Isn’t it time we drain our own swamp?
Photo by John Cameron on unsplash.com
It is too much garbage that litters our community. Isn't it time that we drain our own swamp?
On Monday, June 3, 2019 I had the opportunity to cut my grass. Rain had stopped for at least a couple of days. I own .75 acres of land so it takes a while. I usually rent a lawnmower, and I go to Hammond, to Pick A Tool as I have been going there for years. I do this because I do not nor can I afford a ride em, lawnmower. Then two, I have had too many lawnmowers to give out, malfunction, etc. One time while residing in the Southern Suburbs that neighbor Hammonds Gold coast, I let a neighbor use my lawnmower, and they broke it. Had the nerve not to accept any responsibility and bought it back and said “it stopped working”. They never offered a dime for repairs. Show you how these types of people are; when I decided to rent a lawnmower to cut my own grass before getting fined, by the Village; once they saw me cutting my grass. They ran across the street to ask to use it. When I said “No. This is rented” They were furious. I have actually been renting lawnmowers since that time.
I went to Pick a Tool in Hammond to rent the lawnmower. This time they were out of self-propelled lawnmowers. It was a new white guy working there, who took it upon himself to decide that my their way of breaking down the lawnmower to fit into my car was no longer acceptable. He asked if I had a truck, or if I knew of someone with a truck. Amazing how they change rules, for certain people, at different times. I was furious; as I had called to make sure they had lawnmowers that were self-propelled. When I got there, all of a sudden he changed the script. I had talked to the owner before. So to justify his BS, he said “you can come back when more come in, or give me your phone number.” I just looked at this Hillbilly (his own word for himself).
I knew I needed my grass cut. He did it on purpose, with no regards that I was a women. Only thing he saw was black, and I was un-derserving of anything decent. I have been going to Pick A Tool for over 15 years, (five and a half of those years while living in Gary). The owner charges me a low flat rate, (since I moved to Gary) because as he said. “I have made all the money off of you throughout the years.” The people who worked there last year knew it and would have self-propelled lawnmowers that would break down to fit in my car. Now this Hillbilly decides to change the rules.
I don’t like being desperate with Racists folks, because they will give you anything. That is what happened. I had driven from Gary to Hammond, and I took the scenic route, all the way down Ridge Road through Griffith, Munster, to get to Hammond on Calumet Avenue. I really wanted to cut my really high grass. I did not want to take that long drive all the way back home with no lawnmower. I wanted my lawn mowed, so it could look curb side nice. Rain had made my grass fertilized with grass seeds grow way too high for me.
So I got this lawnmower, and the handle did not stand up unless I put these two screws in on both sides. It did not have a bag, and it was not even self-propelled. It was raggedy as hell. I came home, went to the garage, and got my gas can. I then went to the Arabs behind a glass trash station, got gas, and drove home.
Racism is akin to a snake
Racism is like a snake, it just lays and waits. Then it raises its head full of poisonous venom. It can kill you at anytime. Like a snake, it just wraps itself around like you, using the same system of oppression until it squeezes the breath out of you. No wonder black folks have a high incidence of mental illness, due to the trauma, shock, horrific treatment, from slavery until now. The mind can only take so much of an everyday experience. Racism ..this stuff is so deep you just lose the ability to function sometimes, but I digress.
As I stated earlier, this lawnmower was not self-propelled, and it did not even have a bag. It took me several hours to cut the grass, but I finished. I left the grass clippings. I did not have a bag. Now the next two days it rained, so I was unable to rake the grass clippings up, and the next day it was just too hot for me. It is really hard for me to cut this grass for a number of reasons, but I still do. My body feels like a train wreck when I am done.
On Friday, June 7, 2019, it was cooler outside so I decided to start raking the leaves off of my property. Also, getting the weeds out of the sidewalk that the City owns in front of my home. I used a shovel to get these weeds out of the concrete that the City owns. This was a task. I usually clean the City street from the corner to the end of my property line. The neighbors following my lead do the same in front of their homes within their property lines. So the block is clean. I also clean the main street in front of my home, to get all the bottles and crap up. I don’t like to park in the back, because I had an encounter one time, and twice my tire went flat because of the glass. They just break glass for the hell of it. Or throw a bottle down to break in the alley. They go through the alley and just drop bottles to see the glass splash. I saw some kids who loved walking through the alley. They would run around the blocks, and throw the bottles on the ground, and laugh as the glass shattered, like the crap was funny. When I yelled at them, then they ran away. However, the street was littered with shattered glass, as well as the alley. I got two flats I could not afford from parking in my own alley.
