"Frank Rizzo"

**Detroitnerd** · November-25-12, 03:58 PM

Calved off from another thread. Carry on...

B-b-b-b-but, young people don't want to move downtown! There's all that crime! And all those black people! Maybe a few crazy young folks don't mind moving down into the ghetto, but most young people want what their parents want: Ever larger houses, more driving every day, getting out of the cubicle at 5 p.m. and hitting Applebee's or TGIF, maybe doing some shopping out on glorious Hall Road, or perhaps just taking some pizza home to the cul de sac. Why would young people wanna go down there with all those blacks and crime? You guys are really desperate when you resort to telling lies like this. Young people will always want to live in the suburbs, and that is the way it always will be. Wishing for it and lying about it won't make it happen.

Sincerely,

Frank Rizzo

**Zacha341** · November-25-12, 04:58 PM

Ummm, the black folks part is fine. I am black. But I don't want to be around alot of crime, whomever it is. Period!

Originally Posted by Detroitnerd

B-b-b-b-but, young people don't want to move downtown! There's all that crime! And all those black people! Maybe a few crazy young folks don't mind moving down into the ghetto, but most young people want what their parents want: Ever larger houses, more driving every day, getting out of the cubicle at 5 p.m. and hitting Applebee's or TGIF, maybe doing some shopping out on glorious Hall Road, or perhaps just taking some pizza home to the cul de sac.

**Detroitnerd** · November-25-12, 05:12 PM

Originally Posted by Zacha341

Ummm, the black folks part is fine. I am black. But I don't want to be around alot of crime, whomever it is. Period!

That's cool. Except Frank Rizzo will never ever delink the two concepts in his mind. When he says "crime" it means black residents. And when he says "bad schools" he means schools with lots of black students. So it's important to bear that in mind when you hear the law-and-order, fix-the-schools ravings of our suburban Rizzos. When Rizzo and those like him say, "I'll support Detroit when they solve their CRIME and SCHOOLS problems," he means he'll support Detroit when it's majority white, as it was when he was a child.

**Zacha341** · November-25-12, 05:28 PM

Yeah, he can dream on... it's never going to be like that again.

Originally Posted by Detroitnerd

When Rizzo and those like him say, "I'll support Detroit when they solve their CRIME and SCHOOLS problems," he means he'll support Detroit when it's majority white, as it was when he was a child.

**Detroitnerd** · November-25-12, 06:15 PM

Originally Posted by Zacha341

Yeah, he can dream on... it's never going to be like that again.

Of course. But that's the whole point. The Frank Rizzos intend to NEVER support Detroit. So by saddling the poorest people with a job he knows they'll never, in his eyes, solve, he's made the most disingenuous conditions for his support.

The remarkable thing is that inner-city residents who don't understand his code-speak support him in principle.

**corktownyuppie** · November-25-12, 06:18 PM

Forget code speak, I don't need Detroit to be majority white. But I do think it's reasonable to expect Detroit to have crime under control and schools that are respectable.

**313WX** · November-25-12, 06:25 PM

Originally Posted by Detroitnerd

Of course. But that's the whole point. The Frank Rizzos intend to NEVER support Detroit. So by saddling the poorest people with a job he knows they'll never, in his eyes, solve, he's made the most disingenuous conditions for his support.

The remarkable thing is that inner-city residents who don't understand his code-speak support him in principle.

True and straight to the point.

JVB · November-25-12, 06:23 PM

Originally Posted by Detroitnerd

That's cool. Except Frank Rizzo will never ever delink the two concepts in his mind. When he says "crime" it means black residents. And when he says "bad schools" he means schools with lots of black students. So it's important to bear that in mind when you hear the law-and-order, fix-the-schools ravings of our suburban Rizzos. When Rizzo and those like him say, "I'll support Detroit when they solve their CRIME and SCHOOLS problems," he means he'll support Detroit when it's majority white, as it was when he was a child.

Is Frank Rizzo an actual person or is he just someone you made up to represent your view of how all white suburbanites think? Just curious.

**Detroitnerd** · November-25-12, 06:34 PM

Originally Posted by JVB

Is Frank Rizzo an actual person or is he just someone you made up to represent your view of how all white suburbanites think? Just curious.

As we’ve defined it before on this board, Frank Rizzos are very angry, economically insecure white suburbanites who've had to work hard for their modest house and small lawn, and look upon the "other" with suspicion. Of course, you can't be an out-and-out racist, so the Frank Rizzos of the world code their racism in terms of "property values" and "crime" and "schools" and "families," which has become standard-issue, white, working-class horseshit. I guarantee you, knocking on suburban doors, you'll meet your fair share of Frank Rizzos.

