Revolutionary response to home forclosure

[Magda Hassan]

Yes, some people get themselves into debt by biting off more than they can chew. Big mistake. However, the culture and system here and there supports this. Bigger is better. Buy more = be more happy. You can have it all now and pay it off later. All of these messages bombard people everyday where ever they go. People internalise it and it seems 'normal'. But this message is driven by those that profit from it and it isn't the borrower but the lender/banks/finance institutions which benefit very nicely indeed. As David has pointed out it is not an equal relationship. Banks have knowingly created this situation because it profits them to do so. They are supposed to be taking a risk too but it is all skewed in their favor and the risk is not shared equally.

So the question to be asked is this: what's the difference between irresponsible lending and irresponsible borrowing? Why weight one higher than the other? It doesn't make sense does it. But then again, it's not supposed to.

Also people in this society are almost totally dependent of banks as a means to have a home. There are few options other than banks or landlords for one to acquire a home to live in. Both are parasites. This creates a monopoly situation. It also commodifies a basic human need - shelter. Institutions are meant to provide for human needs. If they aren't doing that they are not worth supporting. Banks do not exist to give people housing. They exist to make money for their owners/shareholders. They couldn't give a flying fig if you have a home to live in or not. They are not a human person lending you their money (which would be quite different) they are a corporation lending you other peoples money for profit (including your own more than likely).

I support non-violence also but I do not consider what this man has done as violence. It was a building not a person. Direct action, yes. He was reclaiming and doing what he wished with his part of the house. As a by product it deprived the bank of their part because it is in one whole. But then the bank were going to deprive him of his half weren't they? And as David has also pointed out banks and corporations do this all the time and it is quite legal and called asset stripping. To bad he wasn't incorporated.
The guy that flew the plane into the IRS building was violent because he caused the death of people. If he had flown the plane in to the building with out people in it, say at night time, or had them evacuated, it would have been different.