Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonic dB
I cant say for sure if this is a white/black issue (differences in treating this type of corruption)... but in Detroit, Coleman Young set the precedent for this type of long-term corruption while still being reelected and beloved by many of the citizens for whatever reason.
As the previous poster Mr_Wizard mentioned, Dennis Archer was the mayor for 2 terms in the 90s and did a good job as he was pretty straight up person who had been a state supreme court justice prior to running Detroit...but it was obvious that Archer was out of his element when trying to deal with the corrupt network that pervades in Detroit...and that allegedly lead to his not seeking a 3rd term as he realized that his life was much more fulfilling not dealing with that garbage.... so when Kwamie came in, in the late 90s early 00s...he was very young, flashy and smooth talker and anyone could see that he was a shoo-in to be elected.
Terry Foster of the Detroit News, an African American columnist has a blog where yesterday he said that African Americans in Detroit are too-forgiving on their own and for that reason he expected Kwamie to skate through this and continue on.
In an overall sense though, this situation is not uncommon and really underlies a problem not only in America but in the world where corruption in government is so intensely focused that true-change for the better is not possible for the citizens....and yet the citizens blindly support those corrupt leaders.
I wasnt around in the 60s but that type of corruption, Im pretty sure, was one of the focal points for some of the protests that younger people were organizing (corruption, Vietnam, Civil Rights, Womans Lib etc.)...however today our world in America has become so polarized and so apathetic that for citizens to organize on any level is almost comical to conceive because it never happens.
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This post struck me the most as being as close to my thoughts as possible.
I grew up south of Detroit [Grosse Ile, and Temperance], and I was always proud of the city. Until I joined an airline and had the ability to fly anywhere for free. My first trip outside of the east coast was to San Diego, and it was an eye-opener! I flew all over the place for a few years, and my opinion of my home town steadily dropped. The killer was when my friend Roy took me to downtown Chicago in 1998: THAT place is a LOT of fun! And you can walk almost everywhere and be safe and have a great time!
Not so Detroit! You've got the riverfront, and you've got Greek-town. Other than that you lock your doors when you drive. I worked for a landscaping company when I was in college in 1986 and '87, and we cut the grass at the Detroit Edison plants at Delray and Connor's Creek. When we went into Connor's Creek...we, four young guys in a Ford F-250 stake-bed truck with implements and a trailer with our mowers behind...
locked the doors and were ready for anything! The year before I worked there, one of our mowers, a white guy, was cutting the grass in front of the Delray station next to Zug island and he was shot in the leg by a passing car! There was no reason at all: They saw a white guy and decided he needed a cap~
Even downriver can be dangerous! People get shot in Wyandotte too. This was the reason my dad moved us from Grosse Ile to Temperance, down near Toledo, in 1978.
-Detroit has some things that make it great. First of all, Windsor is just across the river. Second, there is Greek Town. Third, there is Ann Arbor. Fourth...Hazel Park, which has turned into a yuppie bastion outside of Oakland county. I actually took my 928 to a dance club in Hazel Park in 2003, and had a great time.
But politics? Holy cow this city has always been corrupt! Coleman Young was such a clown [I'll always remember how he pronounced it: "The city of De-trowat"] Kilpatrick made a GIGANTIC mistake by lying to that court. Now he's going to get busted for perjury, a truly stupid reason to lose your job!
You know what is strange about all this? As disgusting as Detroit is....Michigan is one of these great undiscovered states. That place is GORGEOUS in the summer, especially the small towns near the lakes. And the other cities, such as Grand Rapids that are not in the southeast are great places to live, outside of the winters, which equate to Denmark.
Also, one of the best groups of 928 enthusiasts are located in the Detroit area. Andrew Olsen, Big Dave, and a dozen others get together on a regular basis and have "Detroit Beer Night" each month. When I went to training in Detroit in the fall of 2003, I had my 928 up there and they were more than happy to have me over. It was packed, perhaps twenty cars [19 Michigan plates and one Florida!], and we had a GREAT time. I guess if you grow up in the Michigan ["land between the lakes"], then you have gasoline in your blood.
N
