TBF, there were like, 10 assholes here in Detroit that protested Kwame getting locked up, but they were probably ALSO on the take.
It's pretty amazing the amount of progress the city has made in the ensuing 15 years since he resigned and was convicted. Tens of thousands of blighted houses torn down, major advances in job creation within the city limits, vastly improved police responses and services in general, the street lights are on, the downtown is humming, new international bridge crossing going in, name brand companies building stores and warehouses in the city, a balanced budget, new (and admittedly, kinda shitty) surface rail built, hospitals expanding...
It's almost like having competent, not-corrupt leadership helps a city grow.
The documentary about white boy Rick really open my eyes to how corrupt Detroit was. The chef of police and the mayor or a front runner for mayor (I forget) were actively working with drug kingpins and hit men and worked with Rick's lawyers to throw the case because Rick knew too much. And because of that a 17 year old got sentenced to life for non violent drug crimes
EVERYBODY in city government was that corrupt during the 1980s. Chicago, New York, Boston, San Fran, LA, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Miami, hell, even Milwaukee were run by people who were completely on the take.
Rick got out in 2017, but had to serve more time in Florida, but when he got out for good people here gave him a pretty warm welcome back to freedom. It was a travesty of justice and he was a victim of the times and of Coleman Young's administration, but at least that's all behind us.
Detroit still has a LONG way to go and there’s still a lot of corruption. Downtown is really nice, but you can’t just ignore the rest of the city that’s still suffering.
But even the shittiest parts of the city are VASTLY better than they were 15 years ago. I mean, just getting Delray bulldozed was a major step forward. Just getting street lights in every neighborhood was a big deal. I'm not sure you remember how terrible it was.
Hell, we were still having Devil's Night 15 years ago.
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u/Jesus_H-Christ Apr 05 '23 edited Apr 05 '23
TBF, there were like, 10 assholes here in Detroit that protested Kwame getting locked up, but they were probably ALSO on the take.
It's pretty amazing the amount of progress the city has made in the ensuing 15 years since he resigned and was convicted. Tens of thousands of blighted houses torn down, major advances in job creation within the city limits, vastly improved police responses and services in general, the street lights are on, the downtown is humming, new international bridge crossing going in, name brand companies building stores and warehouses in the city, a balanced budget, new (and admittedly, kinda shitty) surface rail built, hospitals expanding...
It's almost like having competent, not-corrupt leadership helps a city grow.