I'm not sure what any of that has to do with my post. You asked whether Young was too "stupid and egotistical" to recognize the implications of his actions. I'm suggesting that those actions may have worked to his political benefit, regardless of their overall impact on the city, and may have been motivated more by his pragmatic desire to further his political career than by stupidity or egotism. Of course, I'm just speculating; I have no idea what Young's actual motivations were for making the choices he made about how to run the city and how to talk to the press. I'm just pointing out one plausible explanation.
As for whether Young was a good or a bad mayor, well, I don't have a strong opinion about that. Maybe I'm the only person in this town who doesn't. I'm too young to personally remember much of his time in office, and I think the city probably would have gone to shit between the early 70s and the early 90s no matter who was mayor. He did some good things, he did some bad things, and I think both his admirers and detractors tend to overstate his impact because he was such a polarizing figure.
As far as "people live where they can afford to live, then as now," you really can't have that discussion without bringing race into it, and you don't seem willing to do that. I guess I should leave it at that.
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