Miami granny is up a tree with county officials

House in India   (PD)

When Miami grandmother Shawnee Chasser is snuggled in her open-air tree home, all is right with the world.  As she puts it: When I am up in my tree house in thunder, lightning and rain I am in heaven.  There’s nothing nicer, more spiritual, more wonderful.

To each her own, an important point here.  Shouldn’t a person of sound mind be permitted to take calculated risks?  Should safety (in the guise of zoning ordinances) so prevail that individual liberties are diminished?  Should the long hand of government jab its fingers into such personal choices as what to call home?

Chasser is currently being issued an ultimatum by her county’s “unsafe structures board.”  She has three months to tear her beloved tree home down.  After living amongst the leaves since 1992, she must now come back down to earth.

Now granted, if Chasser were wealthy enough, she could build an up-to-code replacement.  However, she does not have the capital to finance such a project.  What this amounts to is that the rich have far more personal freedom than the poor.  Is this what was meant by liberty and justice for all?

Resources

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/grandma-living-in-miami-treehouse-for-24-years-in-showdown-with-county/ar-AAiweSl?li=BBnb4R7

Copyright September 6, 2016 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved