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Who are the poor?I• » i•. * *In reading proof this past week, I was a1 little shocked and dismayed to learn that certain people, most of whom I would consider’ to be my friends, do not want land taken into the city and zoned R-l for fear that a low-cost housing project there will bring undesirables into their neighborhood.I assume that our reporter erred in quoting these people as not wanting “poor people” to move in next to them.'Let me heartily reassure them that,neither wealth, nor lack of it, has anything to do with the desirability of people as neighbors—at least I have found plenty of both rich and poor and even some in-betweens I could desire as neighbors, and some that I couldn’t stomach.« I*And in no case could wealth, or lack of it, be the sole cause.I would assume, in the case of the elderly,.’, for example, that some very fine people would be moving in to the neighborhood which sounds as though it will be large enough to handle a number of homes. Just because an elderly person does not have a huge income does not mean that they will make poor neighbors.Nor do large families, frequently attributed to the poor, necessarily mean that they will be poor neighbors.Why, I can even remember some of those who complained before they were rich—and I don’t recall that they were so bad back then! I always thought they were pretty nice people!1 was personally struck by the remark about mowing the yard! You see, I am about the worst that ever was when it comes to working in my yard, but I hope that no one blames it on my poverty! It’s because I just don’t like to mow yards, or shine shoes, perhaps from having been a regular in the army for three years.!§ f'ftI would hope that the neighbors would take a second look, and that if there is no physical reason that the land will not support R-l'' residences, they would accept it.If they have the time, they may find that,-some very nice people (along, no doubt, with some of the others) move in, and have good friends in the neighborhood. They may even find some families that they want to work with, to help; many people can improve the way they live, although some of us resent it when we are told that!* f KOh, yes—I have the names of several people who only want to help OUR people— -maybe they will help with housing the elderly and low-income families!And remember, for every Dick Tope there is a Dallas Wittgenfeld that makes us remember that in America, IF YOU WANT TO, you CAN succeed, no matter what kind of a start you have had—and there are the Leopolds and Loebs, from rich, prosperous, ’’ educated families, who turn out to be rotten apples in the barrel of life.t I*Editorial today by.........Dick D. Heller, Jr.
Newspaper Details
Decatur Daily Democrat
Decatur, Indiana, US
Thu, Aug 07, 1975
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 03 Jan 2019
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