“Over the last six months, more than 250 homeless people have pitched tents near the Ontario airport, creating a burgeoning shantytown that sprawls across vacant lots and spills into side streets.” This from an article in today’s Los Angeles Times. It’s a new kind of “suburban sprawl.”
In the Great Depression, these places were called Hoovervilles. When I began a search for an image to go with this post I discovered there must have been hundreds, or even thousands of these shantytowns. There were images from all over. Cincinnati, Grand Forks, Brooklyn, DC, Seattle. It’s clear that they became an inevitable fact of life, and now they’re back. Little surprise: when you squeeze blood from the turnip that used to be called “the Middle Class” people become desperate, and they either die or must live out their shattered lives somewhere.
“Residents live in donated tents with mattresses. They light fires in barrels or grills to stay warm. High winds can topple the portable toilets, spilling their contents. Inside one, someone scrawled "God Hates Us All" in black marker.”
Just as we did with the homelessness problem that crept up on us in the 1980s and 90s, I bet Americans will come to accept these new shantytowns as a natural part of the landscape. Only I hope they won’t call them Hoovervilles. It’s time for a new name. How about “Bushboroughs?” It has a classier tone, I guess to reflect the fact that these shanties won’t be built of old packing crates, but rather high-tech nylon tents from North Face. And now they have porta-potties and social services. We’ve come a long way.
“Tents now cover several large dirt lots on both sides of Cucamonga Avenue. Side streets are lined with battered vans and recreational vehicles. Dogs run wild. A 6-month-old was recently found living in a tent with his mother. Authorities said they would provide better shelter for all mothers with children they find.”
In my travels in Mexico and Costa Rica, I have been appalled when I noticed similar patched-together settlements on the edges of cities and towns. Seeing people living in huts made of tarpaper, odd bits of wood and plastic is gut-wrenching. I know such places can be found in India, Brazil, throughout Africa, and in other desperately poor countries. God help us, it’s now official: this new “Gilded Age” has made us just like the third world.
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1 comment:
It seems like this is just the beginning...and talk about disenfranching voters! We need a new Voter's registration movement in these places. It would embarrass the administration immensely.
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