Wednesday, March 3, 2021
My Thoughts on 5th & Hill
Ms. Lennhoff's presentation the other day was the first I had heard about this issue, and even hearing the words "toxic waste site" about a place so close to home was insane. I looked up the location on google maps, and the thought of something that dangerous being so close to home is scary, but the idea of living across the street from it is much, much worse. 
Looking at this image, I grew concerned for the people living so close to this health hazard, I think seeing how close it really is to people left more of an impact on me than just hearing about it. Thinking about how the people and families living in those homes must have suffered is awful, and as someone who has seen a family member go through (and thankfully beat) cancer, I hate the thought of people having to go through the same experience as a result of the laziness and greed of someone else. It really is a shame nowadays that people are willing to lie and sacrifice other humans lives to save money, and as we have said in class, if this ordeal had occurred in a different, more wealthy neighborhood, the fight to clean the contaminants up would not still be happening, nor would it have needed to happen at all in my opinion. To me, this situation is another example of how little people care about the lives of colored and lower class people. I don't know too many other examples of this, but regarding institutionalized racism in general, there are injustices being carried out every single day without being stopped. Disparities in college admissions and in the workplace, over-policing in low-income black neighborhoods, underfunded education, and more. People's lives are being lost in the aftermath of these things, and they are not being dealt with nearly as quickly as they should be. This company knowingly subjected people to illnesses and death due to their missteps, and tried their hardest to avoid dealing with the situation at all. I'm sure there are similar problems occurring across America and the rest of the world, but I am deeply saddened and disappointed that something like this could be happening a mere 30 minutes away.
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I agree with what you've said, and I think it's awful how hard it would be to take legal action against the corporation. They've knowingly hurt people, and there's no way to directly prove it in court. Of course legal action can't change the lives lost, but it would show that companies can't keep doing this.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this is a very frustrating issue. What is the most frustrating to me is that the people who have been victims of this issue are expected to be the same people who solve it. I feel that that general idea can be applicable to a lot of issues, especially this one. Something particularly frustrating that you noted was the demographic of this issue and the lack of care as a result. In my opinion, I believe that if this were to happen in an upper class, white community, immediate action would be taken. However, we've seen what has happened and how Ameren has not been held accountable for their actions.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the residents are fighting an endless battle without any satisfying response. I agree with Sam, they expect the victims to solve it, and when they go about trying to solve it they keep on losing. You know what struck me the most?! The people who were responsible for the mess were also in charge of directing the cleanup WITHOUT the residents' input. That's why officials get away with doing the bare minimum. It's insane and unfortunate that in order for effective change to happen the (victims) and community members have to clean up the mess.
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