Wednesday, July 24, 2013

“This is a city that’s been to heck and back...

...Obama said. “And while there are still a lot of challenges here, I see a city that’s coming back.”




52 comments:

Patrick said...

He has it exactly backward: Detroit has been to heaven, and has spiraled full speed into hell. It had thriving industry, and by most accounts was a wonderful place. Plenty of fault to go around, but look at every move made by the City, and you will find a willingness to spend money to solve a problem. It has failed entirely.

I'd like to think that my own city will learn, but I've no confidence in that whatsoever.

Patrick said...

Take half an hour on google maps street view in Detroit. The City is not coming back. If that particular piece of geography is ever habitable again, it will not be Detroit. Much of it will have to be subdivided out of the City and new municipalities will have to start from scratch.

Detroit is dead, not on life support.

ndspinelli said...

Of all the major cities I've visited for work or pleasure, and Portland is the only one I haven't been to, Detroit is hands down the worse. And, I was there 10 years ago.

AllenS said...

On November 10, 1946, I was born in Detroit. My parents left in 1948, and it's been down hill ever since for the city.

AllenS said...

You install 10,000 George Zimmerman's in that city, and eventually things will get better.

Patrick said...

Detroit ran out of other people's money.

And it ran out of AllenS. My relatives in W. WI are safe for now.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

So sad to see all those decaying houses. They used to be someone's prideful home. There were hopeful families who once lived there. Now all they represent are shattered dreams and wasted lives. Once there were people who loved those houses, who took care of the house and property, who had bright futures. Maybe those people still do have those hopes and dreams, they sure as hell don't have them in Detroit.

rcocean said...

What killed Detroit was mindless Liberalism combined and a sort of dumb good-natured acceptance toward minorities, that doesn't exist in Atlanta or Houston.

But make no mistake, NYC or Chicago would be no better off, except that lots of smart, rich people like to live in both places, and to use Tom Wolfe's phrase from "Bonfire of Vanities "insulated" themselves from crime and poverty when these cities hit rock bottom.

AllenS said...

Oh, and don't forget, you need to transplant 1,000 Althouses' and Meade's, so they have something to eat while it's being cleaned up.

rcocean said...

What about 10,000 Alan S's?

rcocean said...

"Oh, and don't forget, you need to transplant 1,000 Althouses' and Meade's, so they have something to eat while it's being cleaned up."

Lets move all the law schools to Detroit and the city will bloom.

LoL!

AllenS said...

You only need one, rc. By the way, it's AllenS, unless you're talking about someone else.

Revenant said...

Not so much "coming back" as "returning to nature".

Basta! said...

Rule 5?

Ruin porn

rcocean said...

Sorry AllenS - I was talking about you - there's often a disconnect between what I type - and what I mean to type.

For example, I originally typed "type" as "tape" and then had to correct it. I have no idea why that is. Typing dyslexia?

Shouting Thomas said...

Black guy saying "heck" don't cut it.

Minus 10 on street creed there.

garage mahal said...

Not unlike the welfare sucking, shanty town shitholes in the south. Except a bit more dense.

Rabel said...

Despite the handwringing and sympathy from outsiders, I suspect that a great many of the people left in Detroit are quite content with their personal situation, have little comprehension of the city's financial troubles, and won't see any substantial change in their lives because of the bankruptcy.

A lot of people are satisfied just sitting on the front porch all day. Get enough of them concentrated in one place and the results are inevitable.

Phil 314 said...

Not unlike the welfare sucking, shanty town shitholes in the south. Except a bit more dense.

Example please.

Patrick said...

Not unlike the welfare sucking, shanty town shitholes in the south. Except a bit more dense.

Crucial difference of course is what Detroit once had and what it once was. Mostly what it squandered. Shitty shanty tons haven't changed much.

pm317 said...

Flineo's excellent video:Obama's forgotten people. May be you can add it to the post. This was Obama's legacy before he became president. Clues and red flags were all there.

KCFleming said...

"This was a discount store
Now it's turned into a cornfield

Don't leave me stranded here
I can't get used to this lifestyle
"


Patrick said...

With all those broken windows, I'm surprised Detroit isn't fabulously wealthy. (Not mine, but I don't recall who said it).

