Detroit .. third world country?

[strittmatter]

Re: Detroit .. third world country?

To say that Detroit is "3rd world" is to insult the 3rd world. I grew up and lived in a 3rd world country (India). It was nowhere near as dangerous as Detroit. There are more murders in a year in Detroit than there have been in two decades in my home town in India (my town has twice as many people as Detroit) - which is remarkably civilized even by Western standards.

Before I came to the West, I associated poverty with not having a roof over one's head (or an inadequate one) and not getting enough to eat. It was only after I came to the West that I realised being poor meant having a TV, a home, a car and eating so much that one became obese.

On a more humorous note, here's the incomparable Jeremy Clarkson on Detroit (this was shot in the early 90s I believe).

from:
"Wealth 101" Getting What You Want-Enjoying What You've Got
by John Roger & Peter McWilliams

Prelude:
When Swami Muktananda first visited the United States, he deplaned (as flight attendants are fond of saying) and walked directly into a large, modern terminal.

He stood for a while, looking around the enormous airport-so different from India, he might have been on another planet.

He saw a vast assortment of food, drinks, magazines and newspapers; upholstered furniture was everywhere; the rest rooms cost nothing, and had hot and cold running water; everyone was properly dressed; the airport was clean, well-lit, and the whole place-the size of most villages in his homeland-was not only air-conditioned but carpeted.

Even so, he saw the passengers rushing by, hurring to their planes, seemingly not appreciating any of it.

"They live in a paradise," he observed, "I wonder if they'll ever know."

[LargoWinch]

Re: Detroit .. third world country?

Detroit is closer to me that all of you I bet. That makes me an expert on the subject. :rolleyes:

Anyway, from my viewpoint, Detroit is just like Windsor but without the "entertainment" and the colored money.

So, in typical fashion, I will top it all off with a hint of Utube (for those who missed it in the video section)

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: Detroit .. third world country?

Sad - real sad.

It seems we humans don't really have a collective clue how such declines occur and how to avoid them. Individually no doubt some have assorted clues, but as a collective civilization we are as susceptible to the ruins of fallen empires, great wars, great depressions, mass self-inflicted exterminations and grinding poverty as the dinosaurs were susceptible to giant asteroids hitting earth.

"Affairs in the large" are not something we manage with any reliable success.

[audrey_girl]

Re: Detroit .. third world country?

Detroit is closer to me that all of you I bet. That makes me an expert on the subject. :rolleyes:

Anyway, from my viewpoint, Detroit is just like Windsor but without the "entertainment" and the colored money.

So, in typical fashion, I will top it all off with a hint of Utube (for those who missed it in the video section)

thank you - impressive vid

far cry from Doris and the 1950s

reality check

[LargoWinch]

Re: Detroit .. third world country?

The problem I see, is that unless a wolf shows up at the door no one acts.

Meanwhile termites are slowly destroying the house until the day...well you know...

[santafe2]

Re: Detroit .. third world country?

I was thinking exactly the same thing. Bravo!

I'll add a 3rd. I was pleasantly surprised to see your sentiment widely supported. Although not as heavily populated, there are dirt-poor "3rd world" rural towns all over the US that can make the same claim. We've a hundred of these towns in New Mexico. Far from being mini versions of Detroit, they are more a glimpse of what we might be able to sustain in the 21st Century.

[GRG55]

Re: Detroit .. third world country?

Detroit is closer to me that all of you I bet. That makes me an expert on the subject. :rolleyes:

Anyway, from my viewpoint, Detroit is just like Windsor but without the "entertainment" and the colored money...

I always thought Windsor's only claim to fame was as "Canada's southernmost point"...and of course the only place in Canada where one has to go north to get to the U.S. of eh.

[Scot]

Re: Detroit .. third world country?

