Wednesday, April 18, 2012

I took part in my first protest today

The protest was on behalf of a disabled man living in his own house in Inkster which had been modified for his use. Part of the mortgage had been guaranteed and paid for by a government program, but that program has dropped him, leaving him unable to pay the whole mortgage bill. He has been in the house eight years. The bank has started foreclosure proceedings.

The start time for the protest was listed as 2:00, but that was for the time of the court proceedings. The protest actually began before then. I'll remember that for future protests.

I counted 35 in the protest line. I'm sure I missed a few. We walked back and forth on the sidewalk near the court, chanting a few slogans. Some had signs. I may have to bring my own. After I had been there about 10 minutes, we moved closer to the main entrance to the court and the man's lawyer came out to give us an update. He said the court's morning docket didn't finish, so this case was postponed. He'll ask for a jury trial.

A policeman showed up (from the station next door) and asked to see the leader. He seemed satisfied that permits were in order then kindly suggested we disperse since the court action was delayed.

A disabled woman talked to us. She described the Inkster District Court as a foreclosure factory. She also said Gov. Snyder created a commission on housing (I think that's it). The commission has representatives from Livonia and Birmingham, not Detroit, Pontiac, Inkster, or Benton Harbor. For those who don't live in Michigan, I'm sure you can guess who lives in Livonia and who lives in Inkster.

It took me longer to drive to Inkster than I spent protesting.

No comments:

Post a Comment