Suburbanite: Don't call me a Detroiter

[Novine]

"You folks just do not want the truth because you cannot handle the truth."

The truth? Mr. Lagana refuses to acknowledge the local, state and federal policies that helped contribute to Detroit's demise. Redlining, illegal real estate policies and subsidization of sprawl are all factors that helped contribute to Detroit's downfall. They're not the only factors but to pretend that it was Detroit's actions alone that led it to where it is today is neither historically accurate or an honest accounting of the causes of Detroit's decline.

[digitalvision]

Again, our region's worst enemies are ourselves.

I've heard his sentiment a thousand times, and worse, and they're shortsighted, not realizing we're all in this together. I'm hearing lots of people from all ages go into two camps - we've got to rally together, or "we don't need Detroit" or, vice versa, "We don't need the suburbs." Both antagonistic sentiments are flat wrong.

As long as this divisiveness [[on both sides) continues, we're going nowhere. Best to let people like this go on their tirades, and keep on'a'keepin'on with whatever you're doing for the region. The WHOLE region is fucked up. Not just Detroit. Ever go to a Warren city council meeting? They can make Detroit sessions look very tame. But little coverage on that, of course. The story is too close to home. Detroit's "over there" and it's relatable but not scary to the audience as it's not THEIR city.

p.s. It's our own damn fault for putting the people in charge we have over the years. We get the leadership we deserve because we selected it. At least Detroit made some steps to change it [[hopefully).

[rb336]

remember that Howell is where a bunch of yahoos got their panties in a bunch because a teacher put up a "hate is not a family value" poster

[ChickenSoupForTheDee]

That said, do many people even consider Howell part of Metro Detroit? Isn't it closer to Lansing than Detroit?

According to my estimates, it's closer to Detroit, by approximately six cornfields.

[EMG]

I'm glad to hear that Texans have respect for us. I appreciate Texans too, and I think some of us have much more in common than we realize. One of the reasons I chose to make my life in Detroit is because it affords me a certain level of freedom that I couldn't enjoy growing up in the suburbs of Metro Detroit. It might sound crazy to some, but I rather have the ability to take care of myself, defend myself if needs be, and give up this mentality that we must rely on government to babysit us. I'd rather take my chances with the dark streets, the empty buildings, the zombie homeless and the pirate hookers than have to be stared down by legions of ticket ready, trigger-happy, nazi suburb cops everyday. That's just me.

It depends on how you define "freedom." In the Detroit neighborhood in which I grew up, I would no longer feel safe, even with bars on my windows - especially in the later years as the gunshots became a more frequent occurence. When I later moved out to Grosse Pointe Woods [[where a "ticket-happy" cop was usually parked within a block of me at all times and I never heard a gunshot nor was a murder reported in the city in the entire 12 years I lived there), I was very glad knowing I was safer. I even managed to avoid getting any tickets - even from the meter maids. What makes the difference is a little thing called being law abiding citizens - and those who do that have no grounds to fear the police. It's more important to me that I feel safe in my own home and neighborhood than some criminal feel safe with how much they can get away with.

[jtf1972]

Like most people in this nation I don't know where Howell is. Hope he does.

[ziggyselbin]

When you want to be taken seriously in writing or in speech, what you don't do is drop rhetorical bomb after rhetorical bomb, and then subsequently expect people to respond thoughtfully when you're not trying to be thoughtful, yourself.

This man had no intention of writing a thoughtful critique of Detroit. What he wanted to do was to pack as much inflammatory language into his short letter-to-the-editor as he could to illicit a negative response, and he succeeded. He doesn't give a damn about the city, and it showed.

He obviously didn't want to be taken seriously, so I see no need to entertain his critique as anything more than the dime-a-dozen pieces of crap that get published in the Metro rags and on their forums.

If anyone is trotting this out, here, looking for a positive response to that letter, they'd best shop it elsewhere. I'm sure it'd get rave reviews at St%rmfr$nt, or some teabagger site. When all they can ever muster is "socialist this and socialist that" code, you know that they don't have an argument.

Is your disjointed reply to be taken seriously? The facts as presented by the writer from Livingston co are not in contention_unless you et,al are in some fantasy world. Detroit gov't is or has been corrupt; same for the schools and businesses have left to the tune of fifteen thousand over the years so tell u where is he wrong?.

Might it occur to some of you myopic Detroit sycophants that there is truth in things that make you all uncomfortable.

[detroitsgwenivere]

It depends on how you define "freedom." In the Detroit neighborhood in which I grew up, I would no longer feel safe, even with bars on my windows - especially in the later years as the gunshots became a more frequent occurence. When I later moved out to Grosse Pointe Woods [[where a "ticket-happy" cop was usually parked within a block of me at all times and I never heard a gunshot nor was a murder reported in the city in the entire 12 years I lived there), I was very glad knowing I was safer. I even managed to avoid getting any tickets - even from the meter maids. What makes the difference is a little thing called being law abiding citizens - and those who do that have no grounds to fear the police. It's more important to me that I feel safe in my own home and neighborhood than some criminal feel safe with how much they can get away with.

