Lifting Detroit Up Today... and Everyday!

[MizMotown]

I get so tired of all the negative conversations, stories, rumors, lies, half-truths, articles and even threads about "our" city. Like it needs more of that!

What can we say today about Detroit that is positive and uplifting.

Today I affirm that people CARE about this city and the metro detroit area!

[dcmorrison12]

I will be toasting the completion of the Woodward Light Rail - New Starts Grant application today at a local coffee shop with a fellow DDOT friend.

That, my friend, is the best of news

[Gannon]

Miz,

If people didn't care, this place would be a WHOLE lot worse.


It is exactly those who choose to stay and work for better that make Detroit the treasure that it really is, in the midst of what the world might see as hopelessness and despair and devastation and destruction.


That doesn't lessen the pain I feel each time I reach for a tool and remember the fellow who decided it was OK to smash my window and grab my toolbox last month. It DOES help me realize why I felt wrong considering moving to the suburbs when my world was so turned upside down a few months back.


We need to take the bad with the good, if we ignore the former we will not be able to fully appreciate the latter. [[in much the same way that not a one of us appreciates our health until we've gotten over a good flu attack, I just spent a day fighting off one and am overjoyed today to breathe and not have any head, neck, and back pain from clogged lymph nodes)


I also affirm that this town will show the world that we are resilient even in the face of overwhelming negative forces against us, both from within and without the city limits! It is mind-boggling to me when the next wave of hard luck comes our way, or how deeply rooted the political corruption really is.


I am not surprised to see the media spotlight on us, and hope they are able to search out the same glimmers of hope, love, forgiveness, and FREEDOM that me and my friends all share. Any light they shine on goodness will allow it to grow...but we need to face the weeds so WE can root them out.


Enough of my Chauncey Gardener wisdom...cheers and more, thanks for starting this thread!

Much love,
John

The Spirit of Detroit is real...where 'he' is there is liberty [[freedom).

[Buy American]

I get so tired of all the negative conversations, stories, rumors, lies, half-truths, articles and even threads about "our" city. Like it needs more of that!

What can we say today about Detroit that is positive and uplifting.

Today I affirm that people CARE about this city and the metro detroit area!

Sorry Miz....ask the firefighters who were running all night in NE Detroit where an arsonist was burning buildings and homes, one by one...

The sad thing about that is, he/she probably lives in the same neighborhood where the fires are being set and could care less about being positive and uplifting.

[Gannon]

All we're saying, Buy, is to focus on the good...those firefighters who risk their lives for us...and not give too much attention to the arsonist, other than to plan their capture.

[Buy American]

All we're saying, Buy, is to focus on the good...those firefighters who risk their lives for us...and not give too much attention to the arsonist, other than to plan their capture.

I know what you're saying Gannon....it's hard to focus on the "good" and think "positive" and be "uplifting" when it comes to Detroit with all this crap going on....AND, when you have family members and friends and sons and daughters of co-workers out there night after night...and for what? As far as capturing them, that's a joke. An arsonist a few weeks ago firebomed the same house 4 or 5 times in one night....after the second time why wasn't someone staking out that house? It's not rocket science to figure out what's coming next. Sorry, it's hard for me to be positive....Detroit is my hometown, I love it but hate what it's become.

[DetroitDad]

A good thread, with the phrases "Quo Vadis" and "God Did It" flanking both sides of the top of the page.

It makes you think.

In another thread we are talking about how Detroit is the center of yet another "worsts" poll, with those laughing at Detroit and talking about how bad it must be to be Detroit.

Then in another thread we have much more coherent conversation about the mess at Cobo, and how the rest of the country [[possibly world) is about to go through, in affect, the same thing Detroit did.

It makes me wonder; are these people and cities who are laughing at Detroit, comparable to the heart laughing at the lungs for having cancer?

With that in mind, I am very excited about all the developments that still seem to be going forward, despite the poor economy. I, like DCM am also very excited about the light rail line, and coming transit that should follow. More importantly, I'm very excited every time we get a new forumer here on DYES, and anytime someone from the upcoming generation shows interest in the city. Who knows what these individuals will be contributing in the future?

[sumas]

I will take a page from several other posters and send hugs.

Shit does happen here but I don't like to feed the trolls. Same shit happens in the burbs. It just isn't televised. Does anyone know that when Lakeside Mall opened a security guard was murdered? That never hit the news.

Oops, I am trying to be positive. I remember a book that was published years ago, entitled, When bad things happen to good people. Great title, stupid book!

