I Have A Dream - Covered in Garbage
"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed - we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
As of last count, three neighborhoods within the Estes Park town limits (plus one neighborhood just outside of town limits) were known to still have offensive covenants on the books with the Larimer County Clerk and Recorder, restricting property ownership within these neighborhoods by race or religion.
These covenants were written and enforced beginning in the early 1940s, and, despite a Supreme Court ruling declaring them unconstitutional in 1948, continued to be included on Estes Park deeds entered into record as late as 1959. Estes Park, occupying its own little #EstesSoWhite cul-de-sac, apparently hadn't received the news that this type of antebellum behavior was no longer being tolerated.
These discriminatory covenants are a sad fact of Estes Park's past. The most discouraging aspect is, they appear as well to be a sad fact of Estes Park's present.
Look, we all know these racist and anti-Semitic covenants are no longer legally enforceable. We can all pretend to sympathize with current residents of these neighborhoods, whose "hands to sky" protests that their HOAs or "clubs" that drew up these restrictions have since dissolved or disappeared, never bothering to strip away their hatred for blacks or Jews prior to departure, and leaving them to now answer for something they claim to have no knowledge of.
"Oh, woe is us," they wail. "We had no idea when we bought our property our neighborhoods were 'whites only' or 'Gentiles only'. And now there is nothing we can do."
In truth, there is lots they can do. Although it's too late now, they could open their eyes and look around a bit when shopping for a second home, perhaps wondering (even wondering aloud, to the realtor) if it was just a coincidence that all the neighbors looked exactly like them, and worshipped at the same churches as them. Post-discovery, if they were really so upset, they could move. Or if they liked where they lived and the crocodile tears were real, they could rally the neighborhood and form an ad hoc HOA for the sole purpose of nullifying all previous covenants.
But let's not kid ourselves. The only realistic thing that might get done is for individuals of conscience living in these neighborhoods to take it upon themselves to travel to the Larimer County Clerk and Recorder's office and put something on record, a personal statement, in effect, that says, "These offensive covenants do not reflect my views, or the views of my family. Our home and our property is open to all, regardless of color or creed."
But let's not kid ourselves. Given the choice, no one in these neighborhoods is going to take it upon themselves to draft such a document, because that would require legal language (meaning legal fees) and effort.
So the document has been drafted for them. Not by the county commissioners or the town trustees or town administrator or the town attorney, heavens no, this is something our local government can't involve themselves in. These covenants were private contracts between buyer and seller, and despite the fact that our tax dollars (and their salaries) come mostly from convincing visitors that Estes Park is pocket-Disneyland, free from strife and 100% Hebrew-friendly, there is no way they could make the path to tolerance any easier for those pilgrims wishing to do the right thing. The document has been drafted by someone who doesn't even live in one of these neighborhoods, and is growing somewhat tired of serving as Estes Park's soul, paying out of pocket money (not grant money, not taxpayer money) to fix its backwards-ass problems while getting nothing in return but verbal abuse.
In fact, a "do-it-yourself" kit has been prepared for each neighborhood, with relevant portions already filled in so that all the individual property owner has to do is write down his name and street address, pay a $13 filing fee, and wipe his hands forever of the shat-stain his predecessors dumped on his land.
Four neighborhoods times ~40 properties per neighborhood equals 160 properties. I harbor no illusions that, even with television and newspaper publicity pointing out how bad this looks for Estes Park, 10% of affected property-owners will avail themselves of this opportunity.
Why would they? A current member of the Estes Valley Planning Commission and resident of one of the impacted neighborhoods is openly deriding efforts to amend her neighborhood's race-restricted covenant. The county commissioners, county manager, assistant county manager, clerk and recorder, and assistant clerk and recorder, while all professing their desire for this to be a "feel-good story" of folks coming down from the mountain to register progressive beliefs, cannot find time in their busy schedules to appear in a photograph with said mountain folks, and cannot find it in their hearts to wave the $13 recording fee. Our town administrator, who could provide space for these packets somewhere in town hall, or provide staff assistance for residents unfamiliar with locating property information, or, hell, while we're dreaming, divert one of the empty shuttles down to Fort Collins to make this "feel-good story" genuine, has cancelled all meetings related to race-restricted or ant-Semitic covenants. Before he went dark, he equated these offensive restrictions to misguided covenants requiring the use of shake shingles. Naturally, whenever I think of human rights and whether people of color have ever been given a fair shake in Estes Park, my mind drifts to shake shingles.
But most importantly, why would they when most of them are lazy racists? Why would they when they like keeping these restrictions on the books, because it lends their neighborhoods the sheen of white-trash "exclusivity" and helps them feel superior. If they had real money or balls, they would move to Aspen or Whitefish, Montana, and live out in the open with their bona fide white supremacist brethren. Instead, they just hidey-hole out in Estes, bitching about Saint Louis or Charlottesville and clamoring for the old days when the police knew how to make them nee-groes behave.