Well I started cutting the grass about 12:00 noon, and finished about 4:15 pm. I called the store to make sure someone was there so I could return the lawnmower, as it was a 30 minute ride from Gary back to Hammond. After that I decided to wash my clothes, as there were events on Saturday I wanted to go to.
When I got home from the laundry and running to several stores, smack dap on top of the garbage can was a water bottle with no top that was purposely left there.
Here I had cleaned the streets, and all the grass clippings from my property, and someone had the audacity to do this on purpose. I had totally had enough. I refused to move it.
Draining our own swamps
We truly need to drain our own swamps, so to speak. I was furious. I am so tired of picking up other people’s filth around my home. One time I got cited on my Homeowners policy for this filth. It accumulates rapidly no sooner you pick this mess up. They throw cigarette boxes, butts and lighters, beer and liquor bottles are their specialty. Cigarette butts, and especially their Newport box cigarettes. They throw their plastic water bottles as if they have a right of passage to litter up the community. All kinds of trash. One time I took my garbage can from the alley to front to pick this trash up, and a car pulled up. He scared me too. He stopped. Gave me all the garbage from his car and a freaking wedding type ring.
When I saw that bottle purposely put on top of the garbage can, it took me back. I begin to think about the neighborhoods I lived in, and how trashy they soon became with the influx of a certain type of blacks. I moved to the Southern Suburbs of Illinois, from the City. I was the second black on the block, and I watched white flight take hold, as they overpriced their overvalued homes in their overnight exodus. They sold these bad, and in need of repair homes to Black folks in deplorable fix up conditions that they somehow were able to mask the problems, and got away with it. Oftimes, they knew the inspectors. I watched how a police force, that once lived in the neighborhood, saw Blacks moving in and of course they wanted to keep their jobs, they just didn’t want to live around black folks. So they fought the union and won to not live within the City they serve, but they wanted that paycheck, power and benefits from that City.
Things did change
Sure enough, things did begin to change. All that being said, what bothered me the most was the level of garbage that begin to appear. Also how the stores in the mall went from stable upscale stores to various ethnic groups who sold crap to Blacks (that was NON-refundable of course).
Another thing I noticed was that the white grocery stores begin to move away. They had a corner farmers like indoor markets for whites that just up and moved. I loved walking into this market and buying fruit, and being introduced to fruits and vegetables from around the world. It was just so nice to walk down the street to the indoor farmers market. However, they just upped and moved. Their replacement was a nickel and dime furniture store.
Now since blacks don’t have an economy guess what we were stuck with? The quality of food begin to change as well from these new stores. There was a Strack & Van Till in the strip mall, and they moved fast, along with Hallmark Cards, and an upscale jewelry store, that converted to a Pawn Shop. Even the neighborhood Vintage thrift store went south, and left.
Black Options
For Black folks, who paid over the top for their homes, we still had another option, Walmart, and Ultra. Then the Mexicans opened up a Pete’s. No Black grocery stores though. I started paying more attention and begin to notice, how these type of black people just placed perishables anywhere in the grocery stores instead of putting them back or just handing them to the cashier, but they would rather let it sit and rot somewhere, than to just do the right thing. They would place fruit and even Yogurt or perishable items in the freezer section, steps away from the cashier. They would place Meat in the bread aisle to rot. They would walk through and eat donuts, and by the time they reached the cashier all the evidence was gone. It is just so sad to see their signs of laziness. Then when the stores prices go up to recoup what they have lost because of this mess, they claim the prices are too high.
All Blacks are not the same, and Blacks can tell the difference. Whites just black belted us together, however back in the day Blacks divided themselves from these differences.
I know someone who lives in Tinley Park, Illinois a nice well-kept apartment complex, and now these same different type of element of Black people are moving in, and now they are leaving their calling card, i.e., garbage. We are as different as night and day, but since white folks don’t know the diversity that lies within other ethnic groups other than their own… there you have it
No matter where they go, they garbage it up. Driving down Broadway they will throw their trash out of the window and in a black community like it does not matter. They will trash it like a rite of passage.
