Where were you during the 1967 Detroit Riot?

[Stosh]

Succintly put and possibly exactly right.

I wish we could know why, and how, Detroit is this way. We were not the first, only, or last city to deal with race riots, corruption, citizen flight, and poor leadership. Why do we seem to be the one city that cannot seem to slow, much less stop, the severe downward spiral that continues?

I think it has a lot to do with the quality of the people the city and surrounding areas attracted in the glory days of the auto industry as well as the wartime industrial buildup. People moved to the "arsenal of democracy" due to the large number of unskilled jobs. The tendency of these jobs being filled by, for the most part, uneducated workers could explain a lot.

The workers from the South brought their prejudices with them, both black and white. The lack of education could explain a little bit of the ignorance and racism inherent in both Black and White Detroiters. This, plus the distrust and racism of the vast amount of immigrant laborers that were still present up to the 1970's added a lot to the problem.

A lot of people felt betrayed by the city due to the increase in crime and the perception of the city turning a blind eye to the underlying issues behind it. The fleeing Detroiters, first White, and now Black and Brown, are all concerned about preserving their way of life, their families.

The sniping behind the comments and backbiting in the region is all about control, and power, naturally. There's no lack of ignorance in this region, still. Habits and values ingrained in generations continue to be perpetuated, whether you think so or not. I think that the only way to bust this cycle is to attract other people to the area. Maybe by an infusion of new blood these ingrained tendencies will be quelled once and for all.