Going Home

AMEN! Jonathan. Thank you.

Peace, Mike W.

You don't boo the mayor mercilessly yesterday if you don't care. Nothing at all or polite applause would have been the death nell for the city.

The booing was defeaning, though. You care so much it hurts. So why not join us?

Together we can accomplish anything.

Jonathon - please spare us the holier than thou platitudes about this adventure you and Mike have embarked upon. In reality you accomplish nothing more than making yourselves feel good like this is some noble cause. It is not.

You make the following statement: "For starters, for most of us, it just isn’t possible - though we care and we help, we are anchored where we live now by kids and their friendships, mortgages, relationships in our community, friends, family, etc. And because it is such a difficult thing to ask someone to do, when you tell someone to stop talking and move back, you are effectively saying “unless you move there, and I am pretty sure you won’t move there, you shouldn’t be even talking about this stuff.”

Like Mike, I grew up in a nearby neighborhood and the list problems you mention were the same ones my parents and hundreds of other families were faced with. They moved out of the area because of the increase in crime that occurred as blacks were moving in.For starters, for most of us, it just isn’t possible - though we care and we help, we are anchored where we live now by kids and their friendships, mortgages, relationships in our community, friends, family, etc.

Prior to that the diverse mix all of the other nationalities coexisted peacefully and with mutual respect. It wasn't an easy choice for them to move but they did it to protect their families.

You and Mike want to reduce all the problems to racism. The truth is that its about cultural conflict, values and character. Eventually the blacks have taken full control of all the neighborhoods and the municipal government to do with as they please. We see the results. I know you won't publish my comments because I've heard about how you only allow commentary that is politically correct and inoffensive to your little band of liberal lemmings.

If you were real men you go about your work with diligence and let your actions speak for themselves. But please don't pick weeds, mow grass and make some phone calls and consider it catalyst to change a city.

It's definitely more about caring than physical proximity. Just because someone buys up some property in the City doesn't mean they care more about making things better then they care about making more money.

If the Black ethnic group was not excluded from the American dream in the first place, we would not have to live this embarrassing struggle to play catch up for fairness and equality. Unfortunately, our peaceful old neighborhood was the result of many years of horrid discriminatory practices, which eventually forced the oppressed to react - have you ever heard of restrictive covenants and Paradise Valley? Did you expect African Americans to live like that forever, while all of the other ethnic groups were living together singing Kumbaya?

What is the root cause of racism & discrimination?

Try Googling the answer and it turns up volumns about the effects but virtually nothing about the cause. Does the answer have something to do with the majority of the world population having a inherent dislike of the color black? I think not.

Many nations and races do not like, hate, enslave and have wared with others of different cultures, races and ethnic backgrounds throughout the history of the world. But then the American melting pot came along as a shining example for the world. But blacks as a culture have never assimilated. Is it because they have been denied admittance to the American culture or is it because they refuse to allow their culture to be assimilated?

Many other cultures have managed to successfully do both, notably Jews, Asians and Middle Easterners. It's interesting to note that Blacks have had more than their share of commercial conflicts with members of all these groups, not just whites.

There are many succesful black people who have adopted and assimilated the "American" culture without rejecting their own heritage and lead happy, productive lives. But many of the have-nots would rather complain bitterly about injustice while refusing to adapt. Its easier to blame whites for their plight.

City, County, State and the Federal government have enacted a plethora of financial, healthcare and training programs. Thousands of charities work diligently to aid, assist and supplement these efforts.

So why do we still have a problem? Is it really just because white folks don't like the color black? I think not.

Common Sense(?),

By the words you posted above, unfortunately, you lack the essence of your handle--"common sense." If you truly had common sense you would understand that originally African people did not chose to travel around the world to live here. It was called chattel slavery. Not only were these human beings enslaved, but also were denied their basic human and civil rights--for centuries. This is the bases of racism: one race (falsely) believes that their race has sole legitimacy, and thus others must be subordinate. This is the essence of this nation's foundation and remains part of the fabric to this day--look to Afghanistan and Iraq for starters. It began with the racism against the native inhabitants, which led to their genocide. And this hatred (yes, it is hatred) of red, black, and brown people was a shining example to the world? Who's world? What world?

You claim, "But blacks as a culture have never assimilated." Oh really? I believe your racism, prejudice, and lack of "common sense" blinds you to the truth that it was the white Europeans that never assimilated. They (we) are the ones who invaded and occupied this land forcing any/all to adhere to their (our) destructive way of life. What makes the Caucasian race so superior that it can mandate what is right and wrong, good and bad? It was done here back then and now again in Afghanistan and Iraq. Why are the U.S. and British not assimilating in Afghanistan and Iraq? Who has refused to assimilate then and now?

Your comment that, "It's interesting to note that Blacks have had more than their share of commercial conflicts with members of all these groups, not just whites." is ludicrous. Throughout modern history it has been white "leaders" who have caused the vast amount of conflicts that created untold suffering among countless victims with massive destruction.

