the birds, taken on belle isle dec. 5 2008
There was an article published in 2005 titled "Reality vs. Perceptions: An Analysis of Crime and Safety in Downtown Detroit" It was prepared by The Michigan Metropolitan Information Center, and WSU. You can download your own copy, just google the above information.
The first line of the article in capital letters reads CRIME IN DOWNTOWN DETROIT IS MUCH LOWER THEN NATIONAL STATE AND METRO AVERAGES. To be exact the crime rate in downtown detroit is 26% below the national average. By now it should even be safer, from 2001 to 2004 the crime rate had dropped 22%.
The study also took into consideration the fluxation in population during the auto show and various other special events, estimating Detroit welcomes over 19 million visitors per year, and during those times the crime rate is still under 12/100,000 people.
I write about this because this weekend i was confronted with alot of ignorant negativity about Detroit. People aren't educated enough and their lack of understanding perpetuates the misconceptions that plague this city. This article is the perfect example of the reality of life here vs. the way people perceive Detroit to be. At what point will people let go of aged stero-types and aknoledge the peope here making a difference.
if i can change one persons opinion of detroit i have made a difference. if that person changes anothers, and then anothers it grows outwarldy, then i will have made an impact. i am one person but i am not the only that feels this way. thats the start, and by holding onto to old misconceptions and sterotypes, you are part of the problem. hopefully some of my work writings and efforts will have taught you otherwise. we have a long way to go but hope is here. it is in every lit window, storefront, on every corner and in our hearts. the rest of the world will wake up to that. i, and many other people believe in the power of the people in this city.
My friend Kevin also took on the same topic, though a little more poetic then mine. please read his blog Detroit Lives! http://fuckwishing.blogspot.com/
Posts
6 comments:
Where is a counter debate article to quote?? why dont you look up the New York Times Article calling Detroit"a wasteland" .... gotta show both sides of the story ... this is so bias it makes me sick .....
jdilla, it is up to the reader to judge credibility of an article. if we are talking about bias... i do not believe the new york times is the best place to turn for unadulterated facts... but personally, i do not take anything at face value... everything is someone's perception and there is no way to discern certainty in any of it. so who do we turn to? ourselves... relentlessly searching for truth. please do not patronize vanessa for sharing her views and backing them up with something that correlates.
there is more than enough bias in the other direction... vanessa IS showing the "other side" of this debate... there is no need to reveal the counter debate when that view is the most widely accepted.
-k
ps. thanks for the mention, vanessa
keep it up V, i feel the same way and I got your back
thanks dudes. can't stop, won't stop.
are you familiar with ARISE Detroit? I feel like that's a group you'd be interested in/of benefit to. All about positivity and growth for the city.
Hi there, I don't know if we know each other, we both went to CCS i think... Anyway, I really resonate with this blog, after living downtown Detroit for 4 years. Everyone in my family and most of my "up north" friends thought i was NUTS to go to school in Detroit, let alone live there by myself. I just have to say that I love Detroit so much, and it is such a special place it seriously makes me emotional to think about it. (i live in Denver, moved here for work after school) I think about Detroit everyday, and i tell my boyfriend that I totally left my heart in Detroit. I agree one hundred percent with trying to change peoples minds about it, and I tell people all the time that it was never as scary as everyone perceived it. I miss it so much, so i was super glad to come across first your flickr (via the refrigerator blog...) and now this blog. I know most Detroiters are very passionate about Detroit, and i'm so glad to read all this great stuff. I think what you do is great, and i will keep spreading the good about Detroit, especially now when they need it most. I love you Detroit!! (thanks vanessa, you are awesome.)
Post a Comment