Welfare Ain't What It Used To Be....

Welfare Ain’t What It Used To Be
December 22, 2007 by jimbyrd

Sharon Jasper has been victimized. Sharon Jasper has been rabidly wronged. She has become a Section 8 carcass–the victim of ever changing public housing policies.
Sharon Jasper has spent 57 or her 58 years dedicated to one cause and one cause only, and has nothing to show for her dedicated servitude. She has lived in Section 8 housing all but 1 of her 58 years. It was a legacy passed down from her parents who moved into Section 8 housing in 1949 when she was six months old. She has passed the legacy down to her children, but fears they may have to get jobs to pay for the utilities and deposits. She laments about her one year hiatus from the comfort of her Section 8 nirvana, ” I tried it for a year..you know…working and all. It’s not anything I would want to go through again, or wish on anyone in my family, but I am damn proud of that year.”
Sharon was moved out of her St. Bernard housing project after hurricane Katrina and into a new, yet albeit, substandard quarterage. As can be noted from the above photo of her new Section 8 home, it is repugnant and not suitable for someone of Sharon Jasper’s seniority status in the system. “Don’t be fooled by them hardwood floors,” says Sharon. “They told me they were putting in scraped wood floors cause it was more expensive and elegant, but I am not a fool–that was just a way to make me take scratched up wood because I am black. The 60 inch HD TV? It may look nice but it is not a plasma. It’s not a plasma because I’m black. Now they want me to pay a deposit and utilities on this dump.” “Do you know why?”
She has held her tongue in silence through the years of abuse by the system, but it came to a head at the New Orlean’s city council meeting where discussions were under way about the tearing down of the St. Bernard projects. When a near riotous exchange between groups opposing the tearing down of St. Bernard and groups wanting the dilapidated buildings torn down and newer ones built, Sharon unleashed verbal hell with her once silenced tongue. The object of her oratory prowess was an acquiescent poor white boy in attendance. The context of her scathing rebuke was, “Just because you pay for my house, my car, my big screen and my food, I will not be treated like a slave!” and “Back up and Shut up! Shut up, white boy! Shut up, white boy!”
Recapping from the mental log of the city council minutes in her head, Sharon repines, “Our families have been displaced all over the United States. They are being forced to commit crimes in cities they are unfamiliar with. It is a very uncomfortable situation for them. Bring them back, then let’s talk about redevelopment.”
To try bring notice to her tribulation, Sharon has graciously allowed parts of her slummy abode to be photographed for documentation of her abuse.

Above is the dinning room the housing authority pawned off on her. Sharon will acknowledge that it is a nice and all, but the “man” knows she has 25 family members to feed and the size is inadequate. She believes she is the recipient of malevolence by the “man”.

Above is her bathroom. This was done solely to taunt her because the “man” knows she is going to have to start paying her utility bills and this was only done to run up her water and towel bill. Once again, she is the recipient of malevolence by the “man”.

Above is the stocked wine cellar that came with her new Section 8 house. Sharon states this is another example of the white man is taking advantage of a poor black women. “Look at all these bottles of wine”, she said–”they are worthless. Just another example of thinking I am stupid. All this wine is at least 10 years old and some of it is 20 years old, you know the white man kept all the fresh stuff for himself. I ain’t that stupid.”
Sharon directs the reporter’s attention across the street to Duncan Plaza where homeless people are living in tents and states that, “I might do better out there with one of these tents.” She further lamented her sentiments about her situation,” I might be poor, but I don’t have to live poor.”
Sharon Jasper is not going down without a fight. She is the head of a tenant association that works with the AFL-CIO’s Gulf Coast Revitalization Program who is working closely with the Congressional Black Caucus, who is working very closely with Rev. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson to get a bill, operation Section 8 Time Share, passed in Congress. The bill would allow people of seniority, like Sharon Jasper, who have been a loyal recipient of Section 8 housing for a minimum of 30 years, to be able to use a special Section 8 permit for a time share vacation home 2 weeks out of the year in a tropical location.