So what is this "American culture" that everyone is required to assimilate? Does it include all that is visible and present here, including: Being fearful of everyone and everything? Racism? Sexism? Patriarchy? Hierarchy? Inequality? Hatred? Violence? Arrogance? Apathy? Self-righteousness? False pride? Blindness to truth? Blindly follow and support unjust and oppressive "leaders"? Never question authority? Support (silently or otherwise) unjust and oppressive structures? Bullying? Domination over everyone and everything? Exploitation of people and resources? Over consumption of the world's resources? Greed? Placing profits above people--at all costs? Deception? Lying (to self and others)? Believing said lies? Rewriting history to suit your position? Xenophobia? Homophobia? Lack of compassion? Never look in the mirror to find fault? Blaming others for all problems present, especially the victims themselves? Scapegoating? Refuse to admit when wrong? Never apologize and ask for forgiveness? Lack of vision? to name a few of the finer points. So, is this, in your humble opinion, the American way, "our way of life" that everyone is expected to assimilate?

"City, County, State and the Federal government have enacted a plethora of financial, healthcare and training programs." If this was not so pathetic it would be laughable. On what planet are you living? With 2.4 million people incarcerated in this nation, the primary service offered by government is transportation to the nearest prison after an unjust conviction for an unjust crime. And with approximately 2 million people homeless and tens of millions more living in poverty, I suppose this is another "shining example for the world"? Healthcare? Where? For whom? With nearly 50 million people without healthcare and tens of millions more who are under covered, and these figures do not include the poor. Try sitting in General Hospital for 12-16 hours before seeing a doctor. Then another 4-8 hours to get any kind of medical assistance. You, my friend, are sadly mistaken. Financial aid? Can you live on $256. per month? This is what the poor get here in L.A., one of the most expensive cities in the nation in which to live. You really should take your head out of the sand and face reality. Moreover, learn what the word "compassion" means, then practice it. It will do you (and everyone else) much good.

Peace, Mike W.

i dont blame your wife mike for being upset with you, sometime we need to take care of our own first, but that isnt my business
i have alot of my own weed pulling, watering, grass cutting, whatever else i need to do inside & outside this time of the year to worry about fletcher field
sorry
funny thing all the years my grandparents raised their kids on almont & my parents raised us in that house we never had a rat problem either, i asked my dad one day back in the middle 70's whats with all the dirt inside the garage, said rats, had to put a rat wall around that plus around the bottom of the porch, you dont keep up property, or your house that is where that comes from ,cant have old tires, old trashed up boats on the streets otherwise that is what your going to have.
the mayor cares only about getting downtown all spruced up & yes people from det & the suburbs are helping the city out by going to baseball, hockey, football, plus the casino's, this helps out big time, but put some of that money to use in the neighborhoods that need it. i worked in detroit & lived outside of detroit paid city taxes, well in the winter i would drive into det. not one street was plowed, why? & yet i paid city taxes, the rich get richer the poor get poorer, someday there will not be a middle class
so you see people from the suburbs do support detroit by going to all the sporting events, places of business & they do pay city taxes if they work in det.
did we ever have our city streets plowed when i grew up on almont, NO, people did their own shoveling, shoveled out spots in front of their homes to park, but then of course you always had someone that parked in the spot, but we did that ourself didnt expect the city to come out & shovel our snow & if there was an elderly person who couldnt get out of their house there was always someone to help out, back then neighbors helped neighbors.
now in warren there are drug houses on the raise, why, there arent alot of people left in det. so now they are moving into the suburbs, ugh, i could go on & on but i wont it wont fix anything

dennisdj,

Your comments do help. You aren't the only one who feels these frustrations, and it is good to discuss them. And one of our goals is to get into these neighborhoods and try to figure out what is really going on, how and why things have gotten where they are, so we can discuss it here and see what we can do to address the problems, both in the city and in the suburbs.

One thing our weeding and mowing seems to be accomplishing around the park is providing encouragement for the people in the neighborhood who do care. When you have been left in a shell of a neighborhood to wait for an airport expansion that seems to never come, it is hard to keep fighting blight alone. I think we are helping people feel they aren't alone anymore (and the people on this web site are a big part of that - it is one thing to see a few people in the neighborhood. It is another to see a web site where lots more people care, too).

That is something good, and you are a part of it.

Jonathan

Whenever the subject of race, culture clash or the decline of Detroit arises, it becomes akin to replacing a football during the course of a game with an active hornet's nest. So many factors come into play with so many differing opinions.

Let me just say that the HN neighborhood and the Detroit area during it's glory days was a Paradise on Earth for my parents, relatives and myself. My family and myself, although not experiencing " 300 years of oppression", came up from grinding poverty in Pennsylvania coal country.

I remember enduring an outhouse in the winter and chamber pots until the sewage line was run up the mountain to our house. I also can recall my father coming home from work, when the mines were sporadically operating, and my mother heating water on a coal stove, then taking down a metal tub from the wall so my Dad,looking like a performer in a minstral show ,could bathe.

I am grateful for the opportunities which existed back then in Detroit when my folks moved here. The post World War Two economy provided for us all with a better life.

It is very sad that these conditions do not exist today. I am very fortunate to lead a most comfortable life today due to hard work and effort and adopting a 19th Century life-style. However, I fear for what the future holds for all of us in the on rushing 21st Century.

"If You Had a Choice of Colors,
Which One Would You Choose, My Brothers"
......Curtis Mayfield

Robert T. Zona
HNS Class of '65