What's with all the Detroit bashing?

[Susang]

I'm not feeling the love for my hometown. What's up with that? :wtf:

I was born in Detroit, lived there for over 26 years, was married there and will most likely live there again at some point in time. My closest friends either still live there or were originally from there. The city has an amazing arts community that thrives in spite of adversity. Detroiters are

Obvious to those of us who live or lived in the city, Detroit has many beautiful areas and many depressed areas. I lived there throughout the eighties and can tell you categorically that the city is not nearly as bad off now as it was then. Most people from the 'burbs were terrified to even venture into Detroit. Many more buildings sat vacant or in ruins than do now. Hell, even the Renaissance Center itself has experienced a renaissance. It's a lot nicer now than when it was first built. I know, I was there back then.

So, if you really want to know something about Detroit, I suggest you check out this site. The Detroit Metro Times is one of the best independent newspapers in the country. They regularly win awards for their reporting and reading their stories will give you a better taste of what the city is like than frightened stories written by people who were afraid to get out of their cars.

http://www.metrotimes.com/default.asp

Another great site about Detroit that features tours of the "fabulous ruins" as well as hosting a great Detroit forum:

http://detroityes.com /

[JVS]

1. I love Detroit! If I can move there someday, I'll be a happy man

[Susang]

2. You seem to be the only one

Everybody else seems to think that 8 Mile was a documentary. :eyes:

[JVS]

4. M&M wanted to look all hard and shit, but experience at Grandma's tells

another story.

[Carni]

15. There is nothing wrong with Detroit

And it gets a very bad rap IMO

It's not a big city like Chicago but has a lot of charm if you know your way around.

[Magrittes Pipe]

3. It smells of wee.

[Susang]

5. The bashing or the city?

All cities smell of wee. ;-)

Even this one:

[Carni]

16. Oh please Detroit doesn't smell any worse than any other city

Are you sniffing fire hydrants? ;)

[Susang]

20. Yes

He may very well have been. ;-)

[Magrittes Pipe]

27. But Cleveland and Milwaukee smell of MY wee.

:D

[Carni]

30. "foreign urine" is always so objectionable

Kind of like a backed up septic system vs a backed up sewer system lol

[snowbear]

6. Detroit :o)

I've never been there myself.. but when the NHL gets their cheet together, I'd sure love to come there and watch a Redwings game!! :bounce:

[ScreamingMeemie]

7. The historic homes of Indian Village... a shame the Hudson building is

gone. I live just 10 miles North along the water...We're working on our city. Give us a chance.

[sleipnir]

8. Does this mean they'll be giving cash for free?

I hope so

[Emops]

9. I like Detroit.

I was there for a few days last year for a concert. Like all large cities, it has its problems, but overall I like it a lot. The downtown area especially.

However, I must admit I like Windsor better.

[realisticphish]

13. hell yeah windsor's better

for one thing, the drinking age is 19! :bounce::bounce:


:P


:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[Susang]

18. Let me guess....

You've taken in the "Windsor Ballet" once or twice? }(

[realisticphish]

23. not YET...

I turned 19 this year, and will be going to detroit for the CCHA championship. I'm thinking about "taking in some canadian culture" :evilgrin:


:hippie: The Incorrigbile Democrat

[Susang]

25. I hope you are fully prepared

It is possible to go blind in Windsor, albeit temporarily. ;-)

[realisticphish]

26. because of the COLD

yeah. the cold. ;)


:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[Carni]

19. Windsor has improved A LOT

20 years ago it was like deadsville.

[Susang]

21. 20 years ago

Windsor had a pretty good punk scene. I used to hang out at the Coronation Ballroom back then.

[Carni]

24. There was one punk bar we used to go to in the early 80's

It was downtown and called Antonelli's or something like that?

I probably have the name wrong...it was a small bar and the floor was in black and white tiles--that's about all I remember. (the last time I went there it was some type of pasta restaurant)

It wasn't actually "deadsville" in Windsor, but it seemed so much smaller then-- the last time I went there I was shocked at all the shops and restaurants and all the people milling around.

