• archomrade [he/him]
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    1 year ago

    I appreciate your story.

    If it’s not unwelcome, I’d offer, I guess, a bit of an explanation, as I think the lines get kinda blurred in the passion of the moment.

    From a leftist perspective, the root of the issue is not personal culpability (as in liberalism’s emphasis on the individual), but with the system of organization that creates the “material” conditions. Basically, it’s exactly the opposite of what you said:

    But it’s not the job that is the problem. It’s the people.

    It’s not the people that’s the problem, it’s the system. There is obviously a spectrum of landlords that make the situation better or worse, but the issue is with the underlying relationship of private ownership itself.

    We have to stop seeing rented property as a paternalistic relationship; “this is mine because I paid for it”, and more of a coming together of joint interest; “this is ours, because I may have paid for it at first, but you are actually living in it”. We let authority be derived from that notion of ownership, and that’s the point of concern for those of us being critical of landlords. That we place emphasis on ownership is not anyone’s fault (mostly), but it is the thing we need to be able to discuss without alienating others.

    I’m truly sorry for making you feel alienated, I hope my explanation is helpful and not adding to your discomfort.