When enough people see things like this with their own eyes, I suppose that's when we'll have a democratic revolution in this country:
Last week, a SWAT team forcefully evicted Rochester resident Catherine Lennon from her New York home, arresting at least six protestors and neighbors in the process, according to MSNBC.com.
The federal debate over the foreclosure process has heated up in recent weeks, with the Obama administration backtracking on an earlier, more dramatic proposition that would have required mortgage lenders to reduce monthly payments for millions of homeowners like Lennon.
Lennon, a grandmother living with her children and grandchildren, says she was willing to make mortgage payments to government-sponsored mortgage insurance firm Fannie Mae, but that the bank refused to accept her checks because the property was not in her name. Her husband -- the official homeowner -- died in 2008 without writing a will, leading to a legal battle between Lennon and her bank.
Take Back The Land-Rochester, a group dedicated to defending community housing and now supporting Lennon, staged an eviction in the weeks leading up to the altercation. The day of the confrontation, police arrested protestors for attempting to block entrance to the house.
"This is not America," a neighbor told a local television crew. "This is not what America should be."
Bank of America released a statement in response to the controversy saying Lennon had fallen behind on her payments, becoming delinquent. In turn, TBLT's Ryan Acuff said that while Lennon was delinquent on payments to Countrywide and Bank of America, she had "not only met with the Housing Council, the local HUD approved mortgage counselors, but attempted to engage with Bank of America."
"[T]he fact remains," Acuff continued, "that Bank of America refused her attempts to pay and efforts to negotiate modifications to her mortgage for the reasons stated above."
Rep. Louise Slaughter (NY-28) has reached out to Fannie Mae to re-review Lennon's case. After speaking with high-level representatives, Lennon says she is "very positive" about the prospect of her house being returned to her.
The difference is, during the Great Depression, hundreds of people would have shown up to stop this, not fewer than a dozen.
