The City Where the Sirens Never Sleep (Detroit is dying. But, it is not dead yet)

Weekly Standard ^ | Dec 30,2008 | Matt Labash

[Starboard]

This article sounds like a travel brochure for tourists traveling to Mogadishu, Somalia.

Except, of course, the weather which is much better in Mogadishu. They may also have a good soccer team worth rooting for.

[padre35]

Detriot is where the term “Burn Baby Burn” started, at the time the plan was to let “us” (meaning socialists and angry blacks) have a city of their “own”.

I’ve seen Google Earth maps of Detriot and it is astonishing, whole city blocks look like a WW2 battle rolled through them.

[Mark was here]

The Detroit Riots were really anti-white riots, the whites got the message and left the blacks in Detroit to fend for themselves. My wife's family had their stuff stolen by their black neighbors they thought were their friends.

The article talks about abandoned buildings, the Feds had money they were trying to get the city to use to demolish buildings, the city refused to use it because they did not want to use white contractors.

[wgflyer]

“Cut to the chase the “Bell Curve” is true.”

Not convinced, myself, about that. Seen too many smart and dumb people in all socioethnic categories to put much stock in it if it is. Now, if someone were to do a bell curve analysis on big government and its proponents, however, the results might be fascinating.

[SlapHappyPappy]

Detroit is America’s first zombie city.

[ladyjane]

I agree, schools have been turned into liberal indoctrination centers and the unions have been a negative factor. I just don’t understand blaming the teachers for this sorry state of affairs. Would you be a teacher in that school system and put yourself in danger every day? I wouldn’t.

You could take the best teachers in the world and put them in the Detroit school and it would make little difference. IMO

[buwaya]

Thanks, this is a wonderful article.

And its not even really political. This could have, and should have, run in the New Yorker.

[TheRake]

There are a lot of good folks trying to change things in Detroit and around the area. Corruption in government, police force, unions and a democrat governor that won’t go against the union or the corruption because they’re all democrats are the roadblocks for a comeback. I live in the suburbs and do go downtown occasionally. I was at MGM and Greektown last night and it was great fun and had no problems. In fact, I’ve never had a problem going to any of the sporting events (except 1984 - at Tiger Stadium) or the theater district. It’s not the best city granted, but there are some good things going on down there. Dave Bing may be there best and only hope as far as the mayor’s office is concerned. We’ll see.

[rightwingintelligentsia]

That’s actually a very good article, albeit rather long. But the author has drawn some interesting character studies.

[buwaya]

“Detroit has also been run by Democrats for the last 50 years - a detail the author could not bring himself to report.”

Well of course it has. Thats pretty much beside the point of the article. And its in the Weekly Standard - they are all about being against Democrats. The author is perfectly able to bring himself to blame Democrats.

[Oatka]

Don't view THESE unless you want to be depressed. Criminey, even I got on a downer about 1/3 of the way through. No matter what you think of that city, it is depressing to see how far it has fallen.

[doosee]

After 4 years of Obama, Pelosi, and Reid, we may all be able to say - We are all Detroiters now. Not really, but its a horrible thought.

[bert]

......Precisely what caused all this mess is perhaps best left to historians. .......

I can ascribe to the title, having lived a few years and observed.

He pretty well got it right. The blacks burned the city, the whites fled, the blacks took over and Mugabe like, destroyed the city. Deeetroit is an American embarrassment. It should be walled off and ceded to Ontario. America doesn’t need Deetroit and by extension Michigan.

Deetroit and Michigan are foreshadowing the condition of all American big cities under the Hussein reign of terror.

[NonValueAdded]

If ALL the productive people finally leave then the criminal class will be reduced to stealing each other’s government checks and benefits.How long could that possibly last?

Since the inflow of checks and benefits is endless, the answer to your question is: "indefinitely." In any other system, the tap would be closed.

This is Escape From New York New York without the enclosure. I didn't realize Robocop was a documdrama.

[Mark was here]

About Detroit Firefighters. Absolutely great. The real deal.

[pepperdog]

It's been at over 10 years, but I went from Canada thru Detroit back to the USA. I say this because I couldn't believe Detroit was a part of the USA! It was unbelievable then and it's hard to believe it could get worse but I guess it has. At the time I was there we had spent the night in Canada and were warned over and over again not to go to Detroit. It looked pretty when viewed from across the river at night but after we crossed over the next morning it was shocking to see in the daylight. Very sad.

[bert]

They have no teachers.

The entire Deetroit school system is staffed by educators. Educators exist to consume education funds and draw salaries. There is no teaching required or involved.

[stentorian conservative]

Bingo.

[advance_copy]

He rode around with a near-suicidal Jack Kevorkian in Kevorkian's new egg-shaped electric car. Fresh from prison, Dr. Death now lived in a dumpy apartment, wore Salvation-Army clothes, and told Charlie he wished he'd never been born.

I knew this story had a silver lining in it somewhere.

[wny]

Anyone know of a major city in such sad shape that HASN’T been run by democrats for a generation?