Post by Pattycakes on Nov 12, 2003 21:46:44 GMT -5
Detroit Rock City
As a young man, I can say that I am drawn to things in life. I am drawn to sports, women, life, and certain aspirations. Aspirations of having a good job, a nice life, finishing college, making an impact, breaking the mold, etc. One of my aspirations is to fit in, in the big city. Which big city you ask? The famous Detroit Rock City. Many young men of my generation and countless others have had this idea. We have grown up with constant examples in our lives of things great that have come from or stem from the influence of the great city of Detroit. Movies glamorize it, songs dote upon it, the auto industry was born there, Motown started there, and so on and so on. Everybody knows at least one thing that they have heard about and associate with Detroit starting.
Detroit was a thriving place. A booming industrial town, it grew the eyes of the auto industry and started moving away from the farm lands surrounding it to grow into a large cultural center for the Midwest peoples of America. Whites and blacks mixed together with relatively no trouble and everything was good. I hear all the time about how Detroit was. My grandfather and grandmother lived there in the 30’s and my mother grew up there with them until the 60’s. In the riots of 67’ apparently all people with common sense and money left, including my family.
What in the hell happened!? Now Detroit is over run and run down. Thugs and gang activity are popular. Major highways cut through tight residential areas, destroying them. Bad policies and corrupt police helped establish a drug game. Nothing good ever comes from Detroit nowadays. The Tigers suck, the Lions do too, no matter what you hear, you know it is true. The Pistons are not even located in Detroit, and the Red Wings have been around for so long that if they weren’t good, it would be an outrage. Sports teams aside, Detroit is like no other major city I have been in. Chicago and Toronto, nice cities, big cities, models cities. They are nothing like Detroit. They are cleaner, they have public transportation that is more than a retard train called the people mover, they have attractions, good public policy, and probably most importantly a listening ear to their citizens. Sure they have their share of problems but for the most part, they are functional. Detroit is like a dog with one leg and no teeth. The only thing it can do is lick itself. There are no grocery stores, every building is run down, homeless people and crack houses populate everything. Fires constantly break out, the people of the city have resorted to vigilantism to get justice. Corruption in city government and police force has only compounded the problem. The auto industry dominated by the big three is moving away from Detroit. The better market is over seas with foreign parts and labor. The key industry that was the heartbeat of Detroit’s economy is leaving. And as it leaves, it takes all the money and jobs with it. Soon there will be nothing left but a couple old theaters and more crime than anyone wants to deal with.
As a white boy from Livonia, at times I’ve tried to deny my horribly boring life. When people ask me where I’m from, I would think I was cool and say one of two things: I’m from Detroit or I’d say something like I live outside Detroit. Its like Eminem says, “ I claim Detroit but live 20 miles away.” I know nothing really about living in Detroit, but the fact that I told people something like that and it impressed them made me kind of proud. As I grow older now and more mature, I realize that I don’t want to be associated at all with Detroit. The ridiculous and popular shirts that read “ Come back to Detroit, we missed you the first time” and have gun shots on them, or the ever classic “ Detroit: where the weak are killed and eaten” just don’t have appeal to me anymore. I feel as if the attitude of the people of Detroit is almost poisoning the city into the way it is. The mysterious airs of “ I’m from Detroit,” have worn off and been replaced by, “ My god, when are they going to start fixing that hole in the country.”
Recently a friend of mine, who I met in college, a native of Detroit for all his life, wrote an article in the newspaper of my school. He expressed his regrets that all this business is going on over seas yet nothing is being done at home to help things like Detroit. He describes his poor life and how he struggles to make enough money to pay for his schooling at U of M Dearborn and how he wishes that the city were nicer so he could have a better life. As I read his article, I couldn’t help but to feel sorry for him, and I also realized that it is going to take more than just the city of Detroit to fix the city of Detroit. Detroit moved from a wealthy nice place in America to a dump teeming with trash and rats. Somebody needs to call in the clean up team, and its not going to help if the dump itself calls the team. Detroit still has hope, but it won’t if the throes it is in right now continue. Motown has potential but it needs a lot of work and an attitude change to get the things done to make itself once a worthy place again.
