Re: “I loved my downtown Seattle neighborhood, but it became too depressing to stay,” Sept. 18, Opinion]:
Mary Lou Sanelli writes, “It’s rare that policy makers live within the hardest hit neighborhoods they govern. I can only hope (and pray and vote!) that ours will finally admit that the homeless issue has become Seattle’s very own too-permissive public policy.”
Actually, Seattleites can do much, much more than hope, pray or even vote. Seattleites can donate their time, money and skills to mutual-aid societies. They can engage in dialogues with their houseless neighbors. They can volunteer at community kitchens, at shelters, at libraries. They can demonstrate in support of rent control and against evictions. They can donate backpacks and nonperishable food items. They can volunteer to take in a refugee.
Far too often, instead of engaging directly with our communities, we become overly reliant on our democratic institutions. But remember, in a democracy, you get the government you deserve. Perhaps if the council appears disengaged, it’s because its constituents are disengaged. Why should the council listen to your concerns, if you’re just going to leave the city as soon as you don’t get your way? If your neighborhood is too depressing, don’t move out to the burbs — by all means, do something. Don’t wait for the city council to save your neighborhood. Since when has self-reliance all but left our city?
Sean Koa Seu, Seattle