So this is my first post here~ Lemme try to make it a solid one~
I'm a traveler, wanderer and I have a close friend who once said, "You're Che if he grew up in America in the 60s." In the summer of 2004, my travels led me to two cities in Michigan: Greenville and Manistee~ While these are not particularly close to Detroit, Flint or any of the industrial capitals of the state (on the other side of the state, in fact), I quickly learned a few things about how one corporation changed not just one metropolitan area, but a whole state~
In Greenville, I spent much time chatting with a lady who ran the local Habitat for Humanity branch~ She said that she had many family members who worked for General Motors~ She said that Greenville had suffered horribly due to the move to Tijuana~ I was a bit taken aback and asked her how this move affected areas outside of Flint and Detroit~ She said that Michigan was essentially owned by General Motors and the whole state was completely dependent on them~
Anypony who has seen this film knows what GM's truckin' to Tijuana did to Flint~ Imagine this happening in every other city in Michigan also~ My mind was reeling after the talks I had with this lady~
Fast forward to a city between Manistee and Greenville; somewhere on a highway between the two~ I volunteered at a nursing home and went to a local McDonald's for lunch between my shift times~ There, I met a young lady (couldn't have been a day over 26-27 years old) and she was a custodian. She told me how she once worked for GM~ She told me that she had two kids~ She told me that she had been working at McDonald's since the exodus from Flint with three other part-time positions and still couldn't even afford a babysitter...~ She told me that just about every person I would meet in her current line of work (custodians, fast food employees, burger-flippers, cashiers, etcetera) were in the same boat as her...~
I came home from Michigan with an appreciation for a state full of hurting yet resilient people and an amazing amount of power to look at the impossible in the eye--after it kicks them to the ground--and get right back up to stand up to it~
This thread brings all these memories back~ To talk about shutting down parts of power grids due to lack of occupants...I dunno what to make of this, either~ It is my hope that whatever the powers that be do here, they will do it with the happiness and the benefit of the people of Detroit and Michigan kept in mind~ I would be most concerned if the powers that be were privately owned, but the article is vague, only stating that "Detroit Works" is the name of the org~ Orgs can get money from many places and since this is America, I wouldn't be surprised if they got some private money...~ This is a precarious situation, indeed...~
I see some ponies chatting about alternative energy~ I agree, it would be wonderful to use alternative energy; it really needs more research and much more implementation~ Sadly, in our current capitalist system this all costs massive amounts of money~ Michigan doesn't have much money anymore 'cos GM and they have to find some way to consolidate what they do have while keeping the balance with the people~
It would behoove us to watch and see where this goes~
