HELP. We're crumbling here at home.

Detroit, MI
Sept. 11, 2008





I got robbed this weekend. I wasn't hurt, but as you can imagine I felt incredibly violated. Some of my belongings were stolen because they happened to be at the bottom of a bag full of groceries that was in my car. Bottom line: Someone robbed me because they saw lettuce sticking out of a plastic bag in my car. They broke the window because they wanted groceries.



And while my first emotion was anger, it quickly turned into sadness as I looked up and down the street and saw the desperocity it takes to smash a car window in broad daylight reflected in the crumbling infrastructure. I was on Gratiot and McDougall surrounded by abandoned factories with broken glass and charred houses. It was pouring rain, and I was soaking in the apocalyptic scene that has overwhelmed large parts of Detroit.



So when I turn on the news I don't want to hear my future presidents bickering over who said what or who hung out with who or cheated on their spouse. I want to know what they're going to do about the direction of this county I am a citizen of. For instance, one of the largest cities in the nation crumbling into the ground in the wake the shrinking U.S. auto industry. It's almost taboo to show images from Detroit or bring it up Especially for Sen. John McCain who has yet to visit Detroit on his campaign route. What is he scared of? If he really want to put country first, then why isn't he doing just that?

By the same token, if Sen. Barack Obama really wants to "change" the game in Washington, he was to prove it in his campaign. So I was glad last week when he said this:

"These are serious times and they call for a serious debate about where we need to take the nation. We can't take another four years that are like the last eight. Where we keep on spending 10 billion in Iraq at a time when our own infrastructure here at home in crumbling and the Iraqis has a $79 billion surplus they're not spending. Spare me the phony outrage. Spare me the phony talk about change."

After living in an impoverished neighborhood in Detroit for a year now, I have come to this conclusion: When every other house, block after block, is either burnt to charcoal, abandoned, or has all the siding and shingles stripped off, there's a grave problem. When crime becomes part of the culture of a city, there's a grave problem.

Now I am confident that the violation I experienced this weekend is just a symptom of a larger problem that is so painful to address that many, including me, try to ignore it. But when you are directly affected by the raw, harsh reality of poverty, and you're looking at the broken glass of hunger and abandonment, it's a little harder to turn your head.

The situation is so bad in some of these neglected neighborhoods it seems almost surreal that a 15 minute drive north will take me to one of the most wealthy suburbs in the United States. I wish I was exaggerating.

The irony is that the images embedded in this story are the last ones I uploaded from my camera before it was stolen. When I get a new camera, I will make sure that we don't forget our neighbors struggling in Detroit. They're not pretty to look at, but they're there. I hope that politicians in Lansing and in Washington that are supposed to be representing us see these scenes and it's a little harder to turn to ignore.



This weekend, I internalized the fact that crime, unfortunately, is part of Detroit culture. Everyone I know who has lived in Detroit has been robbed at some point. Some of them have had their houses broken into, some have been held at gunpoint, some have had their cars stolen ... for some of them, all of the above.

So it becomes part of the daily discourse: did you hear so-and-so got mugged/robbed? It's so common that when you call the police to report these crimes, you're lucky if they pick up the phone. That's because there's so many other things going on that are more severe that they hardly have time to catch a thief.






When I called the Detroit police Station on Gratiot on Saturday after the robbery and no one answered the phone. I had to call a couple times before someone answered.

Looking at these images should be reminder that of what a grave situation it is here in Detroit. I'm sure in other cities feel it as well. But in Detroit it's not just one section of the city. It's all over, except for a few pockets of wealth like Sherwood Forest, Indian Village and Downtown. While the country obsesses over "lipstick" comments and who said what, a major U.S. city is crumbling into the earth, abandoned in the wake of a crashing auto industry. I see these images driving to and from home every day. Most people in lofty positions that might allow them to make a difference don't live here.

Last week a house burnt down on my block, adding to the many charred houses that speckle my neighborhood. I'm staying in Detroit because I love my neighbors, and my little community. I want to help. I will over time, get another camera and continue to use it to rub these images in the face of a government that doesn't seem as outraged at what is happening to their own country as I am.



From: "The mountains of Sedona where he lives and the corridors of power where he works."

Sen. Barck Obama said in his acceptance speech at the DNC:

"It's not because John McCain doesn't care. It's because John McCain doesn't get it. [Republicans] give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. In Washington, they call this the Ownership Society, but what it really means is - you're on your own. Out of work? Tough luck. No health care? The market will fix it. Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps - even if you don't have boots. You're on your own."

I never see any McCain signs around Detroit. I wonder why. I would like McCain to visit Detroit and look residents in the eyes and tell them why they should vote for him. Obama has. It would be fair. McCain has yet to visit Detroit on a campaign stump.