FEMA's latest brand of descrimination

Someone at the ASPCA forwarded to me the FEMA housing contract dated February 2007. Of course, many people are still homeless due to the hurricanes of 2005; in addition to the obvious loss of homes, many rentals have escalated in price because of the premiums being paid by relief workers and by FEMA itself, so there is a huge logjam of people unable to move out of the system. Here's one way to move them out:

"3. The following breeds are not permitted at any FEMA mobile home or travel trailer site: Akita, Boxer, Chow, Doberman, Pit Bull, Rotweiller, American Staffordshire Terriers, English Staffordshire Terriers, wolf hybrids or any other breed with dominent traits geared toward aggression. Additionally, many of these animals have lock jaws that increase the risk of harm during a bite."

The last line is particularly telling, since it isn't supported by any biological evidence. Many insurance companies have been refusing homeowners insurance to the same list of dog owners. But since both FEMA and insurance companies are in the business of denying coverage, I think the list of dogs is their polite way of stereotyping people who they believe are risks in other ways. As PETA likes to say, there's only one kind of person who owns a pit bull: gang members and drug dealers. And that is a polite way of saying...

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