Setting Prisoners Free

People think gentrification is all about making things prettier and more beautiful, but it ain’t! People think it’s just about building up and creating revenue, but it ain’t! Such views are superficial and a great use of propaganda, because they make us believe no one gets hurt or suffers because of it!  Gentrification is about intentionally casting out those who don’t “look right”. Those who don’t fit the mold are systematically and strategically forced out of the neighborhood. It’s about making people conform. It’s about closing “problematic” buildings and replacing them  with “righteous” ones. It’s about jacking up the rent to unaffordable rates. It causes trauma, evictions, homelessness, and relocations.  Unfortunately, all this is done in the name of progress and diversity. It’s often done by so-called richer Democrats or liberals, and backed by Republicans - they ironically find common ground in their quest to exclude those already marginalized. To fit in, people need to

In Uptown, some people are deemed unworthy and unsightly at the expense of those considered worthy and highly favored! They are judged because of how they look! They are condemned because of their pasts! They are criminalized because of who they are, not what they’ve done! They are marginalized and not given a voice! When someone faces such judgments and actions, it is traumatic and heart-wrenching, making what shouldn’t be political, political. Repeatedly, throughout the years, I've seen how decisions are made to favor those with money, power, and property! Not only that, decisions are intentionally made to make life harder and more traumatic for those already struggling. Decisions are made to appease and gratify those with wealth while ignoring and silencing the voices of those who feel they’ll never be heard at all. This is the never-ending struggle of a gentrifying neighborhood like Uptown. It is the eternal battle of rich and poor coexisting, where the elite win favor and