Some pretty crazy ‘stuff’ happens in Texas Homeowners Associations. One family in Frisco is now learning how dangerous it is to live near an HOA common area. Brian and Natalie Woodward thought buying a home next to a pond would be fun. Now that the water drainage is threatening to destroy their property, the HOA and the developer are pointing fingers at each other but nobody is planning any changes. Meanwhile, the Woodward’s property is ‘slip slippin’ away.’
In my book, Neighbors At War, I delve deeply into this nation’s history of the enforcement of racially restrictive covenants in millions of property deeds across the country. Yes, we’ve made a ton of progress in the last five decades in wiping out housing discrimination. But in little spots around the country the old mindset remains. Every time I see one of these stories pop up I consider it a national shame that a few people still live in the racist past.
A black man in Texas is in court trying to rent a home in an all-white property owners association. A covenant in the Clearwater Bay POA mandated that homeowners never rent or sell to “anyone of African descent.”
As I write these words I’m looking at an amazing anthropology article in the current issue of National Geographic. The article is about the recent discovery of a new species of bi-pedal hominid in a cave near Johannesburg, South Africa. No matter what your religious or political beliefs are, every human being on the face of this planet is “of African descent.” The black man in that Texas POA should hire a few expert witness anthropologists for his federal discrimination case. They’ll be able to prove in court that not a single member of that Association qualifies for home ownership under its own covenants.
What is it about the American flag that so disgusts the boards of Homeowners Associations? Why is it that patriotism across this grand country is dying? Our parents and grandparents fought fascism abroad a half dozen times over the past century. But the unregulated HOA movement is continuing to increase its dictatorial grip on the tens of millions of people who have come under its control. Our kids are growing up in schools that no longer teach the Pledge of Allegiance or duty to God and Country. They’re learning by our example that patriotism is just not PC.
The latest example comes to us, from of all places, El Paso, Texas which is essentially a military town. An HOA developer is demanding that an elementary school take down a red white and blue flag display from an exterior wall.
Yes, I know I’m harping, but every time I see one of these outrageous stories about homeowners not being allowed to display the Stars and Stripes I’m going to erupt.
As I’ve said before, I have five family members buried in Arlington, another war hero family member buried in a National Cemetery in Portland, Oregon. These men and women stood for a principle, that the American ethic means something. It means we’re courageous in the face of evil. It means we stand up for what’s right and against what’s wrong. It means that when we realize we’ve made a mistake we have a Constitution that allows us to correct it. It means if our leaders in the White House, the Congress, the Senate or elsewhere are too wimpy or too cowardly to stand up for what’s right, we have the right as American voters to toss their butts into the street.
For this Vietnamese hero fighting for his right to fly the American flag in a Houston apartment complex, I say we support him in every way possible.
Don’t think for a moment your HOA has any sympathy for your religious views. Across the country there’ve been plenty of homeowners who were forced to shut down their Wednesday night Bible studies because it meant one too many cars parked on the street or the driveway.
In Katy, Texas, a young lady named Meagan Schmidt joined a church a few months ago. She says the church changed her life so much that she wanted to tell others. So she put up a small sign in her yard that said, “Journey Church.” But the Highland Creek Village Homeowners Association says it’s a commercial sign and blatantly violates neighborhood covenants.
The young lady is resisting and even tried to explain her side to the board members. They shouted her down. Now it’s fines and liens and pending lawsuits. The HOA has even cancelled pool permits for the family’s kids.
In days of old, Texans would have resorted to six-shooters at sundown. These days it’s all about shaming the kids until the parents submit.
Highland Creek Village HOA. Another one to avoid like the plague.
