I'm just dying to see who will come to his defense and with what defenses.
The New Yorker Profiles L. Brooks Patterson: The Detroit-Bashing Never Stops
http://deadlinedetroit.com/articles/...g#.Ut0q0bQo7IV
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I'm just dying to see who will come to his defense and with what defenses.
The New Yorker Profiles L. Brooks Patterson: The Detroit-Bashing Never Stops
http://deadlinedetroit.com/articles/...g#.Ut0q0bQo7IV
Too bad Detroit doesn't have a cheerleader to defend it.
He's 75 and half crippled.
He's also already announced he's running again. Doesn't he have grandchildren he wants to spend time with.
He's one of the reasons this place looks just like it does. Like it was designed for a bunch of shortsighed angry old white men.
And his face resembles an over-masturbated penis.
Brizee brings up my usual points [[with the addition of the looking like a penis part, which is hilarious), but leaves out my one point I like to make...
Brooksie hates urban and urban-like developments. He has always been biased against Ferndale-esque communities, while praising Clarkston for being so safe and wonderful and whatever. He's completely and utterly neglected Royal Oak Township, much to the detriment of its residents. Everyone, whether on a local, state or national scale, seems to willfully ignore that there are more than one areas of Oakland County which are not exactly the standard of living you'd expect for a "platinum" community. Brooskie refuses to look at the big picture, neglecting the fact that a strong urban core with supporting suburban communities is quintessential to our region's success. Instead we're left with another "EFF YOU GOT MINE" old white guy. My generation will be paying for his short-sightedness for years to come.
* Patterson told me, “I used to say to my kids, ‘First of all, there’s no reason for you to go to Detroit. We’ve got restaurants out here.’ They don’t even have movie theatres in Detroit—not one.” He went on, “I can’t imagine finding something in Detroit that we don’t have in spades here. Except for live sports. We don’t have baseball, football. For that, fine—get in and get out. But park right next to the venue—spend the extra twenty or thirty bucks. And, before you go to Detroit, you get your gas out here. You do not, do not, under any circumstances, stop in Detroit at a gas station! That’s just a call for a carjacking.” . .
Oakland County is an overrated dump. It embodies what was fashionable 30 years ago - cheap, nouveau-riche suburbia. Feeble, geriatric incapacitated, and likely going mad, Brooks is unable to see the writing on the wall. He is Michigan's own George Wallace, and hurrying the state on to being the next Alabama. Now that a national trend has turned to urban living as an alternative to bland, milquetoast places such as Oakland County, Michigan has nothing to offer someone who desires that lifestyle. As a result, and for a myriad of other human mistakes, Michigan's population has flatlined and even dropped for decades. College-educated, urban-oriented professionals continue to earn their educations at illustrious Michigan institutions and take the next plane out of the state. The kind of short-sighted neighbor-hatred that Brooks has dedicated his life to has hurried the mutually-assured destruction of Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb Counties.
Detroit, for all its problems, offers incredible architecture, a vibrant arts scene and venerable cultural institutions, and some of the only pockets of urban living in the state. Even movie theatres. I, for one, would never live in Oakland County. It is simply not a desirable place for someone of my upbringing and education.
That made me chuckle quite a bit! Patterson is quite hated, and his hate speech and overt racism doesn't help.
Many people blame Patterson for some of Detroit's woes, but I see it the other way around, Detroit's woes are to blame for Oakland County's success.
People don't want to live in a place filled with so much crime, terrible schools, and poor city services.
If you fix Detroit's problems, it will repopulate. Oakland and Macomb County are what they are because Detroit isn't what it ain't.
Detroit has an opportunity to fix its problems and rebuild as an urban city with larger lots and new homes.
Now if Detroit would stop resisting help and labeling it as a "takeover", it could move forward. The fact is, Detroit needs to be taken over because more of the same action will get you more of the same results.
Also, keep in mind that these pensioners that so many people are trying to protect live out in the sprawlburgs, not Detroit.
