Desperation Reigns In Detroit

categories: Cities, Federal, Government, Housing, Jobs & Unemployment, Race Ethnicity Class & Gender, stimulus, The Economy

Published October 10, 2009 @ 09:27AM PT

You may have heard by now of the crush of Detroiters who descended on Cobo Hall this week to apply for homelessness prevention assistance. 50,000 - 60,000 residents have received applications for 3,400 packages of up to $3,000 to cover utility bills and fees associated with keeping one's home or moving into a new one.

The Detroit Free Press Editorial team beat me to the Katrina metaphors, and even threw in "tsunami" for good measure to describe Detroit's economic disaster.

But seriously: I know no flood waters have ravaged Detroit, nor have unseasonal weather conditions killed anticipated crop loads, but how can we not classify Detroit's 30% unemployment, 30% poverty rate, and upwards of 80,000 vacant homes as a national disaster? Are we so despairing ourselves, or so immune to economic conditions, that we've become inured to the increasingly regular photos of hoards of desperate Americans crowding our convention centers for whatever meager, emergency assistance we throw at them? If I could turn this into a photo essay I would: Those prior two links are of African-Americans lining up for free healthcare in South Los Angeles, and Detroiters at Cobo Hall waiting for aid applications. Those Depression-Era bread lines are NOT a thing of the past.

(Photo of Katrina survivors outside the Convention Center in NOLA by Wyn Henderson for FEMA)

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Comments (3)

I Am delighted to see you covering this issue. Got to the Detroit free press from changes site. The free press neither blamed the government nor the People, it gave the facts that the bickering resulted in a small amount of people being hurt.

The national Yahoo article on Cobo, of course left that facts of how many people needed medical attention, to the imagination of those calling themselves middle class.

The link to the World Socialist Web Site, was sent to me by a friend that morning. It said the government was to blame, for not telling people there were only Up to 3,500 slots opened so the people could stop wasting their time,

This is something the government will not do. Its not because everyone has a right to fill out an application. Its because 1) they did not want a riot. 2) they love it when us poor fights other poor folks instead of our government. 3) It is propaganda time, against the poor.

They implied that the poor acted like animals. When in fact if you had 50,000 Million and billionaires it a tight space, human nature would result in fighting. That is if one can find 50,000 Billion and millionaires.

Right on cue the Main stream media picked up on what the Detroit's free-press called a few minor injuries. The WSWS had a story in its newspapers about How to end poverty.

I saw nothing on Yahoo about a pivotal point in history. I am delighted that I saw the real story.

I recall a teacher of Mine in 3 grade or so telling us we should read from 3 sources. She picked up 3 newspapers on her way into school. She found a story about a mutt making his way home , from another state The New time called him of questionable breeding, the State big newspaper called him a half breed, and the town called him a mutt. other than that the story was the same.

Not like with these three coverage of Oct 8th at Cobo. Their the coverages was indeed Biased by two of the sources.

This is one thing Americans must recall, Most Mainstream Media has a middle class viewpoint or a bias.

I feel understood, respected and informed, by your coverage.

Posted by jan Lightfootlane on 10/10/2009 @ 03:52PM PT
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Jan, Thank you for your kind words!

Posted by Leigh Graham on 10/10/2009 @ 07:08PM PT
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I agree with Jan! People need to see what Poverty looks like, and stop turning a blind eye, or blaming the victim.

Posted by Rachel Russell on 10/10/2009 @ 07:39PM PT
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Leigh is a PhD candidate in urban planning at MIT, and a consultant on U.S. Gulf Coast recovery. She sits on the Board of the Allston-Brighton Community Development Corporation in Boston, and has worked with non-profits, foundations and local governments on policies and programs aimed at reducing urban poverty and inequality.