JVB · November-25-12, 06:56 PM

Originally Posted by Detroitnerd

As we’ve defined it before on this board, Frank Rizzos are very angry, economically insecure white suburbanites who've had to work hard for their modest house and small lawn, and look upon the "other" with suspicion. Of course, you can't be an out-and-out racist, so the Frank Rizzos of the world code their racism in terms of "property values" and "crime" and "schools" and "families," which has become standard-issue, white, working-class horseshit. I guarantee you, knocking on suburban doors, you'll meet your fair share of Frank Rizzos.

Ah OK. I'm new to the board so I wasn't aware that those types of racial generalizations were accepted.

Out of curiosity - I would never move back to Detroit until the schools and crime improved either, should I worry about people calling me a "Frank Rizzo" behind my back? I grew up in Detroit, but now that I have kids I think it's only reasonable to want to raise them in a safe environment with good schools - is that weird or racist of me?

Again, forgive me for not knowing your racial code words on this board, but like I said - I'm new here.

**Jimaz** · November-25-12, 07:10 PM

Originally Posted by Detroitnerd

As we’ve defined it before on this board, Frank Rizzos are very angry, economically insecure white suburbanites who've....

Here I thought it was a NSFW Jerky Boys character. LOL!

Who the hell's Frank Rizzo?

**Detroitnerd** · November-29-12, 05:27 PM

Originally Posted by Detroitnerd

As we’ve defined it before on this board, Frank Rizzos are very angry, economically insecure white suburbanites who've had to work hard for their modest house and small lawn, and look upon the "other" with suspicion. Of course, you can't be an out-and-out racist, so the Frank Rizzos of the world code their racism in terms of "property values" and "crime" and "schools" and "families," which has become standard-issue, white, working-class horseshit. I guarantee you, knocking on suburban doors, you'll meet your fair share of Frank Rizzos.

Looks like Frank Rizzo was pretty clearly defined back on Post No. 9. You'd have to have a pretty fevered imagination to look at that and conclude that it means "all white suburbanites are racists."

**DetroitPlanner** · November-25-12, 07:01 PM

Originally Posted by JVB

Is Frank Rizzo an actual person or is he just someone you made up to represent your view of how all white suburbanites think? Just curious.

Frank Rizzo was the Mayor of Philadelphia at the time of civil unrest in the 1970's.

He is vilified much the same way that Mayor Young was.

**corktownyuppie** · November-25-12, 07:47 PM

Mods, any way to move the racism threadjack on to another thread?

**stromberg2** · November-25-12, 07:48 PM

Frank Rizzo is a legendary blowhard created by our own Detroitnerd. I swear, I am crying laughing everytime Frank makes an appearance. Thanks, Nerd, you made my day! Stromberg2

**Detroitnerd** · November-25-12, 08:00 PM

Originally Posted by stromberg2

Frank Rizzo is a legendary blowhard created by our own Detroitnerd. I swear, I am crying laughing everytime Frank makes an appearance. Thanks, Nerd, you made my day! Stromberg2

Thank you, Stromberg!

Far from attempting to threadjack, corktownyuppie, I think I'm kindly and indulgently explaining something to somebody.

**corktownyuppie** · November-25-12, 08:03 PM

Originally Posted by Detroitnerd

Thank you, Stromberg!

Far from attempting to threadjack, corktownyuppie, I think I'm kindly and indulgently explaining something to somebody.

Your kindness is acknowledged...the basis of my request is not a reflection of your intentions but rather its relevance to the original question. Certainly, I have my preference on moving this portion of the conversation but I will leave it to the moderators to decide. The fact that the last 10+ posts no longer refer to young people or moving downtown is at the heart of my position on this.

**Detroitnerd** · November-25-12, 08:11 PM

Originally Posted by corktownyuppie

Your kindness is acknowledged...the basis of my request is not a reflection of your intentions but rather its relevance to the original question. Certainly, I have my preference on moving this portion of the conversation but I will leave it to the moderators to decide. The fact that the last 10+ posts no longer refer to young people or moving downtown is at the heart of my position on this.

And yet, I do think it is relevant -- and encouraging. This is the sort of news that flies directly in the face of the old "accepted wisdom" about Detroit. I think it's proof that the old generation of Frank Rizzos is finally dying off. These young people moving into the city are likely not doing it without the support -- emotional or financial -- of their parents. I think that helps show what great strides we've made in just a decade. I remember all too well the old guard parents you had to lie to when you even went into the city [["We're going to the drive-in!" was a popular one.) Young people generally don't do what their parents forbid, so I see a correlation must be taking place. Heck, the other month I had a parent proudly tell me his daughter was moving downtown. It gives me hope.

