Why hasn't Detroit ever owned up to its urban planning blunders?

[Retroit]

After years and years and years of doing research on cities, Detroit, urban planning, race relations, transit and stuff like that, I'd say my knowledge of cities in general and Detroit in particular is pretty hard-won. You don't spent half your life searching for the facts under the pop mythology without holding it pretty dear.

So, when you first start talking to people who never researched the facts, yes, it's a little frustrating. You take a civil tone and try to explain. You do this again and again.

After the first few years of this, you get frustrated. Why? Because the people you are debating with not only don't know what they're talking about, but they DON'T WANT TO KNOW. Anytime you put your hard-won knowledge out there, they hedge or protest or bring up side issues or complain that ANY comparison to Detroit is an unfair one, unless they feel it suits their purposes.

Go at this for years and years and what finally happens is you get sick of this type of person. And, rather than hate on 'em, you make fun of them. That's what's behind this perceived "incivility."

But is there any worse fault than distorting the truth? This region is so steeped in ex post facto cop-outs and cartwheeling rationalizations when it comes to these issues that it seals our fate. Pushing back against that is important. And if it calls for light ridicule and thick satire, so be it.

So what does all this self-praise and self-pity have to do with expressways in Manhattan? Yes, I get tired of arguing also. On those days, I don't click on my "DetroitYES Forums" Favorite button. Don't feel obligated to defend your beliefs against every DetroitYES poster. Detroit will exist [[or continue to decline to exist) with or without "ill-informed" DetroitYES posters.

As far as NOT WANTING TO KNOW, I am completely willing to listen to any counterargument that you may have, but I reserve the right to determine whether or not your counterargument would justify me changing my beliefs. Sorry we are not all clones of you.