Methadras said...

Leftists are fucking delusional. They see decay and call it prosperity. They see suffering and call it nobility and courage. A city that has been going to hell and back? Yeah, if you call going back from one end of hell to the other. Leftists and their union goon thuggery fucked up Detroit. I lived in that city and you could see them hollowing it out from inside out and from the outside in and leaving nothing left. That city isn't worth two shits anymore. It's a dead city and leftism and leftists took it there because that's what they do, they worship the death of all things in any creative form they can fathom. Leftists have no one to blame but themselves. They did this. Their ideology isn't worth the thought of the letters it comprises. Anyone who practices it has Detroit as the example of how this ideology will ruin anything it touches.

Patrick said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Patrick said...

Shitty Shanty Town?

pm317 said...

So what did Obama talk about for 1 hr and six minutes?

Patrick said...

Shanty town

exhelodrvr1 said...

If Pres Obama had a city, it would look like Detroit.

ampersand said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mitch H. said...

Only two things come out of Hell, that's demons and Jesus Christ after the Harrowing, an' I don't see no crown o' thorns on you.

Icepick said...

What killed Detroit was mindless Liberalism combined and a sort of dumb good-natured acceptance toward minorities, that doesn't exist in Atlanta or Houston.

Um, I don't think you understand what happened with blacks in Detroit. The Detroit PD was very racist for quite some time, making a point of hiring Southern law enforcement types to come up to Detroit and keep the blacks in line. That eventually blew up with massive riots in the late 1960s. After that, Coleman Young eventually came along and basically seized power as whites started fleeing the city for good. (Whites very reasonably didn't want to get caught with their families in any more combat zones.)

It was never some kumbaya type experience between the races up there.

Icepick said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Icepick said...

Of course, the difference between shitty little shanty towns in the South and Detroit is that Detroit once had the highest standard of living in the world, was the third largest city in the nation, and was the heart of great industry and manufacturing.

So basically, not at all the same thing as some little share-cropper town in the South. Or even a big town like Birmingham.

edutcher said...

Yes, but you don't understand.

The Messiah saved Detroit, that's what he was trying to tell us when he was losing to the Romster last year and we didn't believe him.

But this little picture speaks about 10,000,000 words.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

So sad to see all those decaying houses. They used to be someone's prideful home. There were hopeful families who once lived there. Now all they represent are shattered dreams and wasted lives. Once there were people who loved those houses, who took care of the house and property, who had bright futures.

Same thing with a lot of cities. Chi-town, LA, and Gotham are on the list.

Remember those Daily Mail photos of Camden NJ at TOP about a year ago?

rcocean said...

What killed Detroit was mindless Liberalism combined and a sort of dumb good-natured acceptance toward minorities, that doesn't exist in Atlanta or Houston.

But make no mistake, NYC or Chicago would be no better off, except that lots of smart, rich people like to live in both places, and to use Tom Wolfe's phrase from "Bonfire of Vanities "insulated" themselves from crime and poverty when these cities hit rock bottom.


There was also massive corruption and lots of racism.

The soft bigotry kind and the knockout game kind.

OT, but not really:

Family rescued by George Z afriad of threats from Saint skittles' supporters.

edutcher said...

PS I know everybody's seen this, but, if you want to demonstrate the total, utter, and abject failure of the New Left agenda in every imaginable socio-economic area, you can't beat this.

Sharc said...

Take half an hour on google maps street view in Detroit.

Better still, try Zillow. In fact, try filtering Zillow to show only those houses selling for <$1000. I boggles the mind.

Sharc said...

... as does "it."

Bender said...

I moved the hell out of Michigan years ago, but it is true --

The whites hate the blacks,
the blacks hate the whites.

The remnant still existing in Detroit is mired in a never-ending resentment against folks who are three-generations dead.

Meanwhile, this resentment has fueled a grievance culture of entitlement. Few people willing to take the initiative and do for themselves, they have a "you owe me" attitude toward practically everything.

Thank you Coleman Young. There's your legacy.

Against this is the rest of the state responding with "What the hell do we owe you? We didn't do anything to you. And, by the way, we have thrown billions down that rat hole in repeated initiatives toward the much-hyped 'renaissance' of Detroit. No more."