**corktownyuppie** · November-25-12, 08:22 PM

Originally Posted by Detroitnerd

And yet, I do think it is relevant -- and encouraging. This is the sort of news that flies directly in the face of the old "accepted wisdom" about Detroit. I think it's proof that the old generation of Frank Rizzos is finally dying off. These young people moving into the city are likely not doing it without the support -- emotional or financial -- of their parents. I think that helps show what great strides we've made in just a decade. I remember all too well the old guard parents you had to lie to when you even went into the city [["We're going to the drive-in!" was a popular one.) Young people generally don't do what their parents forbid, so I see a correlation must be taking place. Heck, the other month I had a parent proudly tell me his daughter was moving downtown. It gives me hope.

I'll let the mods make the final call on moving the conversation, but I did want to respond to this. A lot of the young people moving into the city are doing with emotional and financial support. I'm young enough that I don't remember or know the "old guard" that you speak of...or perhaps I "self-selected" out of those social circles. Hell, I'm not white myself. I'm from Detroit. And I went to a high school that attracted suburbanites into the city, so I'm not accustomed to the vitriol of which you speak.

That said, I will say that even with the emotional and financial support of their parents, that's not to say that they are without reservation. Of course they are concerned about crime and safety. If their kids are purchasing property, they are curious how property valuations can work when they were taught that public schooling systems were crucial to those questions. But it's not a hostile reservation, it's a skeptical curiosity. And I think that's great, too.
The hope you feel is not a blind hope, for sure. These "haters" that are out there are dead, dying, or in the sunsets of their careers.

**coracle** · November-30-12, 08:07 AM

I wonder if Frank agrees with the Mayor's observation that there's a sense of entitlement with some City workers? Do you think Frank has a job that makes a net contribution to entitlements?

**TKshreve** · November-30-12, 09:58 AM

Every time we meet a self-satisfied white suburban jackoff who burbles happily on about "home values" and "low crime" and "good schools" with that self-aware wink, we can laugh about him being a total Rizzo.

This right here says so much to me about an average Detroit mentality. Not every one of them...... but let's go ahead an appreciate the fact that this is one of the more "educated" people residing within the city.

He takes the idea of home values, low crime [[i.e. public safety) and good schools and manages to put a racist spin on it. Well, if anyone has ever left the city for any extended period of time, people throughout the country call this by another name. It's called:

CLEAN LIVING

It's a concept that has been lost for some time now in the boroughs of Detroit. If Detroiters [[and burbers if you need that addendum) put this common theme above all else we would have a functional system. But it has always been about pointing fingers at reasons why the city crumbled. Its time to find those bootstraps and pull em on up. There's no white knight coming to the rescue. It's up to the people of this city to FIND A WAY to manage itself and move towards a society that values clean living. If you can't wrap your head around that idea, I fear nothing else will change your mind either.

By the way..... I don't deny there are monsters out there like Frank Rizzo, Kwame Kilpatrick, Ted Kaczynski, etc. but a united society finds a way to minimize the damage produced by these people. They do not glorify them, nor do they let such filth become somebody to emulate. Thinking about it now..... what business magnate/public official/person in the spotlight in Detroit is someone we would emulate? Nick Lidstom?

**Zacha341** · November-25-12, 10:01 PM

Hello Strommy... Looks like it's gonna be a long night. Perhaps I better put up a Netflix movie on a side window of my screen, pour a glass of wine and come back as things ebb and flow...

... Z-341

Originally Posted by stromberg2

Frank Rizzo is a legendary blowhard created by our own Detroitnerd. I swear, I am crying laughing everytime Frank makes an appearance. Thanks, Nerd, you made my day! Stromberg2

**DetroitPlanner** · November-25-12, 08:01 PM

Frank Rizzo never lived in the suburbs. I don't think he saw himself as white either.

**Detroitnerd** · November-25-12, 08:03 PM

Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

Frank Rizzo never lived in the suburbs. I don't think he saw himself as white either.

The "Frank Rizzo" moniker, as we use it here, does not refer to the mayor of Philadelphia. I should know. I coined it.

**DetroitPlanner** · November-25-12, 09:36 PM

Originally Posted by Detroitnerd

The "Frank Rizzo" moniker, as we use it here, does not refer to the mayor of Philadelphia. I should know. I coined it.

You coined Frank Rizzo? That is not a name one would pull out of their butt!
Admit it you used the name with no idea who he was. He was mayor of the most comparable city in America to Detroit. He was Philly's Coleman Young.