[GOPisEvil]

10. Hey - it's Detroit's turn!

Sincerely,

Texas

:P

[Susang]

11. I think it's been Detroit's turn since 1967

Time for some folks to change the channel, this stations on reruns! :D

[Beware the Beast Man]

12. It makes us in Cleveland feel better about ourselves.

;evilgrin:

[realisticphish]

14. hey i LIKE cleveland

well, parts of it...

plus, something just feels RIGHT for an ohioan to say shit about michigan :D


:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[Beware the Beast Man]

28. I'm a native Pittsburgher, so my contempt for Cleveland is deep.

[realisticphish]

29. ?

browns-steelers?

I'm a bengals man myself :) Carson Palmer is the shit


:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[Susang]

17. I like Cleveland too!

My brother was at Case Western for years. Cleveland is almost as maligned as Detroit. ;-)

[Carni]

22. Worst city in Ohio has got to be home of the Joey Hetherton hair man

Mr *I've got rumblings* Trafficant...Youngstown or whatever that place is called is an armpit.

[n2mark]

31. I grew up in Detroit too.

What high school did you attend? I attended MacKenzie for my first three years, graduated from Denby.

[Susang]

32. Our Lady of Mercy

Went to Precious Blood elementary on the NW side (over by the Mercury theater).

[Obamarama]

33. Detroit is a rat trap and financial drain on the rest of MI

I think you're being delusional, quite frankly. Detroit is the armpit of Michigan and I think they should just rip open the salt mines underneath the city and bulldoze it in. Just take a look at how "wonderful" Detroit is:

The school system is in dissary:
http://www.freep.com/news/education/skuls2_20040402.htm

It is plagued by violent crime and had the highest rate of violent crime of the nation's 230 major cities last year:
http://www.detnews.com/2004/metro/0405/25/d01-162833.htm
http://detroit.areaconnect.com/crime1.htm

The child-homicide rate is highest in the nation:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/12/26/national/main534324.shtml

It is rife with urban decay:
http://www.angelfire.com/nv2/2072/detroit3.html

Feral dogs run the streets:
http://www.igorilla.com/gorilla/animal/feral_dogs_rule_detroit.html

Detroit's art musem can barely stay afloat, and they almost lost their symphony orchestra a few years ago, too.

[Susang]

35. Well aren't you a bundle of sunshine

If your name is any indication, you live in Kalamazoo. Well guess what? I lived there for awhile too, even graduated from WMU and K'zoo ain't no Paris either.

"Detroit, Kalamazoo-Battle Creek and Flint had the highest rate of violent crime in the state."
http://www-stu.calvin.edu/chimes/2001.11.02/cmm2.html

"WELL, SO MUCH for the idyllic memories of our youth. FBI statistics prove that our once-glorious hometown of Kalamazoo, Mich., (as the T-shirt said: "There's nothin' to do in Kalamazoo") is a more crime-prone place in which to live than -- wait for it -- New York."
http://www.benkepple.com/archives/000483.html

Also, this quote is from your feral dog story link, (which was from 1998, I might add):

"And it's not just in Detroit. In March, an Illinois farmer received $1,300 from the state, compensation for 26 pigs killed in 1993 by a pack of wild dogs. Dogs killed two ostriches in Oregon, fatally attacked a $15,000 horse in Tennessee and joined coyotes in killing livestock and pets in Colorado.

