doorstep of city leaders that have been elected to serve. They’re serving their OWN best interests first, taking the easy way out, and forcing SE Seattle to accept resposibilty for the social burdens of an entire city. Dumping all social ills in SE helps our Mayor and City Council win support for re-election in other neighborhoods. Our higher crime is no accident, its by design.
The dialogue that occurs here between friends, neighbors and engaged citizens is one of the features that makes your RVP such a valuable community resource. Your RVP does not necessarily endorse the opinions expressed in the Comment of the Week.
Who to know, where to eat & what to do in one of America’s most diverse zip codes!
{ 9 comments }
You said a mouthful! In particular, you hold accountable the elected city leaders who are “serving their OWN best interests first, taking the easy way out, and forcing SE Seattle to accept resposibilty for the social burdens of an entire city.”
The city’s current system of electing council members through the at-large system breeds this derelict. Forty years ago, reform-minded voters switched from representation by districts to the at-large system to ferret out cronyism and crooked politicians. But has the at-large system served us? Many who live in 98118 would say “no”.
Granted, two of the city council members live in 98118, they can’t – by virtue of the at-large system – put our interests ahead of the city’s. We have no advocate to ensure that Southeast Seattle does not receive a disproportionate share of low-income housing units, halfway houses, and transitional facilities. We don’t have an elected official who holds the mayor and police department accountable to address the ongoing violent crime in the Rainier Valley that has eluded other parts of the city. When gunfire erupts near Pike Place Market, the police department raids the neighborhood precincts for officers to ensure the safety of tourists riding the Duck or watching the flying fish. When fights or gunfire breaks out in Belltown, the police presence increases. When gunfire erupts at Rainier and Henderson, it’s business as usual.
The current at-large system favors big money and special interests, e.g., developers, business community, real-estate interests, environmentalists, who pour big money into campaigns to ensure that their candidates get elected. Who advocates for the local communities whether they be the Rainier Valley, Delridge, Beacon Hill, South Park, Central District, International District, or Lake City? No one under the current at-large system.
Electing council members by representational district would give us the voice and advocacy that we now lack. Things won’t change until we change the system.
I vote for the comment of the year. Other areas of the city are busy and attracting people like South Lake Union. Oh, that’s right Amazon moved there…from SE Seattle.
“Your chances of being a victim of crime are about 600% greater because you live in 98118.”
Huh? Greater than where. the moon? If this is true then you are at a 1800% higher chance of being a crime victim downtown, in the U-district and on Capitol Hill where crime rates are much higher than in 98118.
Real Rainier Valley Girl has nailed the root cause of the 98118 debacle (some might call it the 98118 Apocalypse now). The decision by City leaders to abandon 98118 to the tender mercies of so-called nonprofit social service agencies, which have now taken over traditional influential neighborhood groups, once the voice of the people, once Seattle’s pioneer against redlining, once the powerful source of a genuine people’s ability to speak truth to power, has recently been overrun by corporations who seldom have agendas that are in accord with democratic actions that would favorably affect the residents in the community, and now, instead of being focussed on social justice, are committed to increasing the profits of their new member corporations, using the now thoroughly discredited “trickle down” theory as their reason for existence.
Shame on us for letting this happen, double shame for not ending it by mandating district elections.
Peace,
If only we could be like the utopias with district elections, all our problems would be solved. Look at the school board which has district elections, how’s that working out for us….
It is interesting that in yesterday’s PI there was an article ( Community service for anti-cop vandals ) mentioning a storefront police office in the Central District. Per the article:
“The substation, a storefront office meant to improve community access to police, was opened near a particularly troubled corner, 23rd Avenue and East Union Street. The site of several killings, the corner has also been home to an art installation and improvement effort.”
“If only we could be like the utopias with district elections, all our problems would be solved. Look at the school board which has district elections, how’s that working out for us….”
Point of clarification here. the school board is an elected body representing seven “geographical regions, known as Districts, within the City of Seattle” (their language). Residents in each district select two finalists who run in the primary election. However, all voters can cast ballots for board members in all contested district races during the general election. We in the Rainier Valley vote for board members representing other parts of the city, and visa versa. It’s the “best” and “worst” of both worlds.
A few facts to place Stakeholder’s comments in historical context:
SHA’s original Holly Park and Rainier Vista public housing sites were built to house defense workers and veterans in the 1940s and were converted to public housing back in the 50′s back when the Rainier Valley was a diverse working class neighborhood – SHA did not choose SE Seattle as much as inherit it among the many other neighborhoods they serve such as High Point in West Seattle. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NewHolly,_Seattle for more info.
SEED and Mt Baker Housing Association were formed to serve housing needs in SE Seattle in ways that market landlords can’t or won’t. They are place-based organizations just as Capitol Hill Housing and the Delridge Neighborhood Development Association are. SEED has done many things beside build affordable housing such as contribute greatly to the revitalization of Columbia City and was responsible for the rehabilitation of the Lake Washington Apartments.
Mt Baker Housing Association has rehabilitated apartment houses that were below acceptable occupancy standards yet were still open and charging rent despite the hazards and dangers on site.
Blaming the non-profits for the economic fortunes of the Valley is misguided; the truly negative impacts are at a much higher level of ingrained injustice and patterns of discrimination that these very non-profits are working to alleviate through practical measures.
The massive amount of low income housing prevents SE Seattle from enjoying basic amenities like decent shopping at Target, Trader Joes, & Bed Bath Beyond. Who do we thank at SEED for the new glut of low income housing at Rainier? Who can we thank at SEED, Mt Baker, Capitol Hill and Delridge Housing for providing only low income options, so the median income of residents in the area is lowered and limits our options – to massage & nail parlors, and auto part stores?
Comments on this entry are closed.