Dallas's housing assistance waitlist opened up for the first time in 5 years last week, and despite the fact that only 100 spots were being offered, over 21,000 people entered the lottery. They started lining up outside the office the night before, and the line was eventually near a mile long. This line was full of infants, children, women, and senior citizens (women, children, and the elderly are the most likely groups of people to be impoverished), and eight people were injured. More info here.
The only thing my brain can scrounge up to compare this to is all the crazies who line up for Black Friday sales within minutes of finish their Thanksgiving dinners. I'm thankful for...this 80-inch flatscreen I'm about to stay up all night waiting to buy. Right. I remember my freshman year, an employee was TRAMPLED TO DEATH opening the doors at Walmart on Black Friday.
Death by American greed and reckless desire for all things shiny on one hand. Injury by American poverty and reckless desire for decent living conditions on the other. The disappointment shared by those who weren't first in line binding them together. Two sides of the same sad coin.
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