In the past year, a small pack of stray dogs attacked and injured a Massachusetts boy on his way to a school bus stop. In Oklahoma City, front-porch mail delivery in some neighborhoods was halted after dogs attacked several carriers. Postal Service spokesman Mark Saunders says dogs attack 2,700 letter carriers across the country each year, costing taxpayers about $25 million for medical expenses and substitute carriers. He didn't know how many of those attacks were by wild dogs. "

Also, did you happen to notice that the Angelfire site you linked to used pictures from the Detroityes site that I had already linked to? A site that is actually a huge supporter of the city of Detroit? Or didn't you bother to research that far? Why don't you link to the actual front page of that site, you know, the one that lists all of the cities that he has pictures of? Here, I'll do it for you: http://www.angelfire.com/nv/207/

Your child homicide link is over two years old, Chicago currently is considered to have the highest child homicide rate in the country, though the 2004 data is not completed. Child homicide and fatality is a severe urban problem affecting Detroit, New York, LA, Miami, Baltimore, New Orleans; anywhere there is poverty and lack of support services. Detroit is hardly alone in this. Your other links are also old, dealing with statistics from 2002 and 2003. I cannot comment on the statistics from 2004, as the reports on them have not been released as of yet.

As for Detroit's school system, yes, it's in disarray. Unfortunately, so is Chicago's. They closed many schools last year and are considering huge cuts in the coming year. So are many other major cities. How does Detroit's school crisis make it any different from the rest of the country?

The DSO is still going strong at Orchestra Hall, so I don't know what you're talking about there. It was in trouble about 15 years ago, but it's doing okay now. Here's a couple links to help you out there: http://www.freep.com/entertainment/music/max22_20030922.htm
http://www.detroitsymphony.com/

The DIA is also doing okay and is actually undergoing a massive renovation to modernize and expand their gallery space. Their Weekends at the DIA program has been hugely successful, as has the Detroit Film Theatre. http://www.dia.org/

I don't know what Detroit ever did to you, but seriously dude, the city's a blast if you give it a chance. Some of the best art and music in the world was created there and Detroiters are some of the most amazing and tenacious people that I've ever met. I'm proud to be a native Detroiter.

[Obamarama]

37. First of all, if Detroiters would have gotten off their asses....

and actually went out to VOTE, we wouldn't have ended up with that fat fuck John Engler for THREE TERMS. Detroit could have given the election to the Democrats. But nooooooo. Thanks to masses of your fellow Motor City dwellers, we got stuck with Dumbo the Elephant for twelve long years. THATS what Detroit did to me. And 9 million other Michigan residents who see their tax dollars diasppear into the sinkhole called Detroit.

Sorry, even with its many flaws, Kalamazoo outshines Detroit any day.

[shugah]

39. haha

detroit is to michigan as london is to england

[Susang]

42. What does that make Kalamazoo?

Staines? :shrug:

:hi:

[Susang]

41. Right

Detroit is to blame for electing John Engler. Never mind the rest of the fucking state is solidly Republican, including the 6th district, or hadn't you noticed all the Bush/Cheney signs lining I-94 last fall?

I know I sure as hell did. When I was on my way to Detroit!

[hickman1937]

38. I really love it when I hear west Michigan crap.

People that bash Detroit don't spend much time there. Detroit is finding its legs, and when it does, watch out.

[Tektonik]

34. I hate the Detroit Pistons

and what they did to my Lakers x( ; oh wait the Pistons really belong to the rich burbs and not Detroit, so I hate Auburn Hills instead.

[hfojvt]

36. "I was born in a small town ...

still hayseed enough to say 'look who's in the big town'"

from "Small town" by John Mellencamp

[crispini]

40. Welcome to my world...

said the Texan. :hi:

[Abelman]

43. When it comes to Michigan...

the West Side is the Best Side.

Yeah, that's right. I went there.

Of course, my hometown is like a desolate wasteland, trying to be a tourist attraction but failing due to moronic county and city leadership. (Muskegon)

Give me the UP. Now that's the place to live.

[fujiyama]

44. LOL

The West Side.

I was lost in the West Side and even accidentally drove the wrong way on a one way street.

I was lost in a really shady part. The homes were dilapetated, crumbling...Kinda creepy in all honesty.

My friend later teased me saying, I should have just got out of the car, place a brick on the accelerator, and try to have the car run me over.

Then again, I can tease Detroit all I want. I live there.