The People of Detroit (Vanderbilt: middle-class, transplants, neighborhood)

[ForStarters]

The best way to learn about a city is to know its people. Well, here it is...
The People Of Detroit: 04.2010

Photographer Noah Stephens captures the people of Detroit in their element. Each month he updates his site with new photos and stories. He began last April.

[Bhaalspawn]

For those who are interested, there's also a webpage full of photos of "People at Walmart". (It's not for the faint of heart.)

Funny Pictures at WalMart

[ForStarters]

Originally Posted by Bhaalspawn

For those who are interested, there's also a webpage full of photos of "People at Walmart". (It's not for the faint of heart.)

Funny Pictures at WalMart

That's like a train-wreck. I just can't stop looking at it.

[edub]

Originally Posted by ForStarters

The best way to learn about a city is to know its people. Well, here it is...
The People Of Detroit: 04.2010

Photographer Noah Stephens captures the people of Detroit in their element. Each month he updates his site with new photos and stories. He began last April.

If posting lies was against TOS, this guy would have been banned 1000 times.

The pictures in the link are hand picked and represent a tiny minority of what actual Detroiters look like. The overwhelming majority look a lot more "ghetto." Detroit is mainly a welfare and working poor community. Look up the demographics. Posting hand picked pictures of a guy in a suit and a token white guy is nothing but a weak attempt to paint a false and misleading picture.

Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

[IDASpaceman]

^dANG

[ForStarters]

Originally Posted by edub

If posting lies was against TOS, this guy would have been banned 1000 times.

The pictures in the link are hand picked and represent a tiny minority of what actual Detroiters look like. The overwhelming majority look a lot more "ghetto." Detroit is mainly a welfare and working poor community. Look up the demographics. Posting hand picked pictures of a guy in a suit and a token white guy is nothing but a weak attempt to paint a false and misleading picture.

Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

So sorry that the photographer's pictures don't reflect your stereotype. Guess he'll have to consult you when he decides to capture people of interest.

[Cliffie]

The fact is that Detroiters are all kinds of people -- poor, rich, and middle-class -- and yes, 80% of them are Black. I tend to think that a lot of the people moving out of the state are the ones who lost their jobs -- and thus are NOT on welfare, at least not here in MI. The ones who've stayed are here to hold onto their jobs, in large numbers. And I wish some of these folks would start more businesses...

[ForStarters]

Originally Posted by Cliffie

The fact is that Detroiters are all kinds of people -- poor, rich, and middle-class -- and yes, 80% of them are Black. I tend to think that a lot of the people moving out of the state are the ones who lost their jobs -- and thus are NOT on welfare, at least not here in MI. The ones who've stayed are here to hold onto their jobs, in large numbers. And I wish some of these folks would start more businesses...

Michigan has experienced a mass exodus, shown by the recent census. Most of those who left are highly educated, financially mobile, ambitious, young and open-minded. What's left are the drecks, i.e. the uneducated, lower-income, unmotivated, apathetic, elderly, and closed-minded. This is why culturally, socially, and economically the region is regressing. As high caliber people leave, low caliber people and their entrenched ideologies gain a stronger hold on the decision-making in the region. This has led to rampant government incompetence. Michigan's population is also very old by comparison, and the old-aged population is actually growing in light of the number of young people leaving. Eventually, this will cripple the region as population must be replaced to be stable.

Recent studies show that the effects of "brain drain" can be mitigated by attracting new residents, talent, and fresh ideas. Detroit has seen some resurgence in terms of artists, creative-types, and young professionals. No question, these transplants have had a definable, positive impact on the places in which they locate. However, the newcomers are severely outnumbered by those that have bogged things down for years.

Intelligence and progress are easily quashed when greatly outnumbered by ignorance and stupidity. Survey any area of regional or state government and you'll find lack of foresight, poor planning, bad management, and repetition of the same failed ideas. This is because the intelligent people who would have otherwise made those decisions were usurped by drecks. The politically, socially, culturally, and economically unenlightened will continue to drain the region.

Ineptitude has reached critical levels. Much of the voting public does not have an original thought in their collective heads. This is fine when intelligent, well-meaning people are steering the flock, but when drecks become the shepherds, problems will ensue. Detroit experienced a severe brain drain to its suburbs, which is very much the cause of its present state of affairs. Over the last decade, the suburbs have experienced a massive brain drain of their own to other more progressive regions. The cream was skimmed from the crop, and the region is deficient of natural leaders. What remains are basically a lot of loud-mouthed, finger-pointers. Such people select one of two political drumbeats and march to it without ever questioning why. It's not their fault. They simply do not have the depth of thought to be any different. They are ignorant of their own ignorance, which only emboldens their efforts. When there are no intelligent people around to push back, their backwards plans carry the day.

Let's bring this back to the original topic. The photographer above is taking pictures of Detroiters of interest. Those are people who he (I'm sure) feels are not representative of the usual "drecks." Intelligent people take solace in seeing that they are not alone amongst drecks. There are places in Detroit where one can be in pretty good company. These concentrated areas are like beacons of light shining outward, attracting other like-minded people. There is good reason why you hear a lot about a small neighborhood like Corktown, but hear virtually nothing about whole cities in Metro Detroit. One is dominated by drecks while the other is not. This is not to say that everyone, everywhere except a few select areas are all drecks. Many people are simply oblivious, or are too introverted to give such issues any thought. They often have no opinion or no interest in the large systemic problems affecting society. I think that by-and-large, the photographer above has captured what he wants others to see. That is, what he seems to think are the enlightened people. His pretext is likely to assure similar-minded people that it is okay to consider Detroit. Why else would one publish it on a blog for free? That takes a lot of effort. Clearly, getting his message out is important to him.

[Retroit]

The biggest problem facing Detroit is not the lack of opportunity for the highly educated, but the lack of opportunity for the lowly educated. Detroit didn't become a great city because a lot of smart people came here, but because a lot of minimally educated people came here to work in the factories. Because of our incompetent government, all these low-skill jobs have moved to Asia, Mexico, etc. If Detroit had a thousand thriving sweatshops, people would be flocking here. But we can't allow that; that's a privilege only for strange people of other lands. We Americans are entitled to high-tech, high-wage jobs, dammit, and we'll keep electing incompetent people who continually promise them every election!

[ForStarters]

Originally Posted by Retroit

The biggest problem facing Detroit is not the lack of opportunity for the highly educated, but the lack of opportunity for the lowly educated. Detroit didn't become a great city because a lot of smart people came here, but because a lot of minimally educated people came here to work in the factories. Because of our incompetent government, all these low-skill jobs have moved to Asia, Mexico, etc. If Detroit had a thousand thriving sweatshops, people would be flocking here. But we can't allow that; that's a privilege only for strange people of other lands. We Americans are entitled to high-tech, high-wage jobs, dammit, and we'll keep electing incompetent people who continually promise them every election!

The saddest part is, the highly intelligent people who are usually the innovators and entrepreneurs that create jobs for the rest of us have been hamstrung by international policies that make competition unequal. Consider that the Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and Cornelius Vanderbilt of the future will probably not be Americans. While I don't want "sweatshops," the best society provides a job to anyone who wants to work regardless of skill level. It also provides an environment where upward mobility is attainable. That world once existed in the U.S. and was exemplified by Detroit and its industry. However, those opportunities are quickly disappearing.