The Undoing of Decency

To the Editor:

Alas, it has arrived on the quiet shores of Beach, North Dakota. 

Greed.

It showed up just last week. It started with evictions, unprovoked and without cause. Then, more hideously, price hikes for the elderly.

The story begins with the sale of a rather nice multiplex apartment building here in town. Its new owner, a local man hungry for oil field housing money, then summarily evicts all but one of its residents. Spared is the eldest tenant, a 79 year-old widow living alone on retirement savings. Apparently, ousting her would have been simply too cold-hearted even for an unapologetic profiteer. But his kindness comes with a condition. To stay in her home she must accept a rental increase from $300 to $750 a month.

This story is not unique to Beach. It is being played out in towns across the oil patch. But for North Dakotans who have for generations proudly built a society based on fundamental decency and respect, a story like this should feel like a bone in the throat.

Let’s be clear. Just because a landlord has the authority to evict or otherwise force people onto the street, does not mean that this is a honorable or descent thing to do. But honor and decency are qualities of character. And in the rush for easy money, character—or the lack there of—is often revealed.

If we are to remain a decent society we must treat one another decently.  And we must also stand up and defend our common decency when it is assaulted.

To describe the behavior of these landlords as “wrong” is to use too kind a word. I think it is better described as contemptible.

-Jerry DeMartin
Beach, ND