Detroit is in ruins. That is what I have come away with, from professor Ray Waller’s story on the so called artsy fartsy hip trendy folks that come to the city to proudly proclaim the sad state of affairs, as their own. I have lived in the Detroit area for most of my life, and I can say this story is so true in every way. The sad irony, the collapse of industrial America started a very long time ago, way before I was born, the 1970s when the oil embargo occurred, the oil shocks that led to our state of affairs, we find ourselves in. All humans have been doing and never can realize what they are doing is consuming…everything….from everywhere and no matter how they get it. There is an economic model known as the infinite growth paradigm. This model is collapsing. This trend if it were is headed south, or may already be there. The dramatic story this shows is a city that struggles and I should know because I was told by my grandparents “theirs nothing in Detroit!” They would exclaim when you’d see the news. Right now, I can hear the sound of heavy boldozers, that are effectively destroying the ruins.
I guess us white folk criticized Detroit for all the wrong reasons. Not fully understanding the larger picture not fully understanding Detroit. We always thought the African American community was the problem. Not understanding the larger problem of industrialization and the impacts it would have on the community. The problem really resides with General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and the Chrysler Corporation who for the last 150 years cataclysmaclly took it upon themselves, to build up and tear down whole communities, which in turn in the 1930s it was General Motors who bought up every mass transit company in the United States, effectively forcing millions of ordinary Americans to buy and use the oil companies monopoly, with every intent on insuring the car, oil and tire lobby’s continued iron grip on mass private transportation. Ensuring that public clean, and mass transportation would never see the light of day in the United States. So, in retrospect the real culprits are multi-national corporations who have took it upon themselves to create a collapsed economy. I have heard a a lot about our area as a tragedy as it can sometimes give one to think about the real culprits the dangers of decay, the “I am Legend” decay that is turning every city in America into Detroit. When you read Professor Waller’s story you begin to realize just how dire things are. I live in a suburb of Detroit, and the community is on the threshold of going into economic blight, crime, and becoming a science fiction nightmare that Detroit has become. The community claims to have the budget in order and they have solved some very complicated issues, they say they will continue working on the cities finances. In reality in truth we all know what is coming (this is the community I live in). This past week, in three separate locations, there were bank and jewelry store robberies. One can understand, I guess of why two gunman stormed into three separate locations, and robbed in “suburbia.” What led to all of this economic strife, in large measure and Ray picks up on this point is deregulation. The “Big Three” and in tangent with the anti-union agenda started by Ronald Wilson Reagan. The 40th president of the United States. Whose deceptive promise to faithfully defend the constitution. To uphold the laws and to promote the general welfare (article 1, section 8), has failed for 30 years. His rise to power has a lot to do with conservatives who were opposed to the social movements in the 1960s. This national backdrop put Detroit front and center. I bring this up due to my families own support of the radical ideological agenda that Reagan came to Washington hence the “tax cuts” then the affects were even more devastating when presidents Bush 41, Clinton, Bush 43, and I am sorry to say President Obama, have supported without regard the anti-union, antisocial Free Trade Agreements, which set in motion some of the most TRAGIC and devastating “outsourcing” (abolished) of American jobs this country has ever seen. You put all of these things together and you have a recipe for disaster. My grandfather worked for the Frito Lay Potato Chip Company, hence he was a teamsters union member. He wore that on his sleeve with pride. Not to mention he was a US rubber company union member. Jimmy Hoffa was his hero. My grandmother worked for Archie Dunne cigar manufacturers. During the second world war she was Rosie the Riveter at Dodges. They struggled with their family business. They both grew up in Hamtramck, Michigan. The biggest mistake General Motors, the UAW, and the city of Hamtramck/Detroit ever did was build the pole town assembly line plant. Why? Well, for one good reason, the street car industry had effectively been derailed. A small town becoming a victim of urban blight, crime and drugs which by the way is a CIA operation. Detroit is a failed city, with alarming number of problems. The crime is literally off the charts statistically. No to mention the rogue river which is an environmental tragedy. The CBC news in Ontario filed this report on the state of things on the financial crisis in the United States, they chose in particular the city across the river in Detroit.
As you can see the sad story this is. And this is from the Canadian side of the river! I remember when I was a kid and you’d here about job loss and layoffs to auto workers. My reaction was muted, and did not realize the full implications of the motives and means behind these cuts. I also need to take notice to the Bing Administration and it cuts to the cities budget. He promotes short term fixes and does nothing to promote the general welfare (article 1, section 8). We used to go to Detroit a lot. To visit the aquarium, the flower house, and the Belle Isle Zoo. These were great venues for children to learn about their natural world around them, and most importantly it was a time to be with family. Thanks to the draconian General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and the Chrysler Corporation, the death of Detroit has made these venues all but dead. People in the past 30 years graveled at the hand that fed them and gave out huge bonuses to the rich and powerful without realizing the impact was on the middle class, working class, and the working poor in Detroit. All of this decorum has created a cease filled wound, a crater filled with “ditritas” as I was told. This story is ignored. All ignored because it means nothing to the establishment. To reflect on the ruins and abandonment of Detroit, one thing that stands out here more than anything is history. The story neglects the struggle of African Americans who put their lives in a very tough spot, get laid off or become underemployed at the same time. Because we the big three said so.
As you can see the sad story this is. And this is from the Canadian side of the river! I remember when I was a kid and you’d here about job loss and layoffs to auto workers. My reaction was muted, and did not realize the full implications of the motives and means behind these cuts. I also need to take notice to the Bing Administration and it cuts to the cities budget. He promotes short term fixes and does nothing to promote the general welfare (article 1, section 8). We used to go to Detroit a lot. To visit the aquarium, the flower house, and the Belle Isle Zoo. These were great venues for children to learn about their natural world around them, and most importantly it was a time to be with family. Thanks to the draconian General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and the Chrysler Corporation, the death of Detroit has made these venues all but dead. People in the past 30 years graveled at the hand that fed them and gave out huge bonuses to the rich and powerful without realizing the impact was on the middle class, working class, and the working poor in Detroit. All of this decorum has created a cease filled wound, a crater filled with “ditritas” as I was told. This story is ignored. All ignored because it means nothing to the establishment. To reflect on the ruins and abandonment of Detroit, one thing that stands out here more than anything is history. The story neglects the struggle of African Americans who put their lives in a very tough spot, get laid off or become underemployed at the same time. Because we the big three said so.
I take heed from the original social activist and consumer protectionist advocate as well as former presidential candidate Ralph Nader who would have suggested does this person want me to think or believe? This posting will become a larger text in the coming months and beyond. I hope something can be gleaned on this topic of injustice. May we keep the city of Detroit in are hearts and prayers. Here is a video detailing even more of this horrible tragedy what Detroit now faces.....
