29 Mar Neo-politics and the perverse account of the media
The batch of non-professional young politicians that the new formations have brought turned out to have a sensitive skin but a hard heart. In light of a woman’s eviction along with her son who has a 65% disability from a junk room, they have reacted with promptness and have, moreover, written opinion articles justifying their management skills which have, among other things, enabled the increase of social housing in the city, rental grants, and emergency rent, everything Rosario Planas and her son lacked. A pity that from Cap I Casal weren’t as quick in admitting their mistake and give a short-term solution.
The sensitivity level is such that they have no problem in attributing the problem to the “perverse account” of media that extols the image of anonymous people – insert here the name of a certain stevedore’s non-governmental organization for which the same hotel Rosario Planas and her son were sent foots the bill- against an inoperative Administration. Thanks to that perverse account we can publicly thank today stevedores from the port for their reaction capacity, and the hotel itself as well which gave its two cents for the cause, which is exactly what we can’t appreciate from politicians from Valencia who are in charge of this paperwork.
Surely the really serious thing is that the equality and inclusive policies councilor, Isabel Lozano, ex-professor of journalists, was the author of these explanations in an article published in Levante-EMV, titled “The misery as news”. A clear example of accepting responsibility and of political sensitivity.
If it was an isolated case, it wouldn’t mean more than an exercise of bafflement and lack of self-reflection at which neopoliticians that came to save the citizens from the apocalypse originated by traditional politics have already accustomed us.
The problem is that skin sensitivity has spread like wildfire between this municipal council’s endemic specimen, as demonstrated by another justification that has emerged from it. This time it was the habitatge (housing) councilor, María Oliver, who redirected the responsibility of the fact that Rosario and her son ended up living in a junk room to a failure to protect tenants against their owners increasing prices and the pressure over the market of tourist apartments.
It is usually easier to see the speck of sawdust in others than to see one’s own flaws, but when talking about human beings it is inadmissible that the answer of municipal authorities is justification instead of admission of guilt, the will to rectify, and above all, to roll up one’s sleeves and start working from the very start. There will be enough time for justifications and opinion articles when the object for some, a human being for others, of this case has been satisfactorily solved. And telling someone who doesn’t have a place to spend the night that it is possible they will receive a social flat in a month approximately might not be the answer we expect from our governors.
Social services have failed. Let’s not forget that the son had a 65% disability and went to a specialized center and still the problem went undetected.
The administration has failed. Rosario Planas had asked every single administration for help. She carries at all times a plastic bag containing all those help requests. There’s not even a single solution among so many replies. And when a solution is given as a result of media pressure, one has to wait more than a month…
It is a good thing we have civil society left. Anonymous beings that react in due course, just like our politics should do.
More than one, with sensitive skin and a carefully scruffy appearance, should experience the harshness of being a stevedore in order to know what real work is like. And provide solutions when it is necessary.