This article sounds bad. Real bad. However, it never defines trash. It never says what "debris" is.
As many here have pointed out, some people live in FILTH for various reasons, few of them any good. The article does not make a solid case that this is the case, though it may be that there is stinking rotting stuff piled over half way to the ceiling.
On the other hand I have known a packrat or 2 that have collections of papers, magazines, tools, containers, toys, furniture, and many other things piled to the ceiling and beyond, with nary a bit of stinking rotting garbage in the mix. This may well be termed "garbage, trash and debris" by some, but it is a totally different situation.
My point? simply that we are making assumptions. They may be spot on, but we do not KNOW that. This may be a case of a city jailing and threatening to demolish a house and haul to the dump a house full of valuable collectibles. The author was too unspecified for me to know that this is not the case. Is there further evidence?
From a blog last summer...
July 20, 2004
Tell Your Mom to Stop Calling Me...
There is a heartwarming story today from my hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. The local news has a running coverage of sorts, but foxnews.com provides a nice summary. Given the recent discussions about cleanliness, I thought this seemed appropriate.
An Omaha, Neb., woman's house is so dirty she may be going to jail.
Two Douglas County judges on Thursday sentenced Rosie Fellman to five days behind bars, in lieu of $5,000 bond, for failing to get rid of the trash piled six feet high in and around her house...
City inspectors first took Fellman to court in May, showing the judge photos of her house with an estimated 114 garbage cans outside. They threatened to have the building razed as a health hazard.
Fellman was given 2½ weeks to clean the place up, then another month when Fellman's sister tried to appoint a guardian to take control of the house.
"Hopefully, we can get someone [to] take some of her money, clean up the property, eliminate problems with the city so the house doesn't get bulldozed," said the sister's lawyer, who added that Fellman suffered from "hoarding syndrome."
Neighbors had been complaining about the mess for years, but were afraid to act against Fellman in fear of retribution. None were willing to speak on the record with reporters.
Fellman has sued a neighbor, a former lawyer and city inspectors, seeking $200,000 in damages.
"In her particular case, I don't believe that she can really, fully comprehend what's accepted by society," Fellman's own attorney, Ralph Peppard, told the TV station.
There are two things of note, here. First, Fellman's lawyer says that she isn't capable of understanding the situation at the SAME TIME that she is filing lawsuits against everyone in sight. Nice work there, Mr. Ralph Peppard, Esq. Maybe next you could teach a class on the ethics of morons.
The second thing that I would like to point out is that maybe my house isn't all that dirty after all.
http://www.lonestrangers.com/blogs/pat/archives/2004_07.html