Outsider's opinions

[zapnorm]

I never set foot in Detroit yet, last week I saw a documentary about your city, and was absolutely touched by what I saw, Lowell Boileau was interviewed by a Montreal journalist...I'm from Montreal, I was struck by the importance of the tragic events that you had to endure since the last 42 years or so. Montreal is not so far away from Detroit, these documentaries I saw made me realise that the rest of the world is very poorly informed about what happened in Detroit, maybe even in your own country. President Obama promise that he will fight for you people, i hope he's gonna stand behind his declarations, and do eveything he can to stop the madness, and take care of what really counts in the end...human beings. I saw footage of the 1967 riots on You Tube, you can really see what long term frustration can do to people, anyway it's a very complicated subject. Finally I just wanted to tell you that even people from somewhere else can be concerned by your situation, I know for some people it's not a big deal, let's say I just wanted to give you the strength to continue and never quit, in Montreal last summer a young Latin american was killed in a park by a cop for apparently no reason, it happened in a Black community area of the city, the day after riots began, nothing to compare to what happened in Detroit, we live in a world where the economy is so fragile, that we have to prepare for the worst, I hope that you are not feeling 'invaded' by me or my opinions, on the other hand you have the right to do so, I you feel that way just tell me, and I'll stop posting...

See you around.

PS: my english is not perfect but I'm trying...

[d.mcc]

The one thing most of us realize is that, well for those of us who had to leave, the rest of the country would rather use us as a punchline to a joke than actually care. We see clips about run down and broken cities around the world and we want to help them, we see what happened in New Orleans and think they need all the help, but won't help what was once a truly great city.

It takes a different type of person to live in Detroit. Those of us that have left, well speaking for myself, look for any reason to move back that we can...

One day...

We hope for better things..

[rajdet]

PS: my english is not perfect but I'm trying...

Your English is much better than my French! Thanks for your Post. I Love Montreal, I used to go there every spring for the Tour De Lile

[gazhekwe]

It's good to hear from you, zapnorm. You don't have to live in Detroit to post here. We have some things in common with Montreal. Detroit started out as a French city, just down the river from Montreal, as the traffic went in those days. We still have streets that follow the boundaries of the old French ribbon farms, and they carry the names of the people who lived there then. Rivard, St. Antoine, Beaubien, St. Jean, and more.

[Roq]

Hi zapnorm:

Despite what many people say, Detroit is a cool town. I recognize it has its flaws but regardless, I love living here. Canada rocks and I hope to make it to Montreal one day.

[MoparDan]

Like ZapNorm, I've never been to Detroit; the closest was Indianapolis a few years ago.
I used to check Lowell's Ruins site on a regular basis & was always amazed at what the auto industry left behind. I'm always hunting down pictures of the Packard Plant & Fisher Body 21.
I thought about registering to participate in the forums but being an "outsider" from the south, I figured it was best I didn't. Then when all this crap with the financial crisis & the Big 3 looking at some serious trouble, I jumped in. I've pretty much stayed to the Non-Detroit side of the fence & occasionally gotten into the Detroit side when there was an issue I could weigh in on.
Since that time I've gotten to recognize some of the screen names & even though we've never met it's almost like I know them to a certain extent. What I really appreciate is the history that's discussed & pictures that are posted.
I am very concerned at what the future of our Auto Industry will be. With that, I hope that an economic recovery will be in cards for not only Detroit, but the Midwest as a whole. The region has been beaten up for some time now & deserves to be on the upswing. I come from a state that is "right to work", meaning you can be fired or let go for no reason & without warning. It happened to me twice after I got out of the Air Force. While I'm not exactly Pro-Union, I do believe the UAW & other unions help lay the groundwork for the middle class to thrive.
I'd like to do a road trip up there, possibly in a year or so, not only to check out Detroit, but other areas in the region.
Let's hope the right decisions will be made & executed properly to bring our Auto Industry back to prominence, as well as our industrial base as a whole.

[Blueidone]

Thanks for posting, Zapnorm. Personally, I love to hear the viewpoint of others. I welcome your input on our forum. Fortunately, many of us from the Detroit area are optimists...and activists...and we hope that our small contributions can help turn this city around.

[Hamtragedy]

Rue St. Catherine, outside the Forum, after a Saturday night Habitants Canadiens game in January 1994. Snowing relentlessly, and 10 below zero farenheit. People everywhere, both sides of the street, and two blocks deep in either direction, for a solid couple miles. An absolute blast.

I wish we had main street lilke that here.

[lilpup]

If the new arena ends up behind the Fox there might some of that kind of feeling after a game. Face it, other than the Riverwalk side the area immediately around the Joe isn't pedestrian friendly.

[rid0617]

Your English is good. I loved Montreal. Spent 2 weeks at the Le Reine Elizabeth hotel while attending an international crime prevention conference. Best time I have had anywhere. Welcome to the forum.

[Gianni]

I was in Montreal last summer at the time of those riots. I happenned to wake up in my hotel room downtown and turn on the TV about 1am, and there was a local news broadcast showing a neighborhood in flames. Only the French Language broadcast was on so I struggled to understand what was happenning. Next day I learned that it was sparked by a police shooting of a hispanic youth in a park. I'm guessing that the Montreal Police force is mostly French Canadian and doesn't have the best relations with some of the poorer immigrant communities. It was a small scale riot compared to most of the recent ones in the US, but still very serious. For example, the rioters got into the parking lot of the police station and torched all of the personal vehicles of the cops.

I think barely anyone in the US even heard of this. Some people in Detroit probably did because we are lucky to be close to Canada and have grown up occasionally watching CBC.

[Lloyd]

I left Detroit behind in 1975 when, right after graduating from Denby High, I went into the Navy for six years. Returning in 1981 I found a city falling apart. Buildings starting to fall into ruin. The economy in the pits. Hope seemingly running dry. For this reason, after a single year back, despite never losing my love for Detroit, I made my exit.

Since then I've watched from distance as the decline continued until, now, so little of the city I grew up in actually remains. I returned for a brief visit in 2001 to find the house I grew up in abandoned and the neighborhood mostly gone. It's a unique feeling to travel home only to find sturdy brick homes gone, with the basements filled in, replaced by vacant lots that look like there was never anything there.

So it is that I return to this site on a regular basis to look at the pictures, and read the forums. This is the first time I've signed up to participate, having abandoned the city so long ago, I guess I felt that I have nothing to add to the discussion. Now, however, with the auto industry teetering on the brink and the rest of the country seemingly willing to let it happen, I felt compelled to join the voices that are echoing from the ruins of our once great city.

So much is lost never to be regained. I long for one more trip to the Soup Kitchen on a Friday night, perhaps with Willie Dixon on the stage like it used to be.

[zapnorm]

Hi rajdet! you see I live in Montreal and I've never participated yet in the tour de l'île! maybe one day, keep on visiting us and thanks for your post! See ya

[DtCtyGrl]

No matter where you are in the world, you can always be a Detroiter at heart. Doesn't matter if you have lived in the D or not, or if you are still there or since left. Welcome.