I never understood why people get so red in the face about the things that he says. He's a glorified salesman. He says what he needs to say to make his product sound like best thing in the world and to make every competing product sound like utter crap. He's the political equivalent of Leonardo DiCaprio's character from Wolf of Wall Street.
But right on cue, L Brooks trolls Detroit and everyone gets butt-hurt about it. Why do you even care? All the negative attention showered upon him from Detroit's direction is still just that...attention. All you're doing is feeding the troll.
There are times when there is no such thing as bad publicity.
He's playing to his constituency and loving every bit of it.
He don't care if your talkin' good or bad about him, just as long as your talkin' about him.
I think people already went over this territory 6 months ago:
http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthr...rview-with-LBP
At least he will be dead soon. When his death is announced, I will celebrate one more small step towards healing this region.
Kwame is gone, LBP will soon be gone and hopefully Ficano will be swept out of the office in the next election.
The question above about him wanting to retire to spend time with his family. My gut tells me his family doesn't care to spend that much time with him.
Now, let's hope is death is something exceptionally ironic like him getting killed during a car jacking in Oakland County or killed by crumbling infrastructure in Oakland County.
And to be clear: yes, I truly want him to die. It will help this region heal. Perhaps he and Manny Maroun can drive head on into each other and we can be without both of them [[Perhaps Cushingberry can be involved somehow as well)
Some people wonder why Dennis Rodman went to North Korea and said all those crazy things he said. Well, nobody was talking about Dennis Rodman BEFORE he did those things, and now lots of people are talking about Dennis Rodman.
If L Brooks wasn't the caricature of person that he was, nobody would even know his name. Seriously, who would know the name of the Oakland County Commissioner if not for the fact that it's L Brooks Patterson and he says/does outlandish and controversial things?
There's method to his madness, and one of the big reasons why his schtick is so successful is because of the magnitude of the response he gets from thin-skinned people like many who post here in this forum.
I suspect that many of Mr. Patterson's most loyal constituents probably agree with him on various fronts. Also the "fiscal conservatives", including some members of racial minorities, look at him as the AAA bond rating guy and are probably willing to turn a blind eye to his social commentaries. He will probably get reelected when the election comes up again. Oakland Dems will be bashing each other to death up to the primary; there may be few, if any, televised debates with the final two candidates.
Because if this giant dumpster fire of a region constitutes "Detroit" then he is a national embarrassment. So what do the fine readers of the New Yorker think of the Metro Detroit area? A bunch of jerks like Brooks in glorified trailer park called Oakland County, hmm, they might be right.
What kind of salesmanship is that? He isn't a salesman, he's a politician. He's playing to his audience already living in Oakland County. What about him would ever make anyone say "Wow, this Oakland County place sounds like a really forward-thinking, desirable place, I mean, they're not Detroit and they even have movie theatres." Basically he just keeps hitting home the fact that they're not Detroit, which everyone knows, and doesn't say much.
I never understood why everyone gets butthurt when Kwame does something Kwame-like and it's okay to flip out [[rightfully so) yet when Brooks goes on one of his alcohol and Alzheimers-induced tirades the reaction is "nothing to see here, just Brooks being Brooks." Hypocrisy at its finest. It's good for decent people to get outraged at thugs like Kwame and Brooks.
It's probably best to reserve judgment until the entire New Yorker article can be read. But the excerpts on Deadline Detroit are pretty hateful and ignorant. The author is a veteran and well respected writer. Misquotes are unlikely. Seems like anybody who thought LBP in his old age was softening and opening his eyes to a bigger and more tolerant world was probably mistaken. [[Ever notice how LBP squints?) Is he a wise old pol speaking truth to political correctness or is he really just a dick. I'll wait for the article.
