Root Causes of Discontent

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Cause: "Punching Down"

Examples of inadvertent consequences that punch down.

CHICAGO (AP) — When word spread that the Obama Presidential Center was coming to the lakefront park Tara Madison has watched through her apartment windows for a decade, she was elated at the idea of a gleaming facility honoring the president she supported and reviving rough sections of her neighborhood.

Then the 52-year-old social services worker and daughter of civil rights activists began to worry luxury condos might replace subsidized housing, including where she lives with her two children and two grandchildren, and she’d be forced to move.

“Because our area has become attractive to developers now, they’ll count us out,” she said.

Her sentiments represent a tangled conflict that’s unfolded since Barack Obama announced his $500 million presidential center would be built in Jackson Park, near Lake Michigan and where he started his political career, taught law and got married: Could the legacy library of the nation’s first black president propel the displacement of thousands of low-income black families right in his backyard? https://apnews.com/f3462b63c62b4d9dad70237ab573fff1 

This is an example of "punching down" - satisfying one's own interest (Chicago politicians and beneficiaries of a "Beautiful" Chicago) to the detriment of those less fortunate than you - whether intended or not. In this case, the recipients of the punching down were Tara Madison and others who lived in that rough Chicago neighborhood. For years they were ignored, neglected and left to suffer with little or no help from Chicago. They were worthless in the eyes of Chicago politicians and their financial backers. Suddenly the place they call home - the place political strategists used to paint a picture of an aspiring Presidential candidate - would be more valuable only if they were gone from their homes. A Presidential library became an opportunity for redevelopment and they may be the casualties. 

Something closer to home would Austin's decriminalization of urban camping (homelessness). As Austin become more like an Urban Citadel for nationless global tech than a blueberry in a bowl of raspberry soup, some home owners, who reveled in Austin's uniqueness, find themselves in opposition to elevated world human rights standards. In order to meet those standards https://undocs.org/A/HRC/38/33/ADD.1 , there will be unease and displacement. Those affected by the change in law face a different landscape than the one they have known in their home town. Was there enough community engagement given the reaction? Probably not. Why not?  . . . that's the rub. The motives of those who make the rules is never certain. This creates a vacuum and in rushes discontent and speculation as to the motives or those making the change in the status quo. 

In both cases, there are virtuous motivations for the actions. But there are consequences and they have human faces, dreams, and aspirations. Acts that impact their lives deserve more scrutiny before, during and after implementation of the new measure to ensure those impacted have a constructive avenue for discontent. Decisions made in the dark only create more uncertainty and discontent. 

How to prevent? Inclusion of those affected or those with wisdom to advocate strongly for those affected. Wisdom is a product of experience. With enough years living in the world, one can attain wisdom. It is generally not something taught. 

Where are the wise ones in our nation who can help remedy the discontent?

What are some other root causes of discontent?  Are there any that would exist but for "punching down" intentionally or otherwise?