Downtown Seattle crime: Don’t despair, engage

Re: “I loved my downtown Seattle neighborhood, but it got too depressing to stay,” Sept 18, Opinion]:

Mary Lou Sanelli writes: “It is rare for policymakers to live in the hardest hit neighborhoods they rule. I can only hope (and pray and vote!)

In fact, Seattle residents can do much, much more than just hope, pray, or even vote. Seattle residents can donate their time, money, and skills to charities. They can enter into dialogue with their homeless neighbors. You can volunteer in communal kitchens, in emergency shelters, in libraries. You can demonstrate for the rental price brake and against evictions. You can donate backpacks and long-life groceries. You can take in a refugee voluntarily.

Far too often, we over-rely on our democratic institutions instead of engaging directly with our communities. But remember, in a democracy you get the government you deserve. If the Council appears uninterested, it may be because its constituents are uninterested. Why should the Council listen to your concerns when you simply leave town the moment you fail to assert yourself? If your neighborhood is too depressing, don’t move to the suburbs – definitely do something. Don’t wait for the city council to save your neighborhood. Since when has independence practically left our city?

Sean Koa Seu, Seattle