Detroit in ruins

Originally posted by stephinrazin

Originally posted by adifferentbreed
Sorry, I can't help but be unfeeling about this. The people did it, and continue to live in it. If they have no pride as a person and choose to live in squalor, hey, it's up to them. Ever wonder why we have ghettos to begin with, these people right here are the answer.

Nothing personal, but your comment shows how little you know. I always hear people say this about the ghetto, the reservations, and the third world countries. In the past it would make me mad that people could know so little, but now I only shake my head. These places did not become #ty because everybody got lazy, and decided the don't want to keep their community up. It is hard to stand up when someone has their proverbial foot on your neck. Derision for the unfortunate situations of the world show how little people actually know of it. If you have lived a happy little middle class life, and never had to live through hardship I guess you are blinded by it.

Ummm, I guess your opinion is as valid as mine, although you seem a might judgemental in my estitmate, actually not knowing me or anything about my life. Parasites with rights don't deserve any better. The man standing on your neck means you let your yard overflow with trash, you abandon lord knows how many vehicles in your yard, you know, everyday stuff normal people do. It's people like you not making them look at themselves and take personal responsibility for themselves that are a bigger part of the problem .

Originally posted by NeverApologize
reply to post by Lebowski achiever

 

Sorry. I beg to differ. It is a direct result of ALL of the things I stated. The Unions are the main culprit. If they hadn't F'd the companies and held them hostage all of this time, then the jobs would still be there right?

Look at States that are Right To Work, States! Prime example.

Oh and my Conservative view points are 100% proven. Look at Texas... Those "dumb rednecks", seem to be on something. Don't cha think there Haus?

Conservatism WORKS. Liberalism = FAIL. It has been proven time and time again. Entitlement and hand outs KILL cities and communities. It creates reliance and dependence on "The Man".

Ask any person living in the "Hood", who they think needs to fix the problem. Instead of pulling up their britches and rolling up their own sleeves, they sit and WAIT FOR A HANDOUT! It is sad. It is a problem that they helped create. Perhaps they should have voted to not allow the Unions in there in the first place...

Just a few points.

Absolute nonsense. Funny how you all ignore my post a few pages back.

You anti-Union types are hilarious. You owe your life to Unions, actually.

Is there any solution to all this misery in Detroit......can we do something without the government?? I guess this is a good reason to start working together as people and do not wait for the government to do it.

reply to post by NadaCambia


I owe Unions my life? You mean these Unions?
www.youtube.com...
Check your facts and go get your Brain Washed head checked...

As a non american I had a soft spot for Detroit (having 'steel in my blood') so I was aware of the decline but not to this extent.

One picture sums up everything is wrong with the world is the picture of the decrepit library, a sign of things to come (abandoned knowledge):

Wow. Some of those pictures look like something out of an episode of Life After People. I grew up in NJ, and some parts of the central ward of Newark looked almost as bad in the late 80's, but they gradually turned around, a block at a time. If you look at revitalizing a whole city, the task seems overwhelming, but if you do it piece by piece, it's more manageable.

I have lived in the Detroit area my entire life. I am first generation here, but have seen and know what is transpiring.

What people fail to see with Detroit and other parts of Michigan is that transformation for the better has happened and is happening.

Take Grand Rapids Michigan for instance it was close to ruins, like Detroit, crime rampant but now is a thriving upscale city. Cleveland, Ohio the same way.

Most people in this world run from problems, because they don't know how to solve them or even want to, but the fact of the matter is, no matter where you run problems will follow.

One day people will tire of running, and the problems will have grown so big and disproportionate that they will not have the energy to deal with the issues, well kind of like the situation we are all in now "World Wide"

Detroit is a mirror of you and where you live. Again I will post later on the constructive things now happening in Detroit and the people that are helping to rebuild a new image.

Detroit Sublime

A skyline of broken bones
Hulking megoliths filled with ghosts in suits
Stray cats and dogs, a tin can tumble weed
A crumbled man in an open doorway
Sheets fluttering in the wind
A report card, straight A's!
Grinding metal mourning under blue skies
Rays of light held in dust
Penthouses of broken dreams
The music echoes, eager discussion, the clinks of glasses toasting
THe wind plays on
A seagul's shreech, the dog barks
A light turns green but no car awaits
With nothing to do
Without hope for yesterday's return
Here I sit, at the dawning of a new age, in paradise.

