poverty next door
My friend just posted a really thoughtful entry in his blog. take a look at iti think most of us who live in Detroit don't know how to feel about the Superbowl coming to town. It's a shiny flicker of hope in a really dark city, but i think most of us aren't really convinced that anything will change. And maybe we even know it's because WE won't change.
Blame corrupt mayors or bad city planning, crime, drugs, (insert your favorite excuse here) but isn't part of our mixed reaction to the superbowl informed by guilt? that others are coming in to "do" in a city we've turned our back on? A city that we all share in by our proximity, industry, and heritage? More than a city, a people who have been horribly left behind?
my prediction? unless we in the rich suburbs change, detroit will not. Not ever.
posted by Dion @ 2/01/2006 06:53:00 AM
4 Comments
4 Comments:
I hate to see things like this. We have something huge come into our midst and we jump around frantically trying to prepare for it. We spend coutnless amounts of time and money on the smallest things. But when it comes to helping our fellow people, we do nothing. We look and we are disgusted, we dont do anything because we do not want to get our hands dirty.
Thats it what is disgusting. That money could be better used for better things. And the human efforts could be used aswell.
So what happens after the super-bowl is done and all the people have left and hype is gone. What happens is that everyone goes back to the way their lives were and all they're efforst for that short amount of time mean nothing more. Well, if we took that same amount of initiative in taking care of our fellow man, the results would last a lifetime.
What is disguting is, not the way (specifically) the city of detroit looks, or the fact that there are people living in the streets, and the drug use and alcohol abuse, what is disgusting is the fact that we care more about material things and our entertaimnet that we will spend massive amounts (as i said before) of time and money on that, but we will overlook what really needs to be done.
I'm not sure why the city should be rescued for its own sake.
I mean, people, yeah, I get it. I think most people feel trapped in all areas of life, not wanting to try to move or dream to have something different. If you travel to Chicago, New York, Toronto, you see the benefits of a city, but I'm not convinced that even those wonderful cities are all that. For me, the benefits are drastically overshadowed by the pace, the "shove" factor, and the cost of living! So why are big cities necessary at all?
Being a super-blessed-guy, I really don't have a good context from which to compare though.
tylor- i like you "righteous anger"
brett- good question.
For me I LIKE the city. I like the pace and the "shove" I like the life happening all around. That's just a preference issue.
The reason I think cities are necessary and need to be rescued is because they support a variety of "life" (people in all sorts of different stations) far better than the suburbs can.
Even think the "proximity" issue... For those of us who have the loot, we can live miles away from work, have reliable cars, carry expensive insurance on them, pay for outrageous gas and commute back and forth. That's only an option for those with the means to do that. I even see it here in the "lakes" area, lower income people struggling because the places that they can afford housing are geographically removed from most of the jobs, and without bus systems or other cheap means of transport they struggle with getting to work!
I think the other reason cities deserve a shot is because the segregation is a little less pronounced. Don't get me wrong, humans have this ridiculous drive to segregate but iin the city that's harder. In the suburbs we've got unlimited land space to draw lines of class and race. In the city the proximity is decreased... the mindset might not change but there are more opportunities where integration happens out of necessity. I think this is good.
i think the last thing is that currently those who are in the city (detroit) are stuck there. Those who could move out have, many wish they could but can't for some of the reasons above. We could either try to move them all out, or we could decide to move back in, bringing money, better jobs, and our concern for the needy with us.
just a few thoughts
amen.
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