Bender said...

The fact is -- and everyone in Detroit knows it -- if you put any nice businesses in anywhere, then it is only one wrong look from someone, one perceived slight or sign of disrespect, and the place is going to get looted in a riot.

It's not racial, it's cultural. A culture where you can't give anything nice to someone before they piss all over it and break it.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

I think the sadness that I feel about Detroit is on several levels.

The first is the lost hopes and ambitions of those who built the city. In the 1940's and 1950's Detroit was a booming town. People built those homes to live in, raise families and the American Dream of 'can do' and living a better life than your ancestors was strong. People had PRIDE in their lives. Looked to the future with hope.

Now those hopes are dashed and the future isn't bright in Detroit. It isn't too bright elsewhere either. The ruined houses, ruined buildings are a reflection of the cancer that overtook the city.

Detroit is an example of what a disease liberalism and cronyism and YES racism on the part of Blacks who got in control of Detroit can do. It can do it to a city eaten by the pustules of those diseases.

It IS happening to our entire society. Liberalism, cronyism, corruption, graft and racism promoted by the Race Hustler in Chief. The diseases are the same. We see the bloated corpse of Detroit. For God's sake, can't we learn!!!!

test said...

pm317 said...
So what did Obama talk about for 1 hr and six minutes?


Everyone on earth could have everything they want including unicorns and space yachts if only evil Republicans weren't so greedy.

edutcher said...

Dust Bunny Queen said...

It IS happening to our entire society. Liberalism, cronyism, corruption, graft and racism promoted by the Race Hustler in Chief. The diseases are the same. We see the bloated corpse of Detroit. For God's sake, can't we learn!!!!

Don't forget, Lefties, and especially Democrats, come from the dry end of the gene pool.

The Crack Emcee said...

Rather than speaking here, I had to put my thoughts on Detroit in this post,...

William said...

In discussions of Detroit, the learned opinion is that it's all the fault of predatory lenders and bad decisions by auto executives. Those things that are glaringly obvious to everyone else are left out of the discussions....Coleman Young was far more vigilant in protecting his citizens against police brutality than against crime. I've no doubt that there are and were such things as brutal cops, but it's easier to negotiate with an overbearing cop than with a predatory mugger. Most people are more willing to take their chances with brutal cops than with brutal criminals......For all that, I can't recall any black politician who was more pissed off at gangbanging violence than at an uncalled for highway stop by the police.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Detroit will never come back.

Cities, like all social enterprises, require momentum. Detroit lost its momentum around 1965 and the fall of the American auto industry.

Major cities also require well established transit routes between the core and the periphery. Detroit, for reasons that should be obvious or inevitable, made certain to never have a solid transit system that the other major cities do. So after the whites fled from the riots, there was little "invitation" to later gentrify again. The roads between them might was well have been walls.

Successful major cities also require a distinct mix of important industries around which to be anchored. Detroit's auto industry could have remained its core industry throughout and beyond its downfall, but the more successful foreign competitors never felt they needed to move in and mess with the prevailing nationalist credo. Unlike finance or showbizness, it's a little less inviting to cosmopolitanism. So now there's the Big Two, foreign competitors strong much further to the south, and no one else that moved into help its core economy diversify further.

These are the things I've observed about cities over the course of my life.

Fen said...

Detroit just needed *more* socialism.

Darcy said...

It's not coming back, I fear.

I was born in Detroit, and I love the city. I could show you all some very beautiful sights even today. (I hate pics like those posted, but I know they're real.) I live only 20 miles from Detroit right now.

I'm going to hope still, but not in the likes of Obama to save this city.

AllenS said...

I was also born in Detroit. 19303 Danbury, just north of 7 mile road, and west of Wentworth. Detroit has The People Mover, Rhythm, and like a lot of investing that went on in the city, it's sucking the life out of the city. Transit routes between the core and the periphery, are not the problem.

William said...

I did a lot of things wrong in my early life, but I was never born in Detroit.

ndspinelli said...

Allen, When I was in Detroit the people mover was broken down. Locals told me it works only about half the time.

Darcy said...

Good to know, William.