You dont have to be drunk to love Detroit.

[canuck]

I am not drunk and not overly emotional, in fact I am not a big fan of outward displays of emotion, but I really enjoy this forum because most of you give yourself time to research and debate the fine points about your city in a cordial way. So what if sometimes folks get pissed off. It is cool to imagine individual contributors' personalities via their writings. Lowell's DetroitYes is a very important landmark in the city's history it seems to me, there is an allegiance to Detroit from far and wide and ideas flow from the people who experience Detroit from times past and from their daily interactions with the city. The proof that Detroit can overcome its problems is in the affection and even in the anger that is regularly displayed here. I am just stating this because it is important to see that talk is not as cheap as some think.

Detroit has had some serious issues, but if you think about it, there are a lot of people living in the city and metro, and if the same ecumenical feel happens in committees and associations across town, there will undoubtedly arise a new type of city, with a very upbeat people. The folks who remain loyal to the D are in for an agreeable turnaround. Hope may not be sufficient, but enthusiasm will help the good things that steer this big ship on a good course. Gilbert and Bing are doing good stuff for the city, and they need support the way charities and sports figures need applause and congratulations. I also am looking forward to Obama's response to Bing's comment aboout the feds giving major atention to the city. There is also the city's new plan for action which has not been revealed apart form the cursory announcements on demolitions. The metro region needs consolidation, and that may happen if politicians open their minds and hearts but also if metro Detroiters demand change in this direction.

Detroit's imminent transformation will not only be good for its citizens but for your country and for Canada as well. If my hunch is right, Obama will get the urban planning smart set to devise an extraordinary plan for Detroit. The time for spending futile amounts of money and energy on foreign wars is nearing an end and coincides with caring for the homeland and the people. OK I had a coupla beer in my irish french-canadian self as I wrote this but hey...

[BrushStart]

Right on.

......

[rencense]

Cheers Canuck!

Well its not easy being one of us who believes better days lie ahead for detroit. Sometimes when people ask me to explain it i feel like im trying to convince them that the world is flat. All the bad news can be overwhelming but I still think if enough of us step up things will change and i also have a hunch that somethings going to give [[in a good way) soon enough

Hey if you can stay optimistic about detroit you can do anything. never die!

[Roq]

....but it helps?

I love it here and wouldn't live anywhere else by choice; I hope you're right about the area's transformation.

[bartock]

The thread title sort of sets the bar for loving Detroit low, doesn't it?

[preserve]

Things always take longer than anticipated. It seems people give up just before they should, yet, the hanging on gets so tedious. I've got more time on my hands now to
observe what is happening around me and I do see positive things. It's taking time and
things are definitely going to be better. All the talk about City services improving really seem to be the one thing holding development back. There are restaurants and bars
in limbo waiting for all the approvals, like I said tedious.

[carlscomputers]

Being one who has worked for The City, lived here for 47 years, I have seen a lot on both sides & must admit that our town could be so much better with the right "leadership". I'm still here by choice, not by necessity. I say all that to say "I still believe in Detroit"!

[rencense]

well i suppose it could be considered setting the bar low. I guess you have good and bad days with this city. Some days the bad news is almost too much and other days you see signs of progress popping up all over and things [[almost) look promising.

I'm hoping I have the time to see the bigger changes; i'm still fairly young so it may well happen in my lifetime. I think for many its more about love for this town than just liking it. [[kinda like that psycho ex girlfriend even if she did beat you with a curling iron occasionally lol)

I don't think canuck has to make any apologies though. When you watch some of the dysfunction that affects this town and you don't need a drink afterwards.....well you may have anger issues.

carry on

[canuck]

Thank you rencense and brushstart and all those who get it! I guess everybody has issues with their home/adopted town. I have a lot of the same about my city and therefore have maybe an understanding and sympathy for Detroiters that maybe townfolk in more neutral or more booming cities cannot comprehend. I grew up in a city that was booming in the sixties and was decidedly sexy and modern but with a nice touch of the ancient about it. Expo67 came and went but brought with it great architectural monuments that stil stand today. The olympics gave the city a second wind amidst the turmoil of Quebec nationalism, the Parti Quebecois was voted in that year and the language laws became stricter, and the bankrun toward Toronto, head offices of large corporations made their way west to T.O. and eventually Calgary and other booming places. I knew early on that this was the price my city was to pay for the divisions that made us lose out to a teetotaling Toronto. A lot of good came in the following period in terms of cultural affirmation, just the energy that exists here in the arts and film and broadcast media because the french majority was numerous enough to output stuff that catered to the society that it needed to reflect. In other words, Hollywood or Paris in our case didnt have the last word on what Cleveland or San Diego is supposed to be like; and this gave us an edge; the potential to tell our own stories ourselves to ourselves and the world. I am stressing this point because it may be one that takes a while to assimilate. But I digress. What I really want to say is that Montreal and Quebec might have carried on with a stronger corporate presence and an anglo dominance that would have competed with Toronto and other points west with more or less french strength. The decision to make a clean cleavage between anglo elite and french elite by the nationalists was something I didnt like because I always felt Canada was worth keeping united.

Detroit has a lot of the same cultural divisions that make it a make or break town. There are industrial issues that complicated the outcome of Montreal and Detroit. We lost a lot of older heavy industries, the building of ships, bridges, locomotives, refineries, etc...
The garment industry was huge, and that has almost disappeared. The finance industry is still strong thanks to a recent transformation of the stock exchange into a derivatives market.

But culturally, Montreal and Detroit need to take their strength from their people. They need to coalesce rather than find fault. I am more confident about Montreal's future now because there seems to be a growing but tacit understanding that it is futile to reprimand someone because that someone is not identified as a member of OUR group, etc... I will leave you with this for now. Ciao amici!