Bing's Communication Problem

[Vic01]

I have to quibble with this...and not to thread jack...this may be worthy of its own threat [["What The Fuck Should We Do With All These Open Houses").

I've been at too many block club clean ups and neighborhood board ups to hear this any more. The people put these together usually with at best a semblance of backing from the city.

There are always intelligent, hardworking, and thrifty people at these sort of events. And they have tools! One thing you can say about Detroiters, call it throw back from our more industrial days, is that they sure have lots of tools.

What I'm saying is why can't we tie a chain to the center of these open and dangerous homes and pull them down. The ones with useful materials can be deconstructed. This needs to happen and the city needs to support it. I would bet that if the city paid any group $500 to tear down an open and vacant building we would see thousands down in a few summer months.

I've heard this refrain at too many block clubs by now: "Too bad we can't just tear the sucker down".

Maybe we should tear those suckers down.

Just recently Blight Busters and Channel 7 tore down a house, or two, near Brightmoor... they must have been able to work out any liability issues...

[stasu1213]

The booings and shouts from the hecklers in the audience provide Bing a way out of answering tough questions. He uses them as an excuse to walk out of a meeting or just say "I had attended these meetings but could not answer questions for being interrupted by unruly people in the audience". I hope these hecklers weren't planted in the audience for that reason

[softailrider]

Is that what you think, smart guy? Or maybe you just think you're a really funny guy? Well, you couldn't be more wrong, which you're probably quite used to by now.

What the vast majority of Detroiters want - from the city government, specifically - is for it to do its job. I think we are all aware we aren't living in Palm Beach. For all the taxes we pay, however, police response is abysmal and city services, outside of garbage collection, are non-existent. 32 people were murdered in 15 days and the silence from city government was deafening. Bing isn't the cause of the city's problems by any means but he ran for office on a platform of change. He has changed nothing. If anything city government is less responsive than ever. Blame it on whatever you want be he came in promising to fix it. Nobody forced him to take this job. He campaigned for it even while it was already past time to take him out back and shoot him.

I'm not a grape-thrower, either. I was at his last State of the City. He laid out no clear vision, in fact, no vision. He promised only to tear down the Brewster Projects [[which is not a priority for most Detroiters) which appears to be just another broken promise.

Now I know you will be quick to turn your finger on Detroiters, saying we need to take care of things ourselves. Well, many of us try. When Bing chides us to be the "eyes and ears" of our community, we need him to back us up with boots on the ground. We're left watching and listening to criminals laugh while the 911 operator makes excuses of why she can't send a car. We can't tear down dangerous buildings ourselves. We are private citizens who pay taxes with the expectation of even a minimal level of return.

The man has serious problems communicating. Even giving a simple speech he rambles like your great uncle. He is simply out of his league when it comes to matters of such gravity.

They should have tarred and feathered him. He got off too easy.

In my opinion, you're way too harsh. Bing is in over his head, I really think he has the best intentions, he wants to see the city come back. He's just not up for the job, maybe his age has a lot to do with it. He's been a lousy mayor, but it seems he's been an honest one. I don't hear about people say they have to pay a consulting fee in order to open a business in Detroit. He's not leasing luxury cars for his wife on the taxpayers dime.

In spite of his shortcomings he deserves to go to a neighborhood meeting without being shouted out of the building.

[brizee]

He's been a lousy mayor, but it seems he's been an honest one.
In spite of his shortcomings he deserves to go to a neighborhood meeting without being shouted out of the building.

No he hasn't.

That's his whole problem.

He tells different things to different audiences not even several hours.

[jtf1972]

Not really but KK could relate to the people better giving them bad news than Bing could with good news.

From what I saw, whenever there was bad news KK would step to the podium & brag about something that isn't anything to brag about, then introduce someone else who would thank the mayor & deliver bad news...

[Honky Tonk]

"From what I saw, whenever there was bad news KK would step to the podium & brag about something that isn't anything to brag about, then introduce someone else who would thank the mayor & deliver bad news..."

Exactly. "You want to keep making 80K a year plus "tips"? Then go take the heat for this."

[Zacha341]

That's about right! Yeah, I recall KK's meetings, where he sometimes had then police chief Ella Bully Cummings flanking his side, and she do the 'damage control' talk at his meetings. Those where the days when so much was being concealed... like the mounting amount of moneys diverted.

From what I saw, whenever there was bad news KK would step to the podium & brag about something that isn't anything to brag about, then introduce someone else who would thank the mayor & deliver bad news...

[Lowell]

There's a really simple solution to these rowdy meetings. Separate the two groups into different rooms. Connect the rooms by video conference feeds. The city hall group can only hear the person at the mike and the PA system can be cranked up over the shouting. The people would still be allowed their voice orderly at the mike. It would end the shouting down of opinions by the larger group. The shouting down would soon end as it would be useless.

Then why have a public meeting at all? Why not have Bing sit in the Magoogian and run the feed from there?

[swingline]

The booings and shouts from the hecklers in the audience provide Bing a way out of answering tough questions. He uses them as an excuse to walk out of a meeting or just say "I had attended these meetings but could not answer questions for being interrupted by unruly people in the audience". I hope these hecklers weren't planted in the audience for that reason

Mayor Bing certainly has serious communication problems. He and his administration have attempted to operate above the political fray but it hasn't worked. They don't answer to anybody and they don't get much done either.

The Mayor, however, gets placed into near impossible situations in these community meetings. The crowd of shouters that routinely attend are not interested in progress. And they are certainly not interested in dialogue. Instead, they are there because the event gives them a platform to complain about takeovers, conspiracies, racism and disrespect. For these folks, solutions are far less important than precious respect. [[It's pretty ironic that these respect-obsessed folks have zero respect for the mayor's office and other citizens with sincere intent for community involvement.) The Mayor has no obligation to feed this beast. He did fine by ending the meeting.