Conservatives, Developers, vs. Progressives & NIMBYs (oh my).

An indigenous grandma, arrested by a dozen police officers for protested the development of a last-remaining wetland (100+ acres) close to the city. Eliot Page, protesting, shares the video of her arrest…[Look it up: protecteisnerwetland]

We see it again and again: developers and conservatives in government play off progressives (often younger renters, concerned with affordable housing, anti-racism, transportation reform) vs. environmentalists (often older home-owners called NIMBYs by the progressives, concerned with climate crisis, equality, feminism, historic preservation)…

We see it again and again: developers and conservatives in government play off progressives (often, younger, concerned with affordable housing, anti-racism, transportation reform) vs. environmentalists (often called NIMBYs by the progressives, concerned with climate crisis, equality, feminism, historic preservation).

The sad joke is, if both sides talked to one another, listened, and found ways forward…we could build affordable housing where it should be—just about every traffic corridor, instead of on last remaining wilderness, to the detriment of wildlife, and often indigenous wishes, and often climate crisis-containment (wetlands, fragile beaches, native prairie).

The joke is, developers rarely build affordable housing—they like profits. The joke is, conservatives love seeing young liberals hate on old liberals.
The solution is, yes, getting off our twitter high horse, and finding tough solutions, that make our communities more fun, fair, and liveable. Wise politicians and activists see the game, and plead for a way forward, but too many of us get caught up in taking sides and giving insults, and we lose what we’re fighting for.