Categories:
Property Rights
I want to acknowledge that we’re on the land owned by the Upchurch family since 1916.
Recently it was forcibly taken by the Aldine Independent School District. The District has no right to the land and needs to return it promptly to its legitimate owners, the Upchurches.
I propose this land acknowledgement if the Aldine Independent School District gets its way and grabs land from the Upchurches. The background story is here.
READER COMMENTS
TGGP
Aug 22 2023 at 9:06am
You spell the name differently at the beginning, “Upchurch”, vs at the end, “Unchurch”.
David Henderson
Aug 22 2023 at 10:01am
Change made. Thanks.
Jon Murphy
Aug 22 2023 at 9:18am
It is interesting how close the argument for eminent domain is to the argument for colonialism: “the current owners aren’t using the property properly. It is our duty to take it from them and use the land in a better fashion.”
Roger McKinney
Aug 22 2023 at 9:39am
That’s terrible abuse of the principle. Having watched quite a few battles over eminent domain while working for a utility, I would recommend to the family that they not settle but force the issue into court by demanding a ridiculous price for the land. Jurors usually split the difference between what the government entity offers and what the owner wants. Then, the government entity must go back and pay all the other land owners the same amount per acre. Though that may be peculiar to my state. I tell everyone suffering from eminent domain to always force the issue into court.
nobody.really
Aug 22 2023 at 10:58am
The land acknowledgement angle is inspired!
David Henderson
Aug 22 2023 at 11:08am
Thank you. The idea first occurred to me when I was recalling my wife, who is a breast cancer survivor, tell me about various patients she drove to their chemotherapy. One patient told her, as they drove by an empty lot, “There’s where my house was before they took it.” I thought that a land acknowledgement would be a perfect way of, well, acknowledging.
nobody.really
Aug 22 2023 at 12:16pm
As I understand it, the term “eminent domain” derives from the legal treatise De jure belli ac pacis (1625) and is reflected the the US Constitution’s 5th Amendment (1791). Do we know of any society in which government did/does NOT have the power to appropriate private property (with or without compensation)?
Jon Murphy
Aug 22 2023 at 12:22pm
Off the top of my head, I do not know of any. Eminent domain is an ancient idea. If I recall correctly, it’s even found in the Common law dating back to Time Immemorial.
robc
Aug 23 2023 at 10:10am
Israel in the Judges era?
Roger McKinney
Aug 23 2023 at 10:27am
Nice response! Israel before the monarchy was an Anarcho-capitalist regime. That statement makes most people furious and they bring up the poor laws, Jubilee, etc. But there is good evidence that Israel left all but the civil laws to God to enforce and that’s how God intended it.
God gave Israel only courts for government and they adjudicated only the civil law such as Thou shalt not steal.
Kevin Dick
Aug 22 2023 at 1:57pm
On the topic of land acknowledgements, Scott Alexander has a funny take in one of his recent short stories. Not that he needs my signal boosting.
https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/bride-of-bay-area-house-party
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