The Story continues
As I said, I went to the Laundromat after cutting the grass. In the laundry, we were talking about issues in our community, and we talked about going out of the community to buy because of the lack of stores. One point was made about being scared to go into Family Dollar because they keep robbing them? What kind of crap is this? Where are the police? People had many different theories on these occurrences, and one thought it was an inside job. No matter what the case, it is sad, and we are going to have to do something about this. We cannot continue to live among these types of elements. We can’t have stores in our communities, because they will crime them?
Trash
Trash is truly ugly, and brings rats which carry diseases into our communities. It rubbed me the wrong way. I had had enough. To see this this bottle on top of the trash can, purposely placed. Trash after I had wrecked my body to clean the sidewalk, streets, and trash from my own yard. I saw Black racism. I saw this element of Blacks calling card i.e., garbage. It is almost like they are saying we don’t deserve clean streets. Action surely speaks louder than words with this garbage. This person had the audacity not to put it in the garbage can, after watching me clean the sidewalk (that they walked on to get to the garbage can). I am tired, and I have had enough.
On Monday, June 3, 2019, with my back to the street, I was mowing the grass, I heard the shatter of glass. It was someone driving down Broadway who threw a bottle at the garbage can. Freaking idiot. A liquor bottle, and it just shattered. That glass could have just as well caused my blindness had the shattered pieces got into my eye, as they rode off.
They walk down Broadway, and just drop their trash, or throw their trash on the street. You always see the packs of Newport cigarettes. On Friday, someone had the nerve to throw a cigarette lighter on my yard. They are so dirty. They use to throw their liquor bottles up on the hill on my property as they passed a garbage can. They will pass the garbage can and drop their nasty crap on the ground. One time I was out there cleaning up, and a Mexican lady with her child was walking down the street. Her child dropped a plastic bottle on the street. Right there. She saw me cleaning the streets. I said “are you serious?” Then she begin talking to her child in Spanish, probably calling me all kinds of names, to pick the bottle up. She never apologized. She looked at me like I WAS A PIECE OF SHIT to say something about trashing my community.
We should form a DNA department in Gary, Indiana, who collects fingerprints from garbage, where neighbors who clean the filth up can take it in. Their fingerprints should then be put on a DNA registered database. Just because they threw their garbage in a public place, other than a garbage can gives the department the right to put their fingerprints in a database.
Our communities have an overabundance of rats because of these people, and we are supposed to be OK with this? By whose standards?
In conclusion
Please join me in making a difference and bring a revolution to our communities. Use your cameras to take a picture of people littering. Put a face to the trash. Stop tolerating anyone being able to do what the hell they want to do in our communities. Raise our own standards for those who live, work, play in our community.
We need more anti-littering signs placed down Broadway. We also need to impose hefty fines on these trashers. A lot of this trash is around our sewer system, which is where a lot of this mess goes because everyone does not pick it up.
I commend the City of Gary, and the Office of the Mayors’ Constituent Services on its 5 by 5 clean up initiative. On the other hand, it is so sad, that they have to continually do this, because of irresponsible people who think it is OK to nasty up a community. Maybe Gary should offer a small $5 reward for people who can take pictures and license plates, and capture faces of these litterers? I do believe that Gary should build a DNA database collected from Trash. Imagine, how lucrative that would become for Gary. May even help connect the dots with criminals.
Lastly
While the Broadway 41-44 Blockclub is grateful that City Services came out and cut the grass of the blighted properties, as well as the easements that divide 43rd and 44th, what we don’t like is a job that was done like crap, and totally unprofessional.
If you are going to do a job, do it right. This was a crappy job, and it would not have been tolerated in Miller. Glen Park will no longer tolerate it either. The trash and trees were left, and the grass cutting was butchered. See the picture of your work below.
“If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
US black civil rights leader & clergyman (1929 – 1968)
Cover Photo by John Cameron on Unsplash
Versie C. Chatman © Garyside, LLC 2019
Here is a picture of your work in cutting the grass. This is unacceptable, and will no longer be tolerated!