~ NewAgeMan

All is not hopeless with this city. Philadelphia went through a similar degradation after the movement incident and eventually people in the community began to buy out homes there for pennies on the dollar, and it got refurbished. But, that is, these were abandoned properties and the government took possession, no banks and investors, but in the case of Philadelphia, I think that they were all abandoned and nobody claimed ownership. If that happens with Detroit and the government takes ownership, then they could refurbish it. I mean someone in the Philadelphia scenario must've decided to cut their losses, and I don't think it was 1/10th as horrible as Detroit is. Even if the Banks and investors own all those properties, if the government stepped in, at this point, they may just cut their losses and let the re-development begin.
If I had a crapload of money I would just call the Mayor and see if I could buy the entire city. I would refurbish one of the buildings as an outreach and drug counseling place. I would refurbish all the houses, the libraries, schools, etc, to be used in the capacity they were meant to be used, I would have to probably pay a private police force, there's a crapload of jobs just getting those businesses up and running. I would also use some of the business properties, I always wanted to own a restaurant, so I'd open one of those, my Hubby wants a Metropcs store, so I would buy him one to run, I myself would open a computer repair and custom computer store. It would take probably, well we're talking mega millions jackpot money (around $300 million) here. Oh I would definately open a hospital. I guess I would have to look for other investors, too who would start businesses and help pay for the hospital because we know they are very costly. I would move next door to that old lady, that just made me wanna cry. And I would have friends move on the other side of her, a kind of protective surrounding for her. I feel so sad for her. Oh and I can't forget I would have parks and some kind of thing like the Police Athletic League for the at risk children where they could go and play and be safe. It can be done, it just takes someone with a big heart and even bigger wallet and some connections. But, in theory, my idea could work.

Originally posted by NeverApologize
reply to post by NadaCambia

 

I owe Unions my life? You mean these Unions?
www.youtube.com...
Check your facts and go get your Brain Washed head checked...

That's right. You'd be working right now, on a Sunday, if not for Unions.

This is part of the whole anti-Union movement that's been pushed by the American government since forever. If there's ever an issue, blame it on the workers. Defend the greedy CEOs to death.

The fact is Detroit fell because of unregulated industry. It had nothing to do with Unions. You conveniently ignore the numerous massive, successfull automotive industries around the world. The ones that replaced Detroit. You know the ones, they're thriving, despite heavy unionisation.

Detroit fell because of greedy capitalists who the government left unchecked. Because of lack of regulation.

Sometimes I wish you Yanks had true Capitalism, so you could see what it's like to have majority in poverty. Your middle class, 2 cars and a big wooden house culture, was built on Unions.

The way I see it you can report on any city and dig out abandoned buildings. There is still a life in Detroit, still a community and still hard working people.

Judging by the mismatch of styles of the ruined buildings it seems Detroit was built on a massive binge of money and oppulence that resulted in its own decline. Somebody pointed out that all the economic growth in the city caused the working populace to move out to the country and the car industries followed. American car making became a bubble that was vastly undermined by the smaller and far more economic cars that came out of Japan by the early 1970s. The city clearly wasn't planned very well and became a product of economic boom, not a sustainable city. I guess it is an entirely likely outcome that a city can be built in a short space of time and render itself obsolete in a generation. Poor race divides also didn't help I wager.

Originally posted by peter_kandra
I grew up in NJ, and some parts of the central ward of Newark looked almost as bad in the late 80's, but they gradually turned around, a block at a time. If you look at revitalizing a whole city, the task seems overwhelming, but if you do it piece by piece, it's more manageable.

I was thinking the exact thing. There are still parts of Newark that are not quite safe to be in a night but it is at vast improvement over 15-20 years ago when you stood a good chance of being car-jacked and axe-murdered no matter where you were.

I do not see Detroit as a hopeless place, I prefer to be optimistic and see it as an opportunity to rebuild and prosper again as other cities have done before. The only thing required is people with a vision and a good deal of hard work.

Originally posted by AugustusMasonicus

Originally posted by peter_kandra
I grew up in NJ, and some parts of the central ward of Newark looked almost as bad in the late 80's, but they gradually turned around, a block at a time. If you look at revitalizing a whole city, the task seems overwhelming, but if you do it piece by piece, it's more manageable.

I was thinking the exact thing. There are still parts of Newark that are not quite safe to be in a night but it is at vast improvement over 15-20 years ago when you stood a good chance of being car-jacked and axe-murdered no matter where you were.

I do not see Detroit as a hopeless place, I prefer to be optimistic and see it as an opportunity to rebuild and prosper again as other cities have done before. The only thing required is people with a vision and a good deal of hard work.

edit on 2-1-2011 by AugustusMasonicus because: Networkdude has no beer

Orange County is fine. Even the 'gangsters' dress like metrosexuals

reply to post by NadaCambia


Sorry Sir. I do work Sundays. I am at work right now. I am doing light work, I'll give you that, but work none the less. Doing 2-d and 3-d drawings for Boeing. (Bogart and Catia V4/V5).