He's obviously a GREAT SUCCESS as witnessed by what the assholes stoop to write on this thread to vent their HATE and JEALOUSY on someone who WORKS for and EARNS the accolades of his people. Of course the same assholes are at the front of the line to spend the wealth he's produced in Oakland County if they could only just get their fingers on itto blow it. If they had had a leader like Brooks Patterson they wouldn't be bankrupt they would be a contributor to Michigan [[maybe to add to the $1B surplus).
Well, I'll wait to read the article in print too -- but we see that 'Drop Dead, NYC' ended up pretty good for them -- so I'm don't really care what this guy says.
I'll be curious to read their take on howI suspect most here will simply complain about his 'racism', and say that his success was not a product of his efforts, but just that he was dealt a lucky hand.Quote:
Oakland has achieved an unusually high bond rating and reputation for efficient, clean and progressive government.
But it's a lot easier to blame "outsiders". A lot of people here prefer that action.
I've never lived in Oakland county, but people of my background and education [[lived in many other states, advanced degrees, good job in higher ed, married parent, etc.) would rather live there than Detroit proper.
I think that statement is the root of the problem. People are not choosing Oakland County over other locales throughout the country so the refrain of 'We're better than Detroit' isn't working.
Sure, Detroit sucks for most QOL issues but there is not a net migration of people into Metro Detroit or Oakland County. Until we, as a region, get past the 'We're better than Detroit' refrain, things in SE Michigan as a whole will not better.
We are all tied at the hip and the entire region is failing. I guess LBP and his followers would prefer to be the last people standing on a sinking ship as opposed to trying to right the ship in general.
Great way of describing it!
But something I have to give Oakland County is Cranbrook. Even though it's been generations since Cranbrook has been important, a big chunk of America's art and design heritage is connected to Cranbrook in some way or another in the 1940s and 50s.
But I wonder what it's like to be a student there today. When you're on campus I'm sure it's like any art school, but what do they think when they leave the compound and find themselves in the middle of Oakland County? When they drive down Woodward or Big Beaver or the neighborhoods and you're surrounded by the complete opposite [[both in terms of the physical environment and the people)? I'd bet that most people at Cranbrook wish it was in Detroit. I also wonder what out of state and international students think when they learn about Cranbrook, see photos of it, hear that it's in Detroit, and then what they think when they get there and see where it actually is.
I'd also love for the people who Patterson talks to to actually see Oakland County. For after he tells them how great and amazing it is, for them to actually go there and see what he's talking about. For them to see the moderately landscaped boulevard and the unremarkable office parks of Big Beaver after him telling them so much about it. :p
L. Brooks is not my favorite person. But he is not Detroit's Imperial Overlord. It is not his fault that Detroit has high crime & high taxes. He does not go up to Detroit students and tell them to drop out. He does not impose addiction on a large portion of our population. He hasn't been destroying our streetlights for a generation. He hasn't been stealing from the city and directing no-bid contracts to friends and family.
I know that scapegoating is a convenient way to avoid hard choices. But Detroit does not have the problems it has because of low self-esteem brought about by L. Brooks Patterson. Most of Detroit's problems were caused by our citizens, voters and politicians. There are 2 things we should do about L. Brooks Patterson: ignore his comments, and prove him wrong by making this city a place people do want to visit, work and live in. And we don't need to trash Oakland County. Birmingham, Royal Oak and Ferndale have great downtowns. The whole county has wonderful parks. Residents keep up their homes and property. They do have [[relative to Detroit) low crime. Great schools in many districts. Lots of businesses thrive there, which pays a lot of taxes and a lot of employees. Detroit shouldn't rebel against those things, we should emulate them.
Aw common people... stop this silliness... for crying out loud... :[[
There's more to Oakland County than just Cranbrook!!
When you start getting apoplectic over Patterson [[who is a pompous ass... agreed!)... you start going stupid about Oakland County architecture and scenery...
