Friendswood Reading Log: The Issue of Institutions

Discuss the perception of the City Hall officials to Lee. How do they treat her? What quotes support this? Are they fulfilling their responsibility to protect?

The City Hall officials are fed-up with Lee. They consistently brush off her concerns and worries. They treat her as though she is a bother to the community. Lee asks the officials, “how many times have I been here saying the same thing? Twenty times? Thirty times? A hundred times? Well, that’s right, and I’ll say it again” (Steinke 90). So Lee is giving the exact same speech every time, but strengthening her argument and adding more evidence each time. However, the City Hall officials and the entire town, for the most part, have moved on. Avery Taft desperately wants to build on the Rosemont site, arguing that “people need work. Times are hard. And, damn it, they still need houses. Affordable ones” (Steinke 91). But Lee is doing everything in her power to stop him. Some could argue that she cares too much, that she is living in the past, that she is wasting her time trying to stop the strong institution of the City Hall. But she is passionate about her research. She has worked tirelessly for over ten years to bring justice for her daughter’s death. If her efforts end fruitlessly, all of her hard work will have been for nothing. She would have wasted ten years of her life collecting soil samples and meticulous research for nothing. Her marriage would have been ruined for nothing. She would feel like she did not fulfill her purpose, like she let her daughter down. City Hall is trying to limit her right to speak up for her beliefs. They have a problem because she is going against their best interests. The whole city of Friendswood wants to move on from the Rosemont disaster, yet Lee stands in the way of that. City Hall is not fulfilling their responsibility to protect their citizens every time that they brush off Lee, or attempt to belittle the exhaustive work that she has done. Lee may be the dissenting voice in the town, but she and her views still must be protected regardless.

Discuss the response of the EPA to Lee. What is their response to her? What quotes support this? Are they fulfilling their responsibility to protect?

Not only is Lee facing adversity from the City Hall, she is also fighting with the EPA. She lost all trust in the EPA years ago, and does not believe that they are acting in the best interest of the townspeople. So that’s why she felt the need to take matters into her own hands. She is disappointed in the way the EPA handles the Rosemont case. The EPA representative,Ms. Dawson, whom Lee challenges in City Hall is trying to act interested in Lee’s claims, but it also appears that she is sick of dealing with Lee, as she listened to Lee and “..nodded aggressively, her mouth screwed tight” (Steinke 89). Ms. Dawson addresses the City Hall by stating that “we’ve done extensive testing, and we’ve found with our scoring systems for near-term decisions, there is no real risk to human health from these chemicals” (Steinke 88). However, Lee fires back with her own research, claiming “I have some photographs here that prove something else might be going on…” (Steinke 89). She continues angrily, saying “I have charts and data on the cancer rates of residents, most of them living within two miles of Rosemont. They are five times the national average. How the hell can this not be a threat to human health?” (Steinke 89). Ms. Dawson eventually agrees half-heartedly to take a look at Lee’s findings. However, it is the EPA’s job to protect the environment, and if there is even a trace of doubt that the Rosemont site is not safe for construction, then the EPA should still be out there, working and scouring the with just as much effort as Lee. But they are not. They are not fulfilling their duty as a powerful, trusted organization.

Work Cited

Steinke, Rene. Friendswood. New York: Penguin Random House, 2014. Print.