The Unions are about to get my program shut down because Boeing isn't turning a profit, again. I work at the Ridley Park, PA plant. The UAW is about to destroy 6500+ jobs and a local economy. All of the local business that depends on the paychecks of the Boeing Employees is about to get shot to crap too. 6500 people with high paying jobs is going to up and leave. They are moving to S.C. where it is a right to work state. I myself will be following them when the move occurs...

The Unions served a purpose during the early 20th Century. Right now their purpose has long been past due. They need to be dismantled and return the jobs to the workers. This is what the Unions claimed to be ding right? They are nothing more then Mob run fronts now. Jimmy the Hat runs our local UAW and he is making threats to sue and blah blah blah. It is falling on deaf ears now. Even his workers are staging a revolt to kick the Union out in order to save their hides!!!

In short though; Unions served a great purpose to protect the working class, turn of the 20th! Now though, they are not needed due to workers rights and regulations set up by our Government!

Look at the United Kingdom! Unions have BANKRUPTED them and the rest of Europe! Huge pension plans, ludicrous severance packages, 7 weeks PAID vacation per year, ETC. It's a wonder that a business can survive when the Union is inside.

Open your eyes. Unions are a scourge now! They are nothing more than Mobs set up to squeeze millions from a corporation.

Originally posted by NadaCambia
Orange County is fine. Even the 'gangsters' dress like metrosexuals

Sorry, I am not quite following you on this. Which Orange County are you refering to?

Isn't it amazing that all of these books in the libraries are going to wast and decaying with the elements. These books could be shipped all over the country where libraries are still open or could be given to charity for people to read. The wasted knowledge in some of these books if applied in Detroit could possibly turn the city around, but the people in the community can make it happen if they want to make it happen. The answer Read. ^Y^

Originally posted by HunkaHunka
Oh ok... see if you look at your original post, it reads like he screwed up everything simply because he was black.... but I think what you meant to say was that lots of black folks voted for him simply because he was black.

Yes that is what I meant to say. However, both are true to an extent.

The city of Detroit started to go down hill after white people fled to the northern suburbs. Again, this is not a racist observation. It is a fact. The correlation between the changes in racial demographics and the revenue of the city following the riots of 1967 is undeniable.

Detroit started going down hill after that not because white people left, but because uneducated black people stayed and had voting rights. They blamed white people for the decline of the city, and the black people running for mayor used this to their advantage to get elected. Once elected, they used the color of their skin to conceal the facts of their crimes. The mayor would never steal from his people, right? It must be white people making up lies to try to retake what belongs to black people, right? This is the type of propaganda that was and still is force fed to the uneducated population of Detroit.

The Detroit education system is a sad entity. The rate of Detroit citizens who go to prison is higher than those who graduate high school. That in large part is responsible for these people electing mayors who do not care about them and only want to use the city's highest position of power for their own interests. But at the same time, it is because of these mayors that the education sucks. It's a vicious circle of corruption that Detroit is caught in and the people of Detroit do not have the mental capacity to change it.

I lived in the Detroit area for 12 years and experienced the sad state of affairs that goes on there. It really is as bad if not worse as you hear and see on TV. And it is all a result of the citizens of Detroit electing black mayors simply because they are black. No one likes to admit that because they think it's racist. It's not. It's a fact. By no means am I claiming white people are better. If you want to talk about racial equality, there it is. Whites and blacks are equal in the fact that when put in positions of power, they become corrupt. That's not a black or white thing, that is a HUMAN thing. That is how people are. You can't change that, but you can make the best of a bad situation by voting based on their policies instead of the color of their skin. The people of Detroit have the power to change this, but sadly, from my personal eye witness experiences, they do not have the motivation or desire to change it. They seem perfectly content with their city being the way it is.

so many beautiful historical buildings...why tearing them down when they can be restored? the only way is donate them to the communities and give them some funds to pay for the works.

If you have not been here it is worth a visit that's for sure, mind you it is not a place you want to live. Any other ATS'ers down for a field trip sometime this summer?

You can blame Detroit on all the things that have been pointed out here so far but when I see a library full of books left to rot ,thats not a city in decay that is people in decay.This is the epitome of the U.S..........waste what other people beg for.

Its not just detroit its America,no place on earth have people worked,lived and played like in America and in so doing supported the rest of the world economy by the way we lived in the past.Thats over now,we have no industry there for we have no economy.We will try here and there and some place's will be ok but then people will converge to these place's and they will fall under the shear weight of numbers.

Greed and corruption had to bring an end to America sometime its who we are as a people,the"will"to change is just not there.As long as we continue to populate we will continue to decline,this is just common senses if you have the nerve to admit it,but we never have before so why now?Its always about what "THEY" want not what the country should be doing to servive.