Lest we forget there are MANY beautiful areas there... for every Auburn Hills and Clarkston... there's historic Franklin or Rochester... the scenic drives along Kirkway or Orchard Lake... the beauty of Shrine of the Little Flower, Kirk In The Hills, or Christ Church Cranbrook.... the nice homes along the winding roads among the lake district or the rolling hills around Meadowbrooke Hall, the Woodward cooridor south of Pontiac with some of the nicest housing stock in metro Detroit... that are very much reminiscent of that along Outer Drive in Detroit.
So let's not throw the proverbial baby out with the bathwater...
Just like Detroit... there's a lot of nice areas among the shitty ones... so lets not go there via this herd mentality.... :eek:
One thing that jumped out to me in the Deadline Detroit post.
Brooks apparently took the New Yorker writer to Grosse Pointe to show him Lake St. Clair.
Uh, Brooks, you know that's not Oakland County, right?
I've read the New Yorker article, which is now posted on their website for subscribers. The reporter apparently spent a few days riding around with L. Brooks, who was every bit as vile as we've come to know him.
"What we're going to do is turn Detroit into an Indian reservation, where we herd all the Indians into the city, build a fence around it, an then throw in the blankets and corn."
On one hand, I agree with you about him being a troll. OTOH, I just don't understand how this is tolerated by the media or his constituents. The local Detroit media made more fuss when Bloomberg made unflattering comparisons of New York against Detroit than it does about Paterson opening his big fat mouth.
I live in New York and I just can't imagine any elected official making such a comment about any place in this region. I don't think it would have been cool for a suburban official to talk about New York 20 years ago when the city was registering 2,500 murders a year. It's not cool today for New York officials to talk about it's neighbor Newark, which also has a disturbingly high murder rate. But in Oakland County trashing Detroit essentially encouraged.
Then again, it's obviously just the lady protesting too much. If Oakland County were really that attractive in its own right then it would speak for itself.
One of the things that's only briefly mentioned in the article, but certainly well-remembered by many Detroiters of my age, is the repulsive Wallace-like crusade that first brought "showman" Patterson to wider public attention around here.
http://www.peacebuttons.info/IMAGES/...tiac-Buses.jpg http://faculty.washington.edu/gregor...ntibussing.jpg
http://multimedia.detnews.com/dn/his...ages/wash1.gif
http://reuther.wayne.edu/files/images/9801.preview.jpg
George Wallace [[at his worst) was infinitely worse than L. Brooks. L. Brooks doesn't seek to keep black people out of public facilities in Oakland County or away from polling places. I am not an apologist for Patterson. He is not someone I would ever vote for for dog catcher. But he's a name caller, not an oppressor. No need to make a jerk into Hitler. Wallace, of course, ultimately did an about face, changed his views, and apologized for his terrible behavior. If only all Democrats would do that!
His spokesperson is already starting the damage control: http://www.freep.com/article/20140120/NEWS05/301200109/
I'd really like to hear his explanations how some of the quotes were taken out of context or part of a larger attempt to portray good ole Brooksie in a poor light.
At least they don't have to worry about the local media taking him to task. They just kiss his drunk ass and laugh it off as him just being himself [[which should be no reason for a pass)
It's not hypocrisy, because you're comparing apples to oranges. Kwame committed FELONIES, whereas L Brooks is a blowhard but I'm not aware of him engaging in criminal corruption and felony offenses. Do you understand the difference between being a loudmouthed asshole and being an unrepentant criminal who steals from the taxpayer?
And yes, he is a salesman. All politicians are salesmen. THEY are the product. They have to sell themselves to the public in order to get elected and then get re-elected. L Brooks' "us versus them" trash talk and race-baiting is just playing to the bigotries of the nouveau riche white trash of Oakland County in the same way that black Detroit politicians engage in race-baiting and "us versus them" politics to pander to a black electorate. Same shit, different color, that's all it is.
Hey, I'm all for criticizing L Brooks Patterson, I just think it's a little bit ridiculous that every time the guy cuts a fart, there's a DYES thread with 300 replies about it. And there's a person in this thread actively wishing death upon him. You don't think that's a bit extreme about a guy who says unkind things about Detroit, to want him to die? Take him to task when he says stupid stuff, but it seems a tad bit ridiculous to see posters here popping blood vessels over the guy. He's really not worth the amount of hate that some people here feel the need to pour into him.
