An option for Mossville... perhaps not.

In my policy class my professor described the process of voting with your feet (moving to a district in hopes of a better quality of life for any number of reasons) as a means of changing and improving your life and environment when those in power (elected officials) will not. Is it OK to move because your voice isn’t heard? What about the people left behind?
Although this is accepted and used by many people idea bothers me primarily for three reasons:
I believe Mossville is no outlier regarding core problems faced by the community, in fact there are hundreds of towns across America where structured racism is accepted and it continues simply because there are no other options, communities are left feeling defeated. This leads to reason number 2- in Mossville the residents’ voices are particularly hushed because their town is not incorporated. Mossville lies between Sulphur and West Lake, LA in the midst of fourteen refineries leaving the community in the shadow of the refineries. After fifteen years of getting sick, fighting for their rights, and being angry in the face of opposition, what are their remaining options?
Reason number three- the community is forced to be ill which increases their feelings of hopelessness. Adding to the feelings of illnesses and exhaustion many residents do not feel they can do anything about their environment since past experiences have failed; many community members can recant stories of failed attempts to gain some type of awareness from those in power. Further enhancing the communities’ beliefs the state of Louisiana gives tax breaks to large companies to build and expand production; understanding all to well the benefits and risks associated with their lucrative incentives. Many people can deduce that the closer you are to a toxic site the more your chance for negative health risks increase, yet who is making the decision as to whether or not the corporations build? It is not the community members, in fact they often have no say; it is the stakeholders, those that benefit while the community members that reside near the plants suffer the harms associated with inhaling cancerous air irresponsibly polluted daily by the refineries.

I think we can understand how voting with your feet becomes a method of staying healthy and safe. Not all people can be blessed with the ability to move, in a community such as Mossville the roots of family and community can be traced back over 140 years. Many people in the community have moved however for many that remain they will never leave. Mossville is their home and they want it to remain like that for future generations.

The fact remains that ALL people regardless of their ethnicity or racial background deserve to live a healthy life. The fact that refineries in Europe operate with out polluting the environment is a testament for future aspirations in this country but also reveals the truths as to why clean operating standards doesn't occur in a capitalist, profit driven society. *Nicole

Apathy: One of Humankind's Greatest Evils

It has been a week since our return from Louisiana and I find myself continually reflecting upon my experiences in Mossville and also in New Orleans.

I have always considered myself blessed, however, I never considered myself privileged. My consciousness was first awakened to the concept of me being a white privileged woman when I attended the Undoing Racism workshop in January. Before then, I had conceived of myself as a decent white woman who cared about humanity and tried to do my best to help those in need - me not being a racist was all that was required of me. I was so wrong.

Not that I was so blind or naive to think that racism no longer existed in America. I just did not comprehend how our governmental and social systems are set up in a way that continues to support the white privileged class. After spending a week in Mossville I believe I am finally beginning to understand what white privilege means and also what structural racism does to individuals and a community.

There is no excuse for our government to shamefully continue pretending that they don’t know whom the sources are of all the toxic substances that are accumulating in the bodies of the Mossville residents. Not when the great majority of residents experience illnesses such as asthma and other diseases with environmental triggers. Not when there are millions of pounds of these toxic substances being released into the air and groundwater both legally and accidentally on a regular basis. Not when the local police allow plant employees to play vigilante and intimidate concerned citizens (granted concerned citizens not from the area) and then assign police officers to “question” these individuals under the guise of homeland security. I continually wonder if we had been a group of all Black citizens, rather than mostly white, would we have so easily driven away from the encounter.

In the words of Helen Keller: “Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all -- the apathy of human beings.” The residents of Mossville deserve much more than our caring thoughts they deserve for us to transform our apathy into action and passion - not only while we are in Louisiana but in every interaction we have where ever we may be.

~ Gloria

Beautiful people

This is my first post.

The people in Mossville are some of the most beautiful people I have ever seen--physically, emotionally and spiritually. There is a light that shines from their eyes.

Beja and I attended church on Sunday, March 21, 2010. We were invited to fill out information cards and were welcomed with smiles. The pastor wove us and New York into his sermon; the singing and music were amazing. One of the singers is the pastor's daughter and she has made a CD...what a voice.

The church bulletin has a section that says:

"Don't Forget to Pray for...

Illness
An adolescent 14 year old with cancer, need healing
A couple, pancreatic cancer surgery & one has mass on kidney...
Another, cancer in remission...
Another, mass on stomach...

and on and on..

I have traveled to Mossville three times now and come home ill each time. This in a matter of days, not months or years. I wonder not that Mossville residents are dying but how they remain alive and keep the faith.

What is loved remains in the heart. My spiritual teacher says that we cannot take anything back--not the harsh words, not the love. I'm grateful for the latter.