What the heck is going on in this country? If you walk down my street, you’d catch a couple hints. On one end we have a new neighbor, Carlos, who purchased his stately home from a former NBA player. A matched set of warning signs sits in his front yard (see below). When he first moved in, they were a disturbing novelty on our quiet, friendly street. After the insurrection two weeks ago, someone stole his huge TRUMP 2020 flag. A police cruiser now parks next to his home, ostensibly to protect him from the flag/election stealing Democrats. This morning, January 27, 2021, a replacement banner went up that reads PRO-LIFE, PRO-GUNS, PRO-GOD, PRO-TRUMP.
I’m confused. Guns and life? Seems like you only get one of those. Also, isn’t Trump now golfing full-time? But the burning question for me is, if Carlos was running for office, does he think our former President would wave a PRO-CARLOS flag in his front yard? I’d ask him but I haven’t seen him in months.
On the opposite end of the street, we have squatters. The property of an old house had been cleared for renovation and sat empty—until now.
My neighbor, Ted*, advised of the illegal tenants the morning after I arrived home late from a trip. In the pitch black of night, I threw open the doors to air out the place, with no concern for my safety. My neighborhood has been described as “a tony suburb of Miami.” I have always felt secure here. Those terms would not characterize all the places I’ve lived, but that’s another story. Ted said the trespassers were sophisticated, known by the builder to have a history of house hopping. They had allegedly claimed to be renters, having falsified a lease, transferred utilities to their name and even serviced the pool. It was a surprise they ended up on our block but not terribly shocking given the steady reports of creative thievery around Miami.
On my morning walk, I passed the squatter home to note the address so I could make some inquiries of my own. I am not assuming a Breaking Bad situation, but I felt the need to poke around. A couple of late model cars and a pickup truck in good shape sat out front. Not that a shiny car proves anything. Having nice stuff is an old trope used against the poor to prove they’ve misspent resources or that they’re not actually poor at all. We cringe at the word, like me having the urge to use another turn of phrase to avoid it altogether. As a society, we prefer to look away rather than do anything to solve the problem.
We’ve had some theft reported on the block, but no one so bold as these new neighbors. When the car next door went missing last year, the owners were rattled but insurance took care of it. This is different. Ted said there were likely several families staying together. He had heard kids playing in the pool. I assume that if they had options for greater stability in which to raise children, they would avoid living arrangements that ran afoul of the law.
The U.S. unemployment rate is somewhere around 20% right now which is inching perilously close to Great Depression levels when the number exceeded 25%. The wave of unemployment has lead to a tsunami of homelessness. There is a moratorium on evictions right now for Covid but these folks were never legal tenants. Who knows what the real situation is, I couldn’t find much. A Summons was clipped to the fence so it’s now a matter for the courts to decide. 
Most of the neighbors on my end of the street have been proactive about the squatters. Their presence has caused quite a stir. No one on our peaceful block seems at all distressed by the gun-stockpiling, insurrection-sympathizing rich guy who is protected by a dedicated police presence. But by displaying that flag, he denounces the results of a national election and continues to support someone who incited violence at the nation’s capitol, against police officers, lawmakers and even the former Vice President. Domestic terrorism is against the law but there are no specific criminal penalties for it. The insurrectionists are facing simple trespassing charges and the like. Reform is urgently needed.
On opposite ends of our street, stand two examples of how government policy shapes the way we perceive one another, for better or worse. When the Senate held no hearings to prove the election was valid and 147 members of Congress voted to overturn the results, it left an information gap that got filled by propaganda on social media and cable news. Millions of Americans consumed the lies and felt cheated, including at least one of my neighbors. To quell another uprising, we need truth, disseminated on the double.
As for the squatters, I’m not naive about their possible motivations. I know there are plenty of folks who see an opportunity to grift and go for it. Florida’s record-breaking levels of medicare/medicaid fraud are a prime example. But there again, we have a healthcare system that invites fraudsters with it’s gaping holes in oversight and callous denials of care. Unlike other developed nations, struggling Americans have received no consistent financial support over ten months of the pandemic. Florida’s distribution of unemployment benefits has been an abomination. Lines outside food banks all around the country stretch for miles. Many cannot meet their basic needs. It should come as no real surprise that people end up stealing a house in broad daylight.
But what about the rest of us in between these two extremes? I suppose we have to check our assumptions. Whether we want to admit it or not, the absence or presence of wealth counts for a lot. The rich are treated better than everyone when half the time it’s just luck and privilege that explain who has what. Sometimes merit is the reason, but it is by no means the rule.
The other unfair assumption is that our justice system metes out actual justice to all. Over the last several months, the entire nation, regardless of our personal dealings with law enforcement, has seen that police are flawed human beings who carry their own biases. At times, they appear more focused on enforcing the race/class divide than protecting public safety. The laws as they are written and enforced provide a false sense of morality. The guy in the fancy house with all the guns and open display of support for government overthrow is fine because he has broken no laws. The squatters are criminals. This is how the legal system has shaped our perception of each other. But there is so much we don’t know about one another. We have to find a place within us to deal with each other on a human level. Right now, while we are so polarized, we can start by exercising some self-control when we walk by the neighborhood arsenal and maintain compassionate boundaries when passing the squatters.
We in the middle of the block can only assume we all want pretty much the same things: to live a peaceful, healthy life and to provide well for our families. Our country has gone through enough. Now that we have leaders who model empathy and compassion, we can normalize that again. Surely it will help give us the sense that it’s all going to be okay.
Love,
Elizabeth
WRITING PROMPT: Who do you talk politics and social issues with? Does it make you uncomfortable? Why or why not?
*My neighbor asked me to give him the name “Colombo” but it changed the tone of the piece, so I had to opt for an unfunny name. 🙁
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2 replies on “What Do We Assume About Each Other?”
I find this article so painful because it captures a truth, as only you can do , that is frightening and sad. Thank you for saying it, and saying it so beautifully.
Thank you Linda, I so appreciate your feedback. I never know how my own interpretation of things will fall on someone else’s ears. I’m glad it resonates with you. Here’s to a more understanding and compassionate country.