Aj3647, you are spot on.
Boy, HE is getting worse than the late Orville Hubbard! It's a Native American reservation, not "Indian." A few curry shops would Help Detroit. And I don't want to think about the racial name he must use for those currently living in the D. I'm surprised he didn't tell his children to "pack heat" going to the Joe [[privately, he probably Did.) He started out as a prosecutor, and doesn't even have the sense to wear a seatbelt.
It bears remembering that the directives of federal judges was the only way that school desegregation happened at all. The other thing you're talking about, school choice for black parents, is an idea that can exist only in a post-segregation world. A world that L. Brooks made every effort to resist.
Here we go again with this Detroit vs Oakland County debate. It's like watching the little person under card match from a WWF event at Joe Louis back in 84.
Opposing busing isn't the same thing as supporting segregation. But, Eastside Al, do you support school choice to help inner city kids [[of all races, but mostly black) get into private schools or suburban schools? I think it's just as awful to deny those kids a chance as it is to deny them a chance because they're black. If you end up dropping out or get a diploma that you can't read, you are just as f*****d as if you were black in the era of segregation, at least in terms of economic possibility. Or even worse, considering that today's economy has far fewer manual labor jobs. Sorry, I think we're getting off the topic of L. Brooks' big mouth. I am just very passionate about getting kids out of crappy schools.
It was when L. Brooks and his allies did it. I'm sure it's hard to understand this now, but the crux of their argument was that little white kids needed to be kept "safe" from the "danger" of going to school with little black kids. And the Klan and the American Nazis were openly among their allies.
Agreed. The discussion about "school choice" is off topic and better left to another place and time.
But you did mention George Wallace and the changes of his later years. One of the things that's amazing to me about L. Brooks, and is made starkly apparent again in the New Yorker article, is just how openly unreconstructed and unrepentant he is about his racism.
Attitudes like his, even when couched in the little snickering "jokes" recounted in the article, have held this entire region back for 40+ years.
There is alot more shitty places in Detroit that Oakland county, I may not agree with some of the stuff L brook, says, but look how nice oc is compared to Wayne or MAcomb. And yes Detroit was under AA mayors since the 70's. And yes Detroit for the most part is a dump. I grew up on the east side my old hood is basically no more, the last good mayor we had was Archer. Take a drive down middle belt or orchard lake,
Busing just speeded up white flight,
Just more of the , "oc is better than Detroit" stuff from gushi and others. That still doesn't address that the region continues to fall further behind other regions. But good for oc for being the skinniest kid at fat camp
It was one of the factors---population in 1980 1.2 million plus. Coleman was a racist.
like I said the only good mayor we had in that time span was Dennis Archer, but to alot of Detroiters he was to white to be black, or that what alot of AA in my old hood use to say.
Ford Field , Comerica park, worked with the suburbs----He was a nice change form Young.--------Then we got big pimping KK,
I agree, the "ours is nicer than yours" argument is just silly. All Patterson has to do is look out his office window from Telegraph Rd.... and look one way to see the dying Summit Place Mall... or look the other way towards Pontiac city center and environs. Detroit doesn't have a monopoly on disinvestment... just like Oakland County doesn't have a monopoly on wealth...
If Patterson doesn't see the disinvestment creeping out Northwestern Hwy in Southfield... then he's delusional as well... :[[
HMmmmm Pontiac southfield, what doe they have in common
You know, most of this is just boilerplate Brooks bullsh%t-speak that we've all heard before. But, I can not get over the disgusting Indian reservation comment, which manages to insult two different historically oppressed groups in one paragraph. He's usually more careful with his racism.
You know, I thought the tragic death of his son, and his own near-death experience not that long ago had finally awakened him to his humanity and the humanity of others, but I see he's still the same disgusting old man he's been since he was young.