That's my hometown. It's been a third world country for awhile now. Look for the "fabulous ruins of Detroit" series at http://DetroitYes.com.

http://www.freep.com/article/2009052...++dots+of+hope

Packs of wild dogs roam the streets, people in highland park use rotweilers as weapons to mug others, major parts of the city overgrown with brush, collapsed buildings everywhere.

Civility, citizen, and city all share the same Latin root. They go together.

Confusion in the USA and UK over what "freedom" means has destroyed the first two concepts. Their cities follow.

[mfyahya]

Re: Detroit .. third world country?

Before I came to the West, I associated poverty with not having a roof over one's head (or an inadequate one) and not getting enough to eat. It was only after I came to the West that I realised being poor meant having a TV, a home, a car and eating so much that one became obese.

That is poverty. I think if you offer someone a half eaten sandwich (fresh even) at the poorest places in the US, you'd most likely get beaten up.

[Guinnesstime]

Re: Detroit .. third world country?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz_vDOrqOOQ

[touchring]

Re: Detroit .. third world country?

To say that Detroit is "3rd world" is to insult the 3rd world. I grew up and lived in a 3rd world country (India). It was nowhere near as dangerous as Detroit. There are more murders in a year in Detroit than there have been in two decades in my home town in India (my town has twice as many people as Detroit) - which is remarkably civilized even by Western standards.

Before I came to the West, I associated poverty with not having a roof over one's head (or an inadequate one) and not getting enough to eat. It was only after I came to the West that I realised being poor meant having a TV, a home, a car and eating so much that one became obese.

On a more humorous note, here's the incomparable Jeremy Clarkson on Detroit (this was shot in the early 90s I believe).

I've travelled to a few developing country places in Asia, many parts of china, thailand, indonesia, nepal the only place where i have seen real poverty in cities is India. if Detroit is worst than the cities in india, then it's really bad.

That is poverty. I think if you offer someone a half eaten sandwich (fresh even) at the poorest places in the US, you'd most likely get beaten up.

In many parts of asia, a sandwich is not a meal, but a snack. i consider a hamburger a snack as well.

a meal looks like this:

[Digidiver]

Re: Detroit .. third world country?

I've travelled to a few places in Asia, many parts of china, japan, thailand, indonesia, nepal the only place where i have seen real poverty is India. if Detroit is worst than india, then it's really bad.

You must have a very interesting definition of what poverty is if you can't see it in Nepal.

[touchring]

Re: Detroit .. third world country?

You must have a very interesting definition of what poverty is if you can't see it in Nepal.

poverty is when many people have no jobs, no way of feeding themselves, no way of educating themselves, no social security, no access to healthcare, the streets are filled with these people, and they are viewed by the rest as social outcasts.

here's the definition in wikipedia:

Poverty is the shortage of common things such as food, clothing, shelter and safe drinking water, all of which determine our quality of life. It may also include the lack of access to opportunities such as education and employment which aid the escape from poverty and/or allow one to enjoy the respect of fellow citizens. According to Mollie Orshansky who developed the poverty measurements used by the U.S. government, "to be poor is to be deprived of those goods and services and pleasures which others around us take for granted."^[1] Ongoing debates over causes, effects and best ways to measure poverty, directly influence the design and implementation of poverty-reduction programs and are therefore relevant to the fields of public administration and international development.
Poverty may affect individuals or groups, and is not confined to the developing nations. Poverty in developed countries is manifest in a set of social problems including homelessness and the persistence of "ghetto" housing clusters.^[2]

[Digidiver]

Re: Detroit .. third world country?

Take a walk around Kathmandu and if you can't see lepers dying on the streets and other such views then I'm not sure what country you visited.

[touchring]

Re: Detroit .. third world country?

Take a walk around Kathmandu outside the tourist area and if you can't see lepers dying on the streets and other such views then I'm not sure what country you visited.

there are beggars in all cities if you find hard enough, i'm talking about widespread poverty in the urban context. the type that once you step out of the hotel, you can get mobbed by people in rags, and if you threw the half eaten sandwich onto the dirt ground, they will go for it.