As of last count, three neighborhoods within the Estes Park town limits (plus one neighborhood just outside of town limits) were known to still have offensive covenants on the books with the Larimer County Clerk and Recorder, restricting property ownership within these neighborhoods by race or religion.
These covenants were written and enforced beginning in the early 1940s, and, despite a Supreme Court ruling declaring them unconstitutional in 1948, continued to be included on Estes Park deeds entered into record as late as 1959. Estes Park, occupying its own little #EstesSoWhite cul-de-sac, apparently hadn't received the news that this type of antebellum behavior was no longer being tolerated.
These discriminatory covenants are a sad fact of Estes Park's past. The most discouraging aspect is, they appear as well to be a sad fact of Estes Park's present.
Look, we all know these racist and anti-Semitic covenants are no longer legally enforceable. We can all pretend to sympathize with current residents of these neighborhoods, whose "hands to sky" protests that their HOAs or "clubs" that drew up these restrictions have since dissolved or disappeared, never bothering to strip away their hatred for blacks or Jews prior to departure, and leaving them to now answer for something they claim to have no knowledge of.
"Oh, woe is us," they wail. "We had no idea when we bought our property our neighborhoods were 'whites only' or 'Gentiles only'. And now there is nothing we can do."
In truth, there is lots they can do. Although it's too late now, they could open their eyes and look around a bit when shopping for a second home, perhaps wondering (even wondering aloud, to the realtor) if it was just a coincidence that all the neighbors looked exactly like them, and worshipped at the same churches as them. Post-discovery, if they were really so upset, they could move. Or if they liked where they lived and the crocodile tears were real, they could rally the neighborhood and form an ad hoc HOA for the sole purpose of nullifying all previous covenants.
But let's not kid ourselves. The only realistic thing that might get done is for individuals of conscience living in these neighborhoods to take it upon themselves to travel to the Larimer County Clerk and Recorder's office and put something on record, a personal statement, in effect, that says, "These offensive covenants do not reflect my views, or the views of my family. Our home and our property is open to all, regardless of color or creed."
But let's not kid ourselves. Given the choice, no one in these neighborhoods is going to take it upon themselves to draft such a document, because that would require legal language (meaning legal fees) and effort.
So the document has been drafted for them. Not by the county commissioners or the town trustees or town administrator or the town attorney, heavens no, this is something our local government can't involve themselves in. These covenants were private contracts between buyer and seller, and despite the fact that our tax dollars (and their salaries) come mostly from convincing visitors that Estes Park is pocket-Disneyland, free from strife and 100% Hebrew-friendly, there is no way they could make the path to tolerance any easier for those pilgrims wishing to do the right thing. The document has been drafted by someone who doesn't even live in one of these neighborhoods, and is growing somewhat tired of serving as Estes Park's soul, paying out of pocket money (not grant money, not taxpayer money) to fix its backwards-ass problems while getting nothing in return but verbal abuse.
In fact, a "do-it-yourself" kit has been prepared for each neighborhood, with relevant portions already filled in so that all the individual property owner has to do is write down his name and street address, pay a $13 filing fee, and wipe his hands forever of the shat-stain his predecessors dumped on his land.
Four neighborhoods times ~40 properties per neighborhood equals 160 properties. I harbor no illusions that, even with television and newspaper publicity pointing out how bad this looks for Estes Park, 10% of affected property-owners will avail themselves of this opportunity.
Why would they? A current member of the Estes Valley Planning Commission and resident of one of the impacted neighborhoods is openly deriding efforts to amend her neighborhood's race-restricted covenant. The county commissioners, county manager, assistant county manager, clerk and recorder, and assistant clerk and recorder, while all professing their desire for this to be a "feel-good story" of folks coming down from the mountain to register progressive beliefs, cannot find time in their busy schedules to appear in a photograph with said mountain folks, and cannot find it in their hearts to wave the $13 recording fee. Our town administrator, who could provide space for these packets somewhere in town hall, or provide staff assistance for residents unfamiliar with locating property information, or, hell, while we're dreaming, divert one of the empty shuttles down to Fort Collins to make this "feel-good story" genuine, has cancelled all meetings related to race-restricted or ant-Semitic covenants. Before he went dark, he equated these offensive restrictions to misguided covenants requiring the use of shake shingles. Naturally, whenever I think of human rights and whether people of color have ever been given a fair shake in Estes Park, my mind drifts to shake shingles.
But most importantly, why would they when most of them are lazy racists? Why would they when they like keeping these restrictions on the books, because it lends their neighborhoods the sheen of white-trash "exclusivity" and helps them feel superior. If they had real money or balls, they would move to Aspen or Whitefish, Montana, and live out in the open with their bona fide white supremacist brethren. Instead, they just hidey-hole out in Estes, bitching about Saint Louis or Charlottesville and clamoring for the old days when the police knew how to make them nee-groes behave.
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