I agree that "freedom" is a matter of perspective, and that's my point. As so many of us debate on what we need to do to pull Detroit out of this pool of stagnation, I think people fail to realize that not everyone wants to take part in the grand vision of the so called "american dream." Better services, better schools, safer streets are something we all want for ourselves and our kids, but that doesn't mean we have to strive to be like our suburban counterparts. I grew up in a city that 16 years ago turned it's back on teenagers and seniors in order to cater to a wealther tax base. What ensued was an outright war against kids by the police. Before I turned eighteen, I couldn't tell you how many times i went to JAIL for things that were either absolutely rediculous, made up, or could've easily been handled by my parents as opposed to a court of law. The reason? Because the city decided they wanted to be percieved as more "business friendly" like Ferndale and Birmingham, so the cops were directed by city officials to remove the presence of young people on the main streets to cater to the 25-55 crowd. Next thing you know, hundreds of good kids are suddenly on some form of probation, their parents shelling out thousands of dollars in fines for things that normal kids do. The cops even waited outside of my high school, to search us randomly on our way home,even kids who never got less than a B their whole lives. They beat a black friend of mine with his own skateboard, and his family sued the city for millions. We decided to take to the streets, and Ch 7 has footage of our weekend protests against police brutality. Then the field trips to jail began. Shortly after, an arrest warrent was issued for my FATHER, who worked 10-18hour days for 30 years, because we had some peeling paint on our garage. My family, and many of my friends families, moved the hell out, and never looked back. My safe haven was Detroit. The cops were friendlier, the people were the salt of the earth, and where others saw fear and lawlessness, I saw an opportunity to rebuild a forgotten city into paradise. I know it's not for everyone, especially this dude from Howell.

[English]

My safe haven was Detroit. The cops were friendlier, the people were the salt of the earth, and where others saw fear and lawlessness, I saw an opportunity to rebuild a forgotten city into paradise. I know it's not for everyone, especially this dude from Howell.

I agree with the bolded statement. Detroit's decline over the past 40 years has selected for particular kinds of people, and those who are in their right minds [[e.g., not drinking or drugging or preparing to bash your head in) are some of the best people anywhere. My friends who live in other cities never fail to talk about how friendly Detroiters are when they come to visit. They're almost shocked.

They are seeing vestiges of what was once the pride of America. We'll get there again, folks. We'll get there.

[sumas]

Very nice post Novine.

I like Detroit, I like my neighbors, I like my house. I vote, shop local and support local churches and organizations that help make this city better. I quit trying to explain this city to anyone. Would I like to see some changes...of course but in the mean time I do my small part to keep up my neighborhood.

I rarely pass eight mile because everything I need is here. Burbs are fine if they meet your needs I just don't need what they have to offer.

[Fnemecek]

Much has been written about Mr. Lagana's use of the word socialism in his letter to the editor. While Detroit isn't a pure socialist system, I believe we should at least acknowledge that there are indeed some distinctly socialist elements to the way the City of Detroit operates that would not be tolerated in most of this country.

Before I go any further, I should stop to refresh everyone's memory on how the dictionary defines socialism.

socialism [soh-shuh-liz-uhm]
–noun
1. a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.
2. procedure or practice in accordance with this theory.

Source: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/socialism

Previously on this forum, we've seen a former DEGC staffer complain about private property remaining privately owned instead being transferred to the DEGC itself.

We've also seen said staffer explain how the DEGC wants to control who it negotiates with on development projects, how they should be at the center of every project in Detroit and how they reserve the right to change their mind at any point in the process for any reason.

All of this, of course, is on top of the exobantly high property taxes, income taxes, utility taxes and other taxes that one has to pay in Detroit that aren't paid elsewhere.

This doesn't meet the definition of a socialist system. However, it is much closer to socialism than it is a laissez faire capitalistic system.

George Jackson of the DEGC wrote an editorial in the Livingston Daily in which he argue that we are all Detroiters. It was this piece that Mr. Lagana responded to in his published letter.

Mr. Jackson is, of course, correct. We are all Detroiters. We all have a vested interest in seeing Detroit become a vibrant city. However, he should realize that a significant portion of that equation involves listening to others.

There is a significant portion of the residents and businesses in southeastern Michigan - as well as throughout the rest of the country - who aren't find of George Jackson's style of hybrid socialism. That is something that must be taken into account, if we are to go forward.

[tomjanneck]

I considered myself a Detroiter when I lived in North Trenton in the 50' & 60's. Felt that way all my life living in Muskegon and Kalamazoo. Was always proud to say I was from Deetroit. Now that I am moving back in March, I hope to feel the same about my beloved metro city, DETROIT!

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Well said noggin. Denial of the anti-business environment Detroit has will continue to result in a deterioration of the city. I suspect the author from Howell is a business owner and he said nothing that was untrue.

Or he could be loosely related to some guy whose last name was Miles, that was from the Howell area.

[DetroitDad]

When Detroiters say someone is not a real Detroiter, they are using Detroit as a euphonism for slum or hard lifestyle.

Blame or ridicule is our ego throwing a temper tantrum, insisting our decisions were the right ones.

[ordinary]

Like most people in this nation I don't know where Howell is. Hope he does.

That sounds similar to people who say, "I never go south of 8 Mile Road."

[larrym]

I left Detroit 43 years ago but I am still a Detroiter, still love the city of my youth and wish it were still the booming place it was during my youth.

[smudge pot]

Was always proud to say I was from Deetroit.

Red Flag: Only country singers call it "Deetroit".

[littlebuddy]

Howell is so far from Detroit it even has a Lansing based zip code[[48843) which is served by the Lansing P.O., not Detroit. I was born in Detroit, grew up Downriver and live over on the west side of the state, but I am not ashamed to say I am from the Detroit area, even if the area is hit by hard times and the such. I worked in the city of Detroit and in the suburbs and thought well of everyone, good hard-working people. Can't always help what the economy does to an area. I hear lots of people over here talk down about the Detroit area, yet there are plenty of losers over here on the west side of the state whose values are no better than some gutter rat.