Havoc in Detroit - Where are Reporters Now?

Without GoGo on American Airlines to keep me busy doing things I have to do rather than things I want to do, I spent hours studying one thing – Detroit. If you’ve read my past blogs you might wonder why – but it is precisely the underpinnings of those blogs that kept my interest on Detroit rather than reading more about Black Holes and QM or working on my taxes (well okay I did that a little bit).

Detroit is in a whole heap of hurt, and I'm not talking about the obvious “Big 3”. I’m talking about psychological, fundamental, situational, traumatic hurt – the type it is painful to read and “talk” about but so essential to understanding what can happen to a city without direction and without leadership. This has greater applicability – to companies also directed without leadership and what can happen as a result.

I read stories that would make a grown man with a heart cry and more four letter and humiliating words towards specific genders and races than I care to read again for awhile. But it was enlightening; all while economists and political figures try to figure out what went wrong, exactly. (Who knows if we will ever get an answer).

Here is some of the more interesting, gut wrenching facts I’ve learned:

Crime and Murder

Ill start with crime, because I found it most startling and personally interesting. Detroit and its surrounding areas have been given the title “Murder capital of the nation” based on various statistics for years. I once lived about 4 miles from a city in Michigan with the second highest per-capita murder rate in the country, which gave me great comfort as I slept alone in my corporate condo each night; sometimes snowed in completely for days on end without phones or electricity. I hadn’t realized Detroit has continued its murder capital statistic and it has worsened as much as it has.

If this doesn’t shock you, nothing may… part of the problem with the city is the rampant drug problem – with women routinely having sex with dogs for men’s amusement to score drugs for resale to put food on the table for their children. We are letting this happen in America. This makes me sick and is pathetic. Where are all the Bush haters in the media that surrounded the Katrina blunders and why are they not following this story? Democrats in office there? Yeah.

Another shocking statistic – the crime rate goes up dramatically around Christmas – I mean murder – because many family members want to get out of having to buy Christmas presents. What’s cheaper – kill them or buy a gift? While we’re at it, we’ll cut off the body parts and sell them.

The police department is so inept and underfunded that over 10,000 unsolved murders remain so in Detroit, the city, alone since 1960. Detroit is one of the largest out of state gun dealers selling 14 tons of weapons a year. A man recently trying to turn himself into Detroit police for murder found the police department so unresponsive that he hopped on a bus to Toledo to confess there, instead. (I'm not kidding). To try to raise money, the police department has more speed traps set up than any other city in the nation (note to self and anyone else headed there on business: bring radar jammer when visiting) So unresponsive and overworked is the Detroit Police that citizens often fake a fire to get the fire department there for domestic disturbances knowing that the sirens will scare away the perpetrators.

Rights of Citizens to Safety? Where?

Which brings me to the fire department and other fundamental obligations a city has to citizens - particularly with some of the highest real estate taxes in the nation. In most cities fire gear is replaced about every six months; and that is with an average number of fires. Detroit has far more than most; often due to squatters taking up refuge in abandoned homes and starting fire – or worse – people intentionally setting fire to their home (explained a little later here). The fire suits are so old that most have serious rips and tears often resulting in death; as one writer put it, “with the crotch missing in one fire suit, that man’s chestnuts could be roasting on an open fire.” Not exactly what we want our national heroes dealing with.

Real Estate

The real estate market as we all know is in turmoil. Depending on which statistic you read, either Las Vegas, Miami/Dade or Detroit has the most foreclosures – in terms of numbers, that is Detroit (not per capita). There are 60,000 abandoned homes in the city of Detroit alone and that isn’t counting the suburbs. People are frequently setting fire to their homes so that when the fire department shows up, they can try to steal the fire trucks and sell parts for some quick cash. Brass fire poles at the fire houses were sold off by the city to raise cash, by the way.

Education

Education? Well with a 24% graduation rate and an insanely high illiteracy rate, Detroit has a long way to go for resolve. Those not in favor of the No Child Left Behind Act because it “teaches to the test” need to realize that “the test” is math and reading – kind of fundamentals, don’t you think? I don’t want to hear your pathetic arguments over needing to embrace the child’s “inner self”. BS. Kids shouldn’t be allowed to move on if they haven’t mastered the basics. Schools in Detroit haven’t bought new textbooks in 19 years. Yes, 19. Not bad since not much has happened in history over 19 years huh? Students have to bring their own toilet tissue in many districts because the schools can’t afford it. If the kids parents’ can’t either? Well I’ll leave that to your imagination.

Known as a city that once gave Saddam Hussein the keys to its doors (this is when Iraq was an ally .. sort of.. of course, and after giving a large donation to a church), it’s now known for having the fewest sunny days (perhaps metaphorically in addition to literally), is the most murderous city, the poorest city, the most segregated, has more heart attacks per person, and has the slowest income growth in the nation. If you think we can blame this kind of neglect on three auto companies I'm afraid you are highly mistaken. No bailout can fix this type of systemic failure and extreme disservice to humanity. This is incompetence, disgusting at a human level, and rivals the Katrina disaster in my opinion.. yet where is the press? Covering how horrible Bush is. Who cares who is to blame; this city needs to be fixed and fast. And most importantly, we need to know why it happened to avoid a recurrence and treat people there with some damn integrity.

Pissed and Tired,

Dani