America's Failing System

Small, Minority Neighborhoods are often the target of development and dumping grounds for toxic industry and anything the richer parts of the city don’t want in their backyards. As is the case in our neighborhoods of South Park and Georgetown, we are painted as complaining as moving close to industry, when in actuality, we were here first. South Park was originally all farmland until one of the owners sold a large amount of land to Boeing for the war industry at around the time of WW2. Jorgensen Forge is a toxic industrial site that had been the site of metal manufacturing for decades, and Boeing’s old building during WW2 also dumped many toxic pollutants that the community is still dealing with in the river. Unfortunately, since the Duwamish River flows into other bodies of water, including where rich people are more prevalent, it is now becoming their problem, whether they like it or not.

For this reason, I strongly urge people not to go swimming at Alki, as many of the “Forever Chemicals” are more than likely prevalent in the waters down there and in the sound. They are not as in high of concentrations as down in our industrial area, at the moment. However, with the speed our industries are pumping out fumes, it is merely a matter of time, before people living in other areas (even well-off ones), start experiencing reproductive…..difficulties, as well as other health hazards from the chemicals such as CPAH’s, BPA’s and others. The Duwamish River is a Superfund site from all the chemicals in it, and is leaking into other bodies of water as well. The mainstream-media often portrays it as the fault of the residents, even though many times, the homes were there before the industry moved in.

This is not only a Seattle “problem.” Flint Michigan and many other poor neighborhoods around the U.S. and world have been turned into ‘sacrifice zones’ as well as Georgetown and South Park. Government Agencies ignore us, as we don’t have the money to make them do anything. To give you an example of how little they care; Ram Mounts/National Products Incorporated demolished a home with a septic tank still intact and left it as a hazardous site unlocked for kids to come play in. When the correct department finally did come out to handle it, at first, they just told the kids to stop going in and playing in an unlocked hazardous site. Ram/NPI also kicked out a 94-year old blind lady so they could demolish one of the other homes.

Smaller neighborhoods also many times lack the funds to fight back against the government and industry. Which leaves them open to being bullied, many local politicians are also in the pocket of industrial corporations, as well as many in the Federal Government. Police are also tools for them, one example of which I will post down in my sources. Making sure that people in poorer areas are well cared for is, ironically, better for the rich. This is because the next pandemic will most likely start in a heavily-polluted zone and work it’s way up to the richer parts of the world, before anyone knows what happened.

https://www.police1.com/company-directory/ram-mounting-systems/

https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/history/events/2019/fall/poisoned-city.html

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/17/flint-water-poisoning-charges

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3114843/

https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/racism-killing-planet