Detroit's been making legitimate strides in for what's going on about five years, now, and he's going to drop a deuce right in the middle of that why? What a selfish and repugnant human-shaped entity this thing is.
Maybe Mayor Duggan should tell Patterson to have himself a good helping of "Shut It Stew".... :p
His cronies must be in deep damage control now. Even if his camp thought that the writer was trying to bait him and getting select quotes out of Brooksie, he should've known better. But obviously not. he gave them just enough verbal vomit to paint him as a bloated fat cat politician who can't play nice with Detroit.
I'm not defending that everything he said wasn't true but what brings to my mind is... did he have to say them? And i think that's the biggest question I have for so many people now- do you need to say anything at all or are you smart and savvy enough to just say "I have no opinion" or I'd rather not answer that question" when tossed what could be inflammatory questions?
Sad that people didn't get my sarcasm about Detroit and a white mayor.
I love the little bitchy whine coming out of his office this evening that this was a hit piece by an author with an agenda who took his words out of context. Using Brooksie's own words: Tough sh%t. You want to be the boss until you're asked to pay the cost, apparently. You want to play a tough-guy cowboy on television, but when someone has the nerve to call you on it, you turn into a little...anyway. Apparently, admitting a blinding hate of Detroit isn't an "agenda", but a writer you told this to repeating your words often verbatim is an "agenda."
What blows my mind is that in the previous decade, alone, over two-hundred thousand mostly black Detroiters ended up crossing county lines to Oakland and Macomb counties. This whole black-white divide is so blurred, now, that the old rhetoric just looks so f%cking ridiculous. Apparently, Oakland County for him begins at 14 Mile, now. lol Obviously, he's not far enough gone to realize that words will have electoral consequences when he's out of office, right? He saw what happened in 2012 in the county, right? The state legislature had to unilaterally insert itself into the structure of government in OC to help him retain his majority on the commission.
If his focus has always been on keeping his county fiscally solvent and business friendly, why all of the extra and unnecessary antagonizing of your neighbor? He must realize that he's set his power structure up for a major backlash when he's gone, right? This could have been prevented, but when this county swings, boy is it going to swing.
Karma. She coming back around, baby. She may be late at times, but she always arrives.
best thing to do with Pattersons babble.........ignore
lily
I have every reason to believe that Brook's comments were taken out of context. I find it ironic that the day before this ran in the Freep which Brooks gives a lot of good reasons why the DIA needs our support now more than ever.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...=2014301190032
As I have always said "if you are afraid of Detroit, don't come here, we don't need your negativity or money". Scare your kid to stay away, they are the ones who enjoy a ball game or Concert and get shit-faced drunk and think that they can piss on the sidewalk. Please stay away and leave the City to those that want to make it a better place.
I've heard Brooks speak on numerous occasions. I think the fact that he does a two year budget and keeps it updated is amazing. I have mixed feelings about him because as County Prosecutor he brought up a manslaughter charge on my uncle that was dismissed after it went to court. Therefore, I see two sides to this guy.
Like CA Young, Brooks is a lightening rod. Both of them were smart-@$$e$. If you ask them a smart-@$$ question, then that would be the type of answer you are going to get.
I kind of question why he would want to continue being County Exec Director, but politicos seem to draw their life from being someone. Many won't retire or stay around far too long.
Read between the lines.
I fully believe that he supports the DIA, just minus the "Detroit" part. He didn't even have the balls to call it the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Notice how he seemed to make it clear that it was only an "attraction not just for the region [[suburbs), but all of Michigan", not the city of Detroit. He even stopped just short of saying he doesn't want the DIA under Detroit's ownership.
It sort of like how folks support the Tigers, Lions and Red Wings, but only because they're the only professional sports teams in the region and thus a source of entertainment [[and Detroit is just a much more marketable name than "SE Michigan"). It's not like they support those teams to boast the city of Detroit.