[jjw]

One definite positive is that there is a new mayor in town which means a new day has begun. Perhaps with this change in leadership, more positives may be on the horizon.

[wolverine]

I do hope though people here can differentiate between outright bashing and criticism. If you are critical, you are identifying problems, and suggesting solutions, hopefully based on reliable facts. I can agree there is a lot of city bashing but only focusing on the positive is also creating a false reality of the city.

[MizMotown]

Thank you to those who can see the vision in this thread. I hope we can keep it going because there are definitely alot of things to be positive about.

All we're saying, Buy, is to focus on the good...those firefighters who risk their lives for us...and not give too much attention to the arsonist, other than to plan their capture. :-)

[[affirmed)

I also affirm that many families who deserve much needed assistance find that help today and can remain in peace knowing their family is safe and taken care of.

[Buy American]

I will take a page from several other posters and send hugs.

Shit does happen here but I don't like to feed the trolls. Same shit happens in the burbs. It just isn't televised. Does anyone know that when Lakeside Mall opened a security guard was murdered? That never hit the news.

Oops, I am trying to be positive. I remember a book that was published years ago, entitled, When bad things happen to good people. Great title, stupid book!

Believe me, I was once very positive about Detroit. I worked for the City of Detroit, was proud of what I did. As I have said in many of my posts before, I love Detroit, it's my hometown....I just don't like what its' become...AND I don't see any bright lights at the end of any tunnel either. Until something can be done about the drugs and dealers, gangs and corruption in City Hall, not much is going to change. Felons are appointed, appointees are stealing, politicians are raping and pillaging...are there any roll models for a young person in Detroit to follow? I don't think so. Someone, and I don't know who that someone could be, needs to go in and clean Detroit from the top where all the fat is, down to the bottom. Honesty and integrity is non-existent. It seems to me that when money is made readily available for any elected official, whether it be for the City of Detroit or DPS, they just take it. Then, the hide behind all the preachers and clergy with storefront churches when they are caught. The sad part about that is that the residents continually give these thieves first, second and third chances. Why?

I have never said there is no crime in the suburbs, but there is absolutely no comparison in any stretch of the imagination that it equals Detroit. To say it's not publicized or televised is irresponsible. To mention a murder at Lakeside in 1976 is irresponsible. Show me statistics that come close to Detroit's crime rate and maybe I'll agree with you, but until then, don't tell me the same shit happens in the burbs.

[rajdet]

MizMotown, I agree with you. I have a saying, It's not seeing is believing, it's the other way around, believing is seeing. If you believe there are good people and good things happening around you, that's exactly what you will see. I believe in the bright future of metro Detroit.

[MizMotown]

Declare not to be true a thing that seems true. It's important to not let the 'seemingly' bad outweigh the good.

Affirm anything is to assert positively that it is so, even in the face of all contrary evidence.

We speak the word, we confidently affirm, but we have nothing to do with the 'establishing' of the word, or bringing it to pass. -H. Emilie Cady

[kathy2trips]

I've been in Texas for over 20 years and still have my "accent"! I'm very proud of the way I talk and Texans think it's sexy!

[DetroitDad]

Believe me, I was once very positive about Detroit. I worked for the City of Detroit, was proud of what I did. As I have said in many of my posts before, I love Detroit, it's my hometown....I just don't like what its' become...AND I don't see any bright lights at the end of any tunnel either. Until something can be done about the drugs and dealers, gangs and corruption in City Hall, not much is going to change. Felons are appointed, appointees are stealing, politicians are raping and pillaging...are there any roll models for a young person in Detroit to follow? I don't think so. Someone, and I don't know who that someone could be, needs to go in and clean Detroit from the top where all the fat is, down to the bottom. Honesty and integrity is non-existent. It seems to me that when money is made readily available for any elected official, whether it be for the City of Detroit or DPS, they just take it. Then, the hide behind all the preachers and clergy with storefront churches when they are caught. The sad part about that is that the residents continually give these thieves first, second and third chances. Why?

I have never said there is no crime in the suburbs, but there is absolutely no comparison in any stretch of the imagination that it equals Detroit. To say it's not publicized or televised is irresponsible. To mention a murder at Lakeside in 1976 is irresponsible. Show me statistics that come close to Detroit's crime rate and maybe I'll agree with you, but until then, don't tell me the same shit happens in the burbs.

