Following the admission of guilt by So. Cal Gas of an on going gas leak, the residents of the affluent community of Porter Ranch Estates took to giving interviews. Trying to bring awareness to the lack of transparency on behalf of the So. Cal Gas, the residents of just sound like a group of bored suburban house wives.
Shame on So Cal Gas for not being honest with the residents of Porter Ranch. No one should be subjected to chemicals and not know about it. We all deserve the right to live healthy happy lives, however the folks acting as spokes people of Porter Ranch, please stop whining. In an interview given by Cheri Derohanian to the Associated
Press Derohanian says “We’re like BMW people and you’re giving us Pinto service” and “We’re not a bunch of hicks. We’re like Porter Ranch, it’s like, you know, the Beverly Hills of the valley.” In the interview Derohanian is complaining of the inconvenience cause by the health hazard which does warrant concern, it is tough to sympathize.
While I had originally had empathy for the displaced residents of the communities in the affected areas, Miss. Derohanian make it very easy for me to roll my eyes and say “life sucks some times, deal with it.” According to 2009-2013 census the median house hold income in Orange county is $75,422. With the Gas Company offering up to $7,500 per month for home rentals, deal with the inconvenience or assume the risk. They are being offered more for a home rental than most people will live off of for an entire month. The Gas Company is being plenty generous in their financial assistance, but some want an accompanying personal assistant so that they will not be bothered.
Hardship is defined by Webster as something that causes pain and suffering. Having a $7,500 a month budget to find temporary housing is not a hardship. This is an inconvenience or could even be considered an annoyance. I cannot help but feel that this is a great indication of how disconnected we have become despite our physical proximity. In April 2015 The OC Register published an article about citing a 24% adjusted poverty rate in the county. The article also cites that for these 24% of households in the county, housing accounts of 67% of their income. While I can empathize for the nuisance, and I hope for minimal long term environmental impact and people that suffer heath problems due to the leak I have a tough time with people who feel they are “BMW People” and they deserve better treatment than others. We all deserve the same treatment under the same circumstance.