LBP's Spokesman---If he was not misquoted, then how was any of it taken out of context? He, to my knowledge, has never appended nor retracted any of the quotes so ...if he's been taken out of context, what exactly was the right context forQuote:
Bill Mullan, a spokesman for Patterson, issued the following statement concerning the New Yorker profile.
“It is clear Paige Williams had an agenda when she interviewed County Executive Patterson. She cast him in a false light in order to fit her preconceived and outdated notions about the region. Mr. Patterson’s record on advancing regional issues in a transparent and responsible manner is unparalleled. His initiatives – including such as Automation Alley, the regional law enforcement management system CLEMIS, and his leadership on the Cobo Authority – have had a highly positive and nationally recognized impact on the region.”
Mullan did not say Patterson was misquoted.
Quote:
"I made a prediction a long time ago, and it's come to pass. I said, 'What we're going to do is turn Detroit into an Indian reservation, where we herd all the Indians into the city, build a fence around it, an then throw in the blankets and corn.'"
This guy doesn't need a parody. The shit that comes out of his mouth is entertainment enough!
http://deadlinedetroit.com/articles/...n#.Ut6J3hAo6M8
With regard to the 'reservation comment', his 1989 quote was far less inflammatory than his restatement of it 2013...
Quote:
When the New Yorker's Paige Williams interviewed Patterson in late 2013 for the story that was published Monday, he brought up a strange analogy to an Indian reservation when she asked him how Detroit might fix its financial problems.
Patterson said: "I made a prediction a long time ago, and it's come to pass. I said, 'What we're going to do is turn Detroit into an Indian reservation, where we herd all the Indians into the city, build a fence around it, an then throw in the blankets and corn.'"
In 1989, when Chafets asked about the quality of life for Detroiters, "Patterson looked at me as I were simpleminded," Chafets wrote.
"It's like the Indians on the reservation," he said. "Those who can will leave Detroit. Those who can't will get blankets and food from the government men in the city."
It was pointed out in a free press story "How did Detroit go broke" that Young was the most fiscally responsible mayor since the late 1940's. He always kept the books balanced and Detroit didn't suffer the debt problems that it has now during his reign. People hear, see and believe what they want to, but the statistics don't lie. Was Young divisive? sure he was, he didn't take no _hit from anybody, but you didn't have to look far to see what he had to deal with being the city's first black mayor, as well as other factions and being brought up in a Jim Crow world. Young wasn't perfect, but HE was the best mayor up to where we are now. Archer was a puppet. Young wasn't anymore racist than L Brooks or any other politician in Michigan, past or present including our current governor. L Brooks and others way of thinking, are exactly the reason why southeastern michigan will continue to languish, instead of working together for the total good of the region. Too many personal agendas.
"What we're going to do is turn Detroit into an Indian reservation, where we herd all the Indians into the city, build a fence around it, an then throw in the blankets and corn.'" -- L. Brooks Patterson
"You will do well to try to inoculate the Indians, by means of blankets, as well as to try every other method that can serve to extirpate this execrable race." — Jeffery Amherst*
Quote:
*[Amherst] was a known advocate of the extermination of Native Americans, and approved the distribution of smallpox infested blankets to native towns in New England.
A neighbor of mine had a good idea - don't spend a dime in his county. I won't be. Damn, how will I live without fratty Royal Oak bars, and where will I go to the movies? I used to drive to Royal Oak Township for gas because it was super safe, now I'm just going to get carjacked.
Everybody seems to be pretty pissed about this guy, so so much for his friends and family here trying to downplay it.
What is comical, is multiple people have stated I need help because I believe his death will be another step in healing the region.
How many times back in the day did people say the same about CAY but that was seen as a perfectly acceptable comment.
As far as boycotting spending money in OC. I agree. Granted, anything missing from Detroit can be found in Dearborn or Warren or a number of bordering WC and MC communities.
Beat me to that... and I agree with you to a degree. I don't know if he needs to die...not that it would be a bad thing for the region, but at the very least he needs to be removed from office. I'm just not so sure what replaces him would be of any improvement.