As to the suburbs, generally I think plenty of suburbanites have a hand in Detroit's corruption and crime. Why poo poo in your own yard when you can do it in you neighbor's with no consequence or retribution? Sadly, a state takeover of Detroit may be the only thing that will truly end much of the madness. What does amaze me is that even with all the FBI digging and publicity from the rest of the nation, no one can seem t o figure out what the problem is.

Something tells me BuyAmerican and some others have a better idea than most, which might be why they are so melancholy.

BuyAmerican, it has been said that some of the changes in view between the young and old [[around here) seems to be in that the young have never seen Detroit better than it's worst, so to them the recent improvements make Detroit look pretty good. It is very hard for young people to imagine Detroit with twice it's population, where everything was perfect.

The comments on some posts here, about how great Detroit used to be, always strike me as odd. If Detroit was so great.... why did everyone leave?

It seems that we often resent the present. I'm not sure if it was actually better back then, or if our elder's memories are really of a past full of nostalgia for a past that was actually resented at the time. Either Detroit was never that perfect, or it was a case of not knowing what one had until they gave it all away. It's funny how NO ONE ever seems to admit that they gave the Detroit of the past up, they blame everyone around them, and they "ended up just fighting the times", or so they say. But, whatever Detroit of yesteryear was or was not, they/we did give it all away, didn't they/we?

[kathy2trips]

Back in the 1800s Milton Hershey wanted to go beyond caramels and make a milk chocolate bar. He tried his own formulations, but it wasn't quite the mellow, smooth taste of European chocolate. So he went to the European confection capitals of the world and asked if he could tour their factories. They said, NO! They weren't about to just give this Yank their trade secrets. So, Hershey went back to PA and started developing own his milk chocolate bar. He got the process by trial-and-error, but one element was lacking. He couldn't figure out how to keep the milk from going sour during the process. Even today, many people from other countries will remark that the Hershey bar tastes a bit sour, compared to, say, a Cadbury. But that is the unique quality of Hershey bars and kisses that make them so special. What did we do when the Japanese wanted to develop their car business? We just handed it to them. Then, American cars started looking like Japanese cars! Even now, it's hard to tell them apart. Sad. Why are we, as a country, so willing to shoot ourselves in the foot? I don't understand this death wish we seem to have as a country, not just Detroit. Strange how we used to make everything, and we were dependent on no one. That gave us freedom. Now, we're dependent on OPEC and China, and we'd better be nice to them, because our existence depends on them??? They have the energy and manufacturing we used to have. There is only so much Detroit can do as a city; MI needs to be on board in its recovery. As for me, I left because Texas was an attractive places for businesses to start-up or move, and there were jobs going begging for people. And, I had a free place to live, with relatives. If you are anti-business, you must be anti-jobs, too. Taxing businesses is a horrible way for gov'ts to raise funds. They pass it on to consumers, and eventually, like Comerica, they'll leave. Reverse that trend, and you're on your way. Seems to me that lifting Detroit up requires the heavy lifting of voting out the crooks that run the city. And there's a lot more than just one or two.

[Buy American]

As to the suburbs, generally I think plenty of suburbanites have a hand in Detroit's corruption and crime. Why poo poo in your own yard when you can do it in you neighbor's with no consequence or retribution? Sadly, a state takeover of Detroit may be the only thing that will truly end much of the madness. What does amaze me is that even with all the FBI digging and publicity from the rest of the nation, no one can seem t o figure out what the problem is.

Something tells me BuyAmerican and some others have a better idea than most, which might be why they are so melancholy.

BuyAmerican, it has been said that some of the changes in view between the young and old [[around here) seems to be in that the young have never seen Detroit better than it's worst, so to them the recent improvements make Detroit look pretty good. It is very hard for young people to imagine Detroit with twice it's population, where everything was perfect.

The comments on some posts here, about how great Detroit used to be, always strike me as odd. If Detroit was so great.... why did everyone leave?

It seems that we often resent the present. I'm not sure if it was actually better back then, or if our elder's memories are really of a past full of nostalgia for a past that was actually resented at the time. Either Detroit was never that perfect, or it was a case of not knowing what one had until they gave it all away. It's funny how NO ONE ever seems to admit that they gave the Detroit of the past up, they blame everyone around them, and they "ended up just fighting the times", or so they say. But, whatever Detroit of yesteryear was or was not, they/we did give it all away, didn't they/we?

