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I'm good at reading people. I had read about the situation many times over the years and was very familiar with it before I watched the documentary. I had only read about the town council and the Docheffs.

The documentary had these people in it. Not actors, the people involved. I'm assuming they would have every motivation to appear sympathetic, yet almost to a person they came off as slimy, dishonest, petty, underhanded shitweasels. It is completely believable that every single thing Heemeyer said and believed about them was true.

My home borders what is known as "the rural crescent" here in Prince William County. For over 20 years, the western (rural) part of the county has required 10 acre minimum lots for residential zoning. A land developer purchased land that spanned both rural and semi-rural zoning. Where I am is "semi-rural," meaning the lots are between one and five acres. The 320 acre plot to the west could be developed as rural, meaning 10 acre lots. This was known at the time of purchase. Yet the developer has been pushing for 20 years to have the land rezoned, roads added, and all of that, solely so they can make more money by building more homes. They've been trying to buy off the Board of Supervisors for all of that time with new equipment, land grants, and who knows what else. The majority of the county residents that show up to the hearings almost universally oppose it and have for years. Some simply appeal to the pastoral nature of the western part of the county, noting that there is no shortage of housing (new developments are everywhere). Many point out that the county is already woefully inadequate in terms of fire and police, and building additional homes is grossly irresponsible. The County Planning Commission has unanimously rejected these proposals every year.

Last year, despite universal popular opposition and the Planning Commission's rejection, the Board of Supervisors (well, the Democrats on it) approved a change in the land use policy that would allow for more homes to be built. My neighbor, one of those who lead the opposition, was told that opposition to the development was because of his racism and white supremacy, which meant he hated affordable housing. My neighbor is Hispanic and fairly dark, so this understandably came as a surprise to him. The developer had stated that at the time homes would start at over $1 million, so the notion that the homes would be "affordable" is as laughably stupid as it sounds. The BoS simply gave a giant "fuck you" to everybody who opposed it. I'm fairly certain it was more than the county who got gifts as part of the proposal.

My dad up in Pennsylvania tells similar stories. I can see the consequences of these as farmland is destroyed for data centers and warehouses despite what the little guy (or a vast majority of little guys) think. Money talks. There are corrupt town and county councils all over this country. The reason Heemeyer is a folk hero is because nearly every homeowner in this country has dealt with corrupt local governments in one way or another. Most of us aren't going to buy a bulldozer and weld it up into a demolition machine. But most of us aren't going to give a single fuck if somebody else goes on a rampage and bulldozes the development nobody fucking wanted in the first place.

This really isn't hard to understand.

Quoted:
I'm good at reading people. I had read about the situation many times over the years and was very familiar with it before I watched the documentary. I had only read about the town council and the Docheffs.

The documentary had these people in it. Not actors, the people involved. I'm assuming they would have every motivation to appear sympathetic, yet almost to a person they came off as slimy, dishonest, petty, underhanded shitweasels. It is completely believable that every single thing Heemeyer said and believed about them was true.

My home borders what is known as "the rural crescent" here in Prince William County. For over 20 years, the western (rural) part of the county has required 10 acre minimum lots for residential zoning. A land developer purchased land that spanned both rural and semi-rural zoning. Where I am is "semi-rural," meaning the lots are between one and five acres. The 320 acre plot to the west could be developed as rural, meaning 10 acre lots. This was known at the time of purchase. Yet the developer has been pushing for 20 years to have the land rezoned, roads added, and all of that, solely so they can make more money by building more homes. They've been trying to buy off the Board of Supervisors for all of that time with new equipment, land grants, and who knows what else. The majority of the county residents that show up to the hearings almost universally oppose it and have for years. Some simply appeal to the pastoral nature of the western part of the county, noting that there is no shortage of housing (new developments are everywhere). Many point out that the county is already woefully inadequate in terms of fire and police, and building additional homes is grossly irresponsible. The County Planning Commission has unanimously rejected these proposals every year.

Wow well said.

Last year, despite universal popular opposition and the Planning Commission's rejection, the Board of Supervisors (well, the Democrats on it) approved a change in the land use policy that would allow for more homes to be built. My neighbor, one of those who lead the opposition, was told that opposition to the development was because of his racism and white supremacy, which meant he hated affordable housing. My neighbor is Hispanic and fairly dark, so this understandably came as a surprise to him. The developer had stated that at the time homes would start at over $1 million, so the notion that the homes would be "affordable" is as laughably stupid as it sounds. The BoS simply gave a giant "fuck you" to everybody who opposed it. I'm fairly certain it was more than the county who got gifts as part of the proposal.

My dad up in Pennsylvania tells similar stories. I can see the consequences of these as farmland is destroyed for data centers and warehouses despite what the little guy (or a vast majority of little guys) think. Money talks. There are corrupt town and county councils all over this country. The reason Heemeyer is a folk hero is because nearly every homeowner in this country has dealt with corrupt local governments in one way or another. Most of us aren't going to buy a bulldozer and weld it up into a demolition machine. But most of us aren't going to give a single fuck if somebody else goes on a rampage and bulldozes the development nobody fucking wanted in the first place.

This really isn't hard to understand.

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Jesus you guys really need to take that boot off your neck. Marvin was a national treasure and didn't deserve the treatment he got. Fuck scummy people, they should have gotten worse but he let them off easy.

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I’m in Granby.  Surprisingly it happened here and not some liberal shithole.

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Dude I love your avatar, most appropriate for this thread.