Most
labels are easy to stick on — and usually are very difficult to
remove.
Avoidance of labels is the next order of
business when it comes to a controversial Hood River County plan to
turn a State Street parking lot into a housing project designed for
low to middle-income citizens.
The county has far to go to prove that any
version of a housing project should be constructed on State between
Sixth and Eighth streets. On the other hand, much of the opposition
seems to be overly grounded in emotions.
What needs to be kept in mind by officials,
neighbors and anyone else with an interest in the topic is that
essentially any housing proposal’s purpose is to address a human need.
It is citizens we are talking about — people
who deserve a decent place to live. Any discussion of housing,
anywhere, must avoid judgments and simplified categorizations of
people.
Phrases such as low-income, workforce level,
single mothers, service worker, or senior citizens, have roles in
denoting demographic factors that legitimately need to be considered.
But they can end up as essentially codes put upon some people by
others who feel a need to unfairly distinguish or even exclude or
marginalize.
The challenge or providing reasonably-priced
housing for all people of Hood River is a vital one that needs an even
keel in all future discussions. It is a matter too replete with
practical considerations such as cots, transportation impacts, and
building density, to be marred by attitudinal stickers that never
quite come off.