You are right about me and others being meloncholy about what Detroit has become. When I speak of the love I had for Detroit, this goes back to the 40's, 50's and part of the 60's; after those years, the decline began. Detroit was better back then. Detroit was far from perfect, but it was a great city with a crowded downtown, a crowded Belle Isle and safe schools where kids actually learned a thing or two, where kids respected their teachers, where kids never EVER thought of disrespecting a teacher, let alone attacking one.

Lives were pretty simple then. Neighbors knew each other, people were friendly and were always there with a helping hand should you need it. There were no vacant homes on any street where I lived or in my neighborhood. Kids could play outside until the street lights came on and no one worried about a drive by shooting or a firebomb coming through a window or a stray bullet hitting a sleeping baby in a crib. There were no drug dealers that I ever saw...I'm sure they existed, but we never saw them on street corners in my neighborhood. You could take a bus or a street car anywhere in the City. Adults and children respected the police. Services from the City were pretty good. These are not dreams of mine, these are actual happenings.

Buying a small little bungalow in NE Detroit, working for Detroit, raising children, was good. Then, something happened. One family would move from the block, perhaps after retiring and someone else would move in. Those that moved in didn't have the same mindset that we all had and chose to do their damdest to alienate themselves from everyone. They chose to throw trash on their front lawns, park on the grass, park on other neighbors grass and dare you to object; they would break windows, smoke dope, play loud music at all hours of the day and night...they didn't care about our quiet neighborhood because they were there to take it over. Eventually, they and others like them did just that...they ran everyone out. It took me 15 years to realize that I needed to get my family out of this dangerous place. When you're afraid to have your children come home at night because of an element of people who are just looking for a pretty young girl to beat up or rape, that's when nothing else mattered except to get them to safety.

When I left my home, the City had me fix things that I had lived with for over 30 years. Little things like a slanted driveway slab, an outlet in the basement that didn't work, a gutter that had a pinhole in it. My house was in better condition than it ever was. A year after I left, I went back and was amazed at the condition of that home. Bars on the front door, bars on the windows, broken windows, curtains hanging out of the windows, a car on the front lawn, no grass left, trash everywhere...and why is that?

I didn't give Detroit up....Detroit gave up on itself. Detroit allowed this decline to happen because they allowed corruption, drug dealers, gangs and kids with no fathers to run rampant. Detroiters of today want to have things their way or no way. They don't want help from me or any of the "suburbanites". How can anyone blame others who don't live in Detroit any longer for how it has turned out? Isn't it time that Detroiters take responsibility for their own actions and turn the City around themselves?

This may be a rambling post, but yes, I am meloncholy and heartsick that Detroit has turned into the joke of the nation. When I and my friends and other family members lived there, it was a vibrant City...our leaving it didn't turn it into what it is today. Those that inherited it did that dirty deed.

[Maxine1958]

Buy American, if I knew who you were, I'd give you a big hug.

I told basically the same story as you on another thread a few months back and got royally beaten up for it.

I was born and raised in the city. Lived there all my life. As did my parents and grandparents. But the city changed. And for much the same reasons you spoke of, my family and I left the city for the safety of the suburbs. Where I didn't have to worry about my mom living alone next to a family with 5 teenaged boys who seemed to be without adult supervision 90% of the time. Where we didn't have to chain the car hood down to the frame to keep a battery for more than two days. Where we didn't have to chain the garage door and have a flood light in the yard to keep our lawn mower and other tools through the seasons. Where we thought twice about attending events that might bring us back home too late in the evenings.

We managed to keep our house neat, clean and repaired without much money. Why then couldn't our new neighbors do the same? Why where their windows broken out? Why were their gutters hanging or torn off? Why didn't they cut their lawns or pick up the trash around their houses?

All the arguments that the reason for Detroit's demise is 'white flight' don't make a lot of sense to me. I'd love to have that house back. Or any of the houses my family and friends lived in. They were lovely houses. Until the 'next' family moved in.

I'd like to hear the reasons for that.

[Buy American]

Buy American, if I knew who you were, I'd give you a big hug.

I told basically the same story as you on another thread a few months back and got royally beaten up for it.

I was born and raised in the city. Lived there all my life. As did my parents and grandparents. But the city changed. And for much the same reasons you spoke of, my family and I left the city for the safety of the suburbs. Where I didn't have to worry about my mom living alone next to a family with 5 teenaged boys who seemed to be without adult supervision 90% of the time. Where we didn't have to chain the car hood down to the frame to keep a battery for more than two days. Where we didn't have to chain the garage door and have a flood light in the yard to keep our lawn mower and other tools through the seasons. Where we thought twice about attending events that might bring us back home too late in the evenings.

