I've known people in my past who enjoyed destroying things simply for the sake of destroying things. Smash, bang, boom was their favorite pastimes, their ambitions and their living. That was one of the things that bothered me most about working in the salvage and recycling industry-- that it attracted so many like that, who failed to understand that even in salvage the most money was made in building and reusing-- not tearing down. Yes, tearing down was often necessary but if one could find value in a piece of salvage without destroying it then its value would always be many times greater than the same item's scrap value, reduce its impact on the Earth's resources and return higher profits to everyone involved in the recovery.
In the recycling industry the smash, bang, boom guys never rise to management positions no matter how hard they work. It makes them angry and they never come to understand why even though its explained to them every single day. How could they when all they understand is how to destroy and cannot see the value in the items that pass their way. The smash, bang, boom guys can't destroy fast enough to fill their addiction to destruction. Guys like myself, the GMs and others who recognize the value live in constant frustration at the never ending lack of storage and display space that is always overflowing no matter how big the room, lot or yard. Yes, perhaps we're hoarders but we return the highest profits in the long run.
When I see a neighborhood in decline I don't see a neighborhood that needs to be destroyed. I see a neighborhood full of hidden treasure, stories and lives that could be worth far more recovered than they'll be worth when the crash, bang, boom "developers" destroy the neighborhood to make room for projects designed to be destroyed in a few short years. You see, not only did my working life experience include used auto parts, scrap paper, scrap plastics and scrap metals, I'm also licensed by the State of North Carolina in C&D (Construction and Demolition) landfill and recycling. I've worked with Greensboro's elite developers, talked with them at length and know them for the crash, bang, boom addicts they really are.
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