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um last time I checked the definition of "dead" is pretty clear so I'm not misinterpreting anything. That is my point. If someone means "declining" than SAY THAT don't use dead because you all are the ones using the word out of context
I agree that it's not necessarily appropriate...but I think you're still missing the point. The reason people are likening Detroit to a "dead" city is because it's the closest out of the major American cities. If you're looking at a group of trees and they're all pretty healthy, but there's one which has tons of dead branches despite the fact that it's still alive. Some people might call that tree dead simply because comparatively speaking, it appears to be so.
It isn't the truth but when looking at a group of things like that, people will have a tendency to call the worst-off example "dead" or "dying".
Location: Detroit's eastside, downtown Detroit in near future!
2,053 posts, read 4,392,349 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tmac9wr
I agree that it's not necessarily appropriate...but I think you're still missing the point. The reason people are likening Detroit to a "dead" city is because it's the closest out of the major American cities. If you're looking at a group of trees and they're all pretty healthy, but there's one which has tons of dead branches despite the fact that it's still alive. Some people might call that tree dead simply because comparatively speaking, it appears to be so.
It isn't the truth but when looking at a group of things like that, people will have a tendency to call the worst-off example "dead" or "dying".
Once again......I'm not missing the point nor am I misinterpreting anything.
I wrote in another thread about how defensive people in Detroit are about their town and DetroitLove seems to be exhibit A.
Whether you want to consider Detroit dead, dying, declining, or more politely “past its prime,” it’s clear that Motown is one of the most screwed-up cities in the U.S. and anyone who can’t admit that is living in a state of denial.
And yes, I lived there for two years so I know the place. As my wife said, “Those were the longest two years of our lives.”
What makes the city so bad off and its defenders so seemingly oblivious? I don’t know for sure, but I suspect one reason is that so few Detroiters have ever left Detroit. When I lived there in the mid-1990s I was told that D had one of the lowest rates of in- or out- migration of any big city. That is, people who were born there, stayed there, and nobody came in. (Mind you I’m talking about the city now, not the metro area.).
That explains to me why the city seems so incredibly insular, provincial and small-time. Too many people in Detroit are happy to be there and proud of Detroit! Puh-leese. If they’d ever spent a few months living in a functional city they’d be smart enough to be embarrassed about the place. Hardly anyone knows what a functional big city is supposed to be. Detroiters are happy to sit in that dump of a city with massively dysfunctional schools, a string of corrupt politicians, thousands of abandoned buildings and empty lots, and virtually non-existent public transit. In fact, Motown has virtually nothing a functional city needs to do well. It can’t survive off of a few casinos, a new ballpark, one big downtown company (Compuware) and a few summer street festivals.
For the first month I lived in the city I didn’t have a car and took the bus to work. I was constantly struck by the fact that maybe 90% of the time I was the ONLY person reading a book or newspaper on the bus—something you’d be hard pressed to see in New York or Chicago. And the Detroit Library is magnificent. But most of the times I visited, it was empty. It’s all part of the Detroit insularity. Nobody knows or cares what goes on outside of the city so everybody is defensive about how we “pick” on Detroit
When I was there, Detroit had about 900,000 people. About one-third were poverty level or below. Say another third were effectively too poor to have much discretionary income. That would leave a solid 300,000 with working class means or more. But there was virtually no retail vibrancy, a skimpy arts sector, and I could go across the river to Windsor, Canada and have more fun downtown in a city of 200,000. Detroit couldn’t even support a McDonald’s downtown.
Detroit has changed some since then, I know. I’ve been back. But until it sheds its insularity and decides to take some radical policy steps it may not be dead, but it’ll be on life support for the foreseeable future.
I hope you consider this a fair question. As a reminder, I haven't said anything bad about Detroit. I have never been to Detroit, so I couldn't say anything bad about it from experience anyways. But I also have no desire to ever go there, either.
So my question is this: Can you blame me? It's a fair question. Can someone who embraces his city (and I certainly do not fault you for this) judge as ignorant someone else who does not wish to go to Detroit based on the city's reputation for blight, corruption, and high crime (United States cities by crime rate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).
I'm well aware that there are some vibrant and desirable neighborhoods in Detroit city proper, but these can be found in other cities with much much less of the negative elements listed above. Is it not fair for those of us who are outsiders to look in and determine that Detroit is not worth the trouble?
Once again, I hope you consider it a fair question, not a slight on Detroit.
Location: Detroit's eastside, downtown Detroit in near future!
2,053 posts, read 4,392,349 times
Reputation: 699
Quote:
Originally Posted by iknowftbll
@ Detroitlove,
I hope you consider this a fair question. As a reminder, I haven't said anything bad about Detroit. I have never been to Detroit, so I couldn't say anything bad about it from experience anyways. But I also have no desire to ever go there, either.
So my question is this: Can you blame me? It's a fair question. Can someone who embraces his city (and I certainly do not fault you for this) judge as ignorant someone else who does not wish to go to Detroit based on the city's reputation for blight, corruption, and high crime (United States cities by crime rate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).
I'm well aware that there are some vibrant and desirable neighborhoods in Detroit city proper, but these can be found in other cities with much much less of the negative elements listed above. Is it not fair for those of us who are outsiders to look in and determine that Detroit is not worth the trouble?
Once again, I hope you consider it a fair question, not a slight on Detroit.
look, I never said I cared wether someone desired to come here or not
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