I see what you did there.... will anyone else?Quote:
As far as boycotting spending money in OC. I agree. Granted, anything missing from Detroit can be found in Dearborn or Warren or a number of bordering WC and MC communities
I'd be fine with his retirement as well.
As for a boycott of OC, I'm sure there will never be enough support for it to impact anyone or anything there but I'd be remiss if I didn't make my little attempt. Granted, I spend close to nothing there to start with so the impact will not be noticeable by a single store.
You didn't just say that his death would be a step towards healing this region, you actually stated that you would celebrate the man's death and even hoped that it would be violent. Your comment was totally inappropriate, but I think you are well aware of that since you appear to be downplaying what you originally wrote.
I'm just glad to finally have Patterson fully exposed for exactly who and what he is. And to a national audience, beyond the pathological rationalizations of this region, who won't be so kind as our local press has been to his casual hate.
Funny thing is that Patterson made a similar comment about CAY. He didn't say he needs to die but he suggested that everything would be okay once Coleman was gone:
Quote:
"We see ourselves as a target. In this situation, you see the evidence of one man's hatred for the honkies. He's the racist. Things will quiet down when Coleman Young leaves."
I tend to agree with jt1 in context.
I wouldn't celebrate anyone's death nor would I wish death on anyone, but I certainly wouldn't miss LBP or shed a tear if he died. I'm sure there were many suburbanites who felt the same way about Coleman Young [[EDIT: I saw iheartthed's post above after posting my reply).
The region will be much better off without people like him [[that simply want to spew vitriol at who they deem to be opposition, worsening the divide).
While I won't celebrate or call for the death of anyone, I think it's hilarious are calling for compassion when it comes LBP and mortality.
He certainly didn't extend it to anyone else.
Quote:
After former Detroit Mayor Coleman Young’s death in 1997, Patterson minced no words: “He was singly responsible for the demise of Detroit. I can see he was a significant political force, but I don’t think he marshaled his energies in a constructive way. I think he was destructive.”
Unfortunately most of the outside world sees southeast Michigan [[Metro-Detroit) as one. Oakland-Wayne-Macomb and even Monroe and out toward A.A. and Howell as being "Detroit" .......... bad press is never good and it's certainly not helpful when one of our officials says these kinds of things. But I also think we give the outsiders like this reporter too much credit.
Stabbing your neighbor in the back doesn't make the neighborhood a better place to live does it? He should choose his words more carefully next time.
Nolan Finley rides to the rescue with a column in the Snooze under the headline of, "In Defense of L. Brooks Patterson"
Well, that's a surprise!
Seems to me she's got plenty of credits:
http://www.paige-williams.com/
Doesn't need ours.
That's L.B. Patterson being L.B. Patterson. A racist bigot!
Like I said above, the love of our kindly local press. No surprise they'd try to come riding to the rescue. They have enabled this asshole far too long. But then he supports and panders to exactly the same prejudices and divisiveness that "reporters" like Finley do.
This region has been so ill for so long.
I know you're not one to pretend Detroit doesn't have its problems, but it's absurd to believe everyone of a certain "background and education" would choose Detroit over an adjacent affluent county.
I don't have much time for GUSHI's even more absurd comments!
I mean, don't get me wrong. I don't agree with Patterson. I also don't really care about Patterson.
Finley's rescue column had me laughing by paragraph three. I mean, if LBP is the "greatest political talent of the last half century," then why does he just happen to be "impolitic"?
When Finley can't get a few paragraphs without a major act of hypocrisy, even his magic word dust can't hide the BS...
BWA-HAHAHAHAHA! Excellent, jt1! :D
Well of course the bias is real. Keep in mind most of the folks working for our local press elected this asshole because he best represents where they stand [[where do you think most of them live after all? Oakland County or Detroit?). Essentially, by not defending him, they would be casting doubt on their own judgement.