too broke to bury their dead

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by PM_Mama00

I agree. Kevin's comment is disgusting. I hope he and his family NEVER have to go through what we are going through. Whether you are still wealthy or have lost a great deal of money because of this, we're all in this together.....I's people like you guys who make people like me feel worthless. Like it's our fault that Detroit is crashing down around us and there's nothing we can do about it. My heart aches for those people who can't afford to bury their loved one. We buried my uncle in January and I watched my parents, aunts and uncles struggle to find money to do it. It is SO expensive but it's something that must be done.

Originally Posted by AGDee

Yes, it's the word "deserve" that I find offensive. However, I have to remind myself of the source. This is the same guy who has posted on this board that the homeless should just be allowed to die because they didn't do more to help themselves. I have a compassion for humanity in general and don't think that anybody "deserves" something that they weren't directly responsible for. .......We are dependent on the waitresses, nurses aids, child care workers, etc. Where would any of us be without them?

A couple of things on this:

1) PM_Mama - I never said it was just unions. What I was saying is that it's a deeply personal situation for people in Detroit, because of the overwhelming presence of the automotive industry there.

2) To reiterate Belle's point, saying that the government and business leaders of Detroit failed does not equal saying that the people of Detroit deserved this. I feel terrible for the people who are out of work, and for the citizens of Detroit (and around the country) who have become victims of bad political and business decisions.

Finally (to both of you and deepimpact2), on a personal note, I'd caution any of you about making assumptions about the people posting. Not all of us grew up with silver spoons, or even with middle-class backgrounds. I grew up in a household where money was a HUGE problem, where tough choices had to be made every day, where I did not have health insurance as a child, and where I had to work two jobs through high school and during college to help ensure that I could pay for a college education, living expenses, etc. (and so that I could help contribute to the household living expenses to supplement what my parents could scrap together). I know what it's like to live in a household where each day is a struggle.

I am very sorry that you and the other residents of Michigan are going through all of this. But, let's not play the assumptions game here.

[deepimpact2]

Originally Posted by KSigkid

A couple of things on this:



Finally (to both of you and deepimpact2), on a personal note, I'd caution any of you about making assumptions about the people posting. Not all of us grew up with silver spoons, or even with middle-class backgrounds. I grew up in a household where money was a HUGE problem, where tough choices had to be made every day, where I did not have health insurance as a child, and where I had to work two jobs through high school and during college to help ensure that I could pay for a college education, living expenses, etc. (and so that I could help contribute to the household living expenses to supplement what my parents could scrap together). I know what it's like to live in a household where each day is a struggle.

No assumptions need to be made. The posts speak for themselves. I didn't make any assumptions about your life and whether you had a silver spoon. I was commenting on how disgusting the content of the posts was in reference to the topic.

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by deepimpact2

No assumptions need to be made. The posts speak for themselves. I didn't make any assumptions about your life and whether you had a silver spoon. I was commenting on how disgusting the content of the posts was in reference to the topic.

Let's put aside Kevin's post for a minute.

What's happening in Detroit is awful, and there has to be a lot of hurt being felt by families in the area. To a lesser extent, there's a lot of that going on around the country - people seeing their neighbors and family members losing their homes, losing their jobs, things of that nature. There are a lot of people who have had rough lives over the past couple of years, and who will continue to have rough lives for some time.

Now, the way I read RC's post (and he can correct me if I'm wrong) is the following: we have seen the mistakes of the past; now, how can we make sure this doesn't happen again in the future? What can we do to make sure that companies, unions and government don't injure another area the way they've injured the Detroit area?

Personally, I have concern for the people of Detroit (and Michigan)...surprisingly, there are quite a few Michigan residents at my law school, and you can tell that the events of the past couple of years have broken their hearts. However, I also hope that this level of economic spiral doesn't happen to another community. There will be economic cycles where people will lose their jobs, where business will have a downturn..that's guaranteed to happen at some point in the future. I just hope that people are paying attention to some of the mistakes made by the various entities, and that those mistakes don't happen again.

I don't know what's heartless or cold about that line of thinking. I think it just expresses a hope that everyone learns from their mistakes.

ETA: My first comment in the thread still stands, in that I think this is an impossible topic to discuss in a forum like this. That's not a shot at anyone - it's such a personal issue for people in Michigan that, I think, anyone can understand the emotion behind their views.