We managed to keep our house neat, clean and repaired without much money. Why then couldn't our new neighbors do the same? Why where their windows broken out? Why were their gutters hanging or torn off? Why didn't they cut their lawns or pick up the trash around their houses?

All the arguments that the reason for Detroit's demise is 'white flight' don't make a lot of sense to me. I'd love to have that house back. Or any of the houses my family and friends lived in. They were lovely houses. Until the 'next' family moved in.

I'd like to hear the reasons for that.

Thanks Maxine, I consider myself hugged by you. I expected to get more flack from my post and it's been strangely quiet. You know exactly what I was talking about and I believe there are many many more out there that feel the same way.

I would still be in Detroit if the neighborhood hadn't gone to hell so quickly. That little 800 sq. ft. bungalow that we lived in with one bathroom was perfect for us and our plans were to stay, pay it off and live there for the rest of our lives. In my mind, it was just common sense to keep the neighborhood clean. Our elderly neighbors would get out there every morning in their housecoats and literally sweep the street in front of their house. If a newspaper got loose and blew around, we all picked it up and did our best to live in a nice place. However, to some, the neighborhood didn't matter or they just didn't know how to live with the human race. They didn't care about the house they lived in but they all had nice cars with thousands of dollars worth of speaker equipment in the trunk to blow our windows out with every chance they got. My family was very sad to leave but anxious to get out of danger.

Thanks again.

[Jimaz]

Check out DetroitYES Forums > Discuss Detroit > WSU Math Corps = Detroit Kids Graduating.

[alsodave]

Ah yes, the ol' life was better when negroes were segregated argument. Maybe we should start shifting the blame of Detroit's slide from Coleman Young to Ossian Sweet.

It's easier to lament the old days than to comment on current events--Jimaz 's link or even Cub's Georgia Street Project.

Positive with blinders on? Nope
Positive about pockets of growth and opportunity happening? It's a start.

[DetroitDad]

Ah yes, the ol' life was better when negroes were segregated argument. Maybe we should start shifting the blame of Detroit's slide from Coleman Young to Ossian Sweet.

It's easier to lament the old days than to comment on current events--Jimaz 's link or even Cub's Georgia Street Project.

Positive with blinders on? Nope
Positive about pockets of growth and opportunity happening? It's a start.

I really think it's up to the reader to take what they will from those two great posts.

The racism view is one way of taking it. I'm not 100% sure that is what they meant, as it didn't have to be a black and white issue.

Mainly, I think White Flight was really just the start of suburbanization. As is said, the hallmark of suburbia is the impoverishment of public space, and the aggrandizing of private space and an every man/family for themselves attitude.

Greed is a funny thing. It seems to me that what happened with "white flight" was that a bunch of white middle class Detroiters decided to leave the dirty and crowded cities for suburbia, and make a profit doing it at the expense of their white brethren back "home". Wern't those original Detroit homes then rented out to lower income whites and blacks? Then, those renting out the homes along with those staying there didn't have the interest or means [[one or both) in keeping them or the neighborhoods up the way blocks upon blocks of home owners who used them as their family's primary residence. What resulted was a systematic breakdown and eventual collapse of Detroit, with the black population [[redlined out of suburbia), and various whites [[the poor, the city employees, or those unable to sell their home and buy a suburban oasis, the noble, etc.) being caught holding the hot potato when the music stopped.

We see the same thing, sort of, happening in suburbia now, only without the race tie in.

Greed is a funny thing. White flight in and of itself wasn't a black and white issue, it was a greed issue with attempted racial blame on both sides. We can talk about the race issue like we'd talk about the class issue on the Titanic, sort of, in that it is there, but arguably had nothing to do with what sank the ship, it just had to do with who was left behind.

Detroit will continue to get better and probably remain a culturally and ethnically diverse city. Lots of futures and investments are riding on Detroit, and we lost many of the bad people right along with the good. I think Detroit just needs to balance it's scales.

[MizMotown]

May Detroit be safer today. Whether one less crime happens or one less person become homeless... whatever it is... I affirm that Detroit is safer today!

[LouHat]

Ah yes, the ol' life was better when negroes were segregated argument.

And they're not now? I remember those negroes. I'll bet back in those days, in terms of friendly personal interaction, we were tons less segregated than we are today. I even had a negro "mammy" or whatever it was they called it. How about that?