Excelling in Hiding
I know that today holds and the previous week has held much in revelry and hope for the future in Detroit. But, most of us realize that this one mega-event ends this evening and Detroit will still remain tomorrow with its concerns and woes. Here is an excerpt from an interesting article I happened to come across this morning:
Though it may be true that, as Jesus said, the poor will always be with us, the city of Detroit wants them to be invisible—at least during Super Bowl weekend. The New York Times and the Detroit Free Press recently reported that the Detroit Rescue Mission shelter is sponsoring a 3-day Super Bowl party for the homeless, complete with plenty of food and 4 large-screen TVs. The city wants the homeless off the streets this weekend, presumably so that they don’t bother the football tourists. This news is troubling, but unfortunately it is not surprising. The homeless citizens of Detroit, who are estimated to number 13,000, will certainly not benefit from any of the economic benefit to the city, large or small.
More than likely the bubble will start bursting as the fourth quarter lapses to its final whistle. I hope Detroit doesn’t come out all the worse for making such a gamble in a city that has no capital to roll with.
Image courtesy DetroitBlog.org
Your right about that, as you know I live on the first street north of Detroit in Harper Woods. Last night I counted at least a dozen gunshots in what I imagine was an imitation Hamas post election celebration. There’s nothing better to make visitors feel comfortable than blasting a few rounds into the air, and/or one another.
There’s something wrong with a certain sect of Detroiters. I have no idea what it is but phrases like, “misery loves company,” and “gluttons for punishment” come to mind.
That photo is beautiful. It makes Detroit look like the setting for Blade Runner.
Not only will the homeless of Detroit not benefit economically from the Super Bowl activities but most Detroiters will miss out as well. At least the homeless got something out of it. I hope they made the best of the situation and was able to stuff the faces and the pockets with food and whatever else they could.
As a resident of Eastpointe, I feel like I didn’t benefit from the Super Bowl, either. Didn’t even win a lousy square.
It was very exciting for us Detroiters-in-exile to see Detroit depicted, & so beautiful & lively, over & over again that week, but i didn’t hear the enthusiasm when i talked to people actually there. When i asked Sam about it, she said something like, “Thank God it’s over.” Yeah, i can’t stand football either, but i am so much less cynical than Cas, i really thought that all of the attention, all of the money, just the very fact that there were people walking around & hanging out at night in Detroit might just mean something in the long haul. Like Detroit is a mess because the rest of the country just forgot that you all were there, ha!
I agree Kim. I think the benefits out-weigh the negatives. At least Detroit had a few nights of clean brightly lit walkable streets. That’s better than what we usually get.
Of course, now that Detroiters see what our leaders are capable of achieving we should learn to demand this type of treatment day-in and day-out. It’s like having a roommate that only showers and cleans the house when their parents are visiting. It’s time to grow up Detroit!
For all of you looking for great post-XL things for Detroit, Kwame is considering a joint Detroit-Windsor Olympics bid.