As a young man, I can say that I am drawn to things in life. I am drawn to sports, women, life, and certain aspirations. Aspirations of having a good job, a nice life, finishing college, making an impact, breaking the mold, etc. One of my aspirations is to fit in, in the big city. Which big city you ask? The famous Detroit Rock City. Many young men of my generation and countless others have had this idea. We have grown up with constant examples in our lives of things great that have come from or stem from the influence of the great city of Detroit. Movies glamorize it, songs dote upon it, the auto industry was born there, Motown started there, and so on and so on. Everybody knows at least one thing that they have heard about and associate with Detroit starting.
Detroit was a thriving place. A booming industrial town, it grew the eyes of the auto industry and started moving away from the farm lands surrounding it to grow into a large cultural center for the Midwest peoples of America. Whites and blacks mixed together with relatively no trouble and everything was good. I hear all the time about how Detroit was. My grandfather and grandmother lived there in the 30’s and my mother grew up there with them until the 60’s. In the riots of 67’ apparently all people with common sense and money left, including my family.
What in the hell happened!? Now Detroit is over run and run down. Thugs and gang activity are popular. Major highways cut through tight residential areas, destroying them. Bad policies and corrupt police helped establish a drug game. Nothing good ever comes from Detroit nowadays. The Tigers suck, the Lions do too, no matter what you hear, you know it is true. The Pistons are not even located in Detroit, and the Red Wings have been around for so long that if they weren’t good, it would be an outrage. Sports teams aside, Detroit is like no other major city I have been in. Chicago and Toronto, nice cities, big cities, models cities. They are nothing like Detroit. They are cleaner, they have public transportation that is more than a retard train called the people mover, they have attractions, good public policy, and probably most importantly a listening ear to their citizens. Sure they have their share of problems but for the most part, they are functional. Detroit is like a dog with one leg and no teeth. The only thing it can do is lick itself. There are no grocery stores, every building is run down, homeless people and crack houses populate everything. Fires constantly break out, the people of the city have resorted to vigilantism to get justice. Corruption in city government and police force has only compounded the problem. The auto industry dominated by the big three is moving away from Detroit. The better market is over seas with foreign parts and labor. The key industry that was the heartbeat of Detroit’s economy is leaving. And as it leaves, it takes all the money and jobs with it. Soon there will be nothing left but a couple old theaters and more crime than anyone wants to deal with.
As a white boy from Livonia, at times I’ve tried to deny my horribly boring life. When people ask me where I’m from, I would think I was cool and say one of two things: I’m from Detroit or I’d say something like I live outside Detroit. Its like Eminem says, “ I claim Detroit but live 20 miles away.” I know nothing really about living in Detroit, but the fact that I told people something like that and it impressed them made me kind of proud. As I grow older now and more mature, I realize that I don’t want to be associated at all with Detroit. The ridiculous and popular shirts that read “ Come back to Detroit, we missed you the first time” and have gun shots on them, or the ever classic “ Detroit: where the weak are killed and eaten” just don’t have appeal to me anymore. I feel as if the attitude of the people of Detroit is almost poisoning the city into the way it is. The mysterious airs of “ I’m from Detroit,” have worn off and been replaced by, “ My god, when are they going to start fixing that hole in the country.”
Recently a friend of mine, who I met in college, a native of Detroit for all his life, wrote an article in the newspaper of my school. He expressed his regrets that all this business is going on over seas yet nothing is being done at home to help things like Detroit. He describes his poor life and how he struggles to make enough money to pay for his schooling at U of M Dearborn and how he wishes that the city were nicer so he could have a better life. As I read his article, I couldn’t help but to feel sorry for him, and I also realized that it is going to take more than just the city of Detroit to fix the city of Detroit. Detroit moved from a wealthy nice place in America to a dump teeming with trash and rats. Somebody needs to call in the clean up team, and its not going to help if the dump itself calls the team. Detroit still has hope, but it won’t if the throes it is in right now continue. Motown has potential but it needs a lot of work and an attitude change to get the things done to make itself once a worthy place again.