How the media is getting Buttigieg's story wrong...

[IndyOp]

What’s puzzling, however, is the decision to frame the demolition and rehabilitation of vacant and abandoned homes as akin to displacing minority communities. (Judging from 2011 and 2019 population estimates, no displacement appears to have occurred. What’s more, it’s hard to displace people from homes where no one was living.)....

Both stories strike a decidedly oppositional tone. Buzzfeed seemed particularly intent on framing the story as a conflict between a robotic, white, impersonal politician and a black community. (The word “data,” and the mayor’s abiding interest in it, somehow became grounds for opprobrium.)

Ironically, both stories show Buttigieg to have been an exceptional leader. Odom struggled to get her property off the demo list, but then, as CNN reports, she had a chance encounter with Buttigieg. What happened next was governance par excellence:

Odom was surprised that Buttigieg listened for 10 minutes, even though he was on his way to a meeting. His staff was anxious to get Buttigieg to move on, but the mayor handed her his card and the two struck up an ongoing conversation. Buttigieg later held a series of meeting with Odom and others to talk about the plan. She credits the mayor with getting her home off the demolition list — and because of pressure from the community, 40% of other residents’ homes were taken off too. “When I saw that he was willing to help, that’s what turned me,” said Odom. “That’s what said to me, this is a man that has the potential to be president.”

https://washingtonmonthly.com/2019/04/21/how-the-media-is-getting-mayor-petes-south-bend-gentrification-story-wrong/


Okay! Issues like this matter a lot to me.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Well, the media is probably trying to make a controversy to sell their stories.

I'm with you, my dear IndyOp! This issue matters a lot to me too.

He did handle it well, though not at first. The main thing is: HE LEARNED. He learned what his constituents think matters, and he learned that he had things to learn about governing effectively and well.

Growth is vital! And this story shows that he knows it.

[Celerity]

2. its BuzzFeed and CNN, the bottom dwellers of politricks who still claim legitimacy

they rank down there with Politico and The Hill in the auld Shitestir Derby

[IndyOp]

4. He said that the issue of abandoned houses came up

at many, many houses when he knocked doors as a candidate before the first election he won.

The issue was mentioned most often by people in neighborhoods like LaSalle - low income people living with abandoned homes in their neighborhoods.

He prioritized the work because the source of the project was community members, not newbies who wanted a more pleasant view on their drive home.

And, yes, he took critical responses of a few people who were negatively impacted and used it to create momentum to write grants to make further improvements.

[marylandblue]

3. One of the things they didn't cover is why home demolition is important.

Old abandoned homes become health hazards. Rats live in them, kids play in them, drug dealers work out of them. They crumble and shed asbestos into the air. The value of all the homes around an abandoned home goes down. It's a big problem in the rust belt, especially since 2008. Detroit demolished 17,000 homes since 2014.
https://detroitmi.gov/departments/detroit-building-authority/detroit-demolition-program

It's not like this was something that didn't need doing.