From the VOMITORIUM:
We now return to our regular schedule……..shake, rattle and RANT!~
I live on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and we have been a tourist destination for decades, especially now with all the casinos and such……and there other tourist destinations like Yellowstone, Statue of Liberty, ski areas of the West…….we like our sights and sounds……
But for the last several years there has been a slow decline of many our this country’s major cities…..sad indictment of this corrupt system, in my mind……but I read a story the other day that just made me want to puke…..and that is why I have put this in the VOMITORIUM…….
Detroit’s economy is famously not exactly booming, but the city does have one burgeoning industry: Tourism. Since the city declared bankruptcy, hotels tell the LA Times that they’ve seen more visitors coming intent on gawking at some of the city’s roughly 78,000 abandoned buildings. Restaurants in Corktown, which is strategically located near an abandoned train station, confirm that, and one tour guide the paper talked to said he’d recently upgraded to a 12-seat van. For $45, former aircraft mechanic Jesse Welter will lead visitors into derelict churches, once-luxurious high-rises, the deserted ballroom where the Who held their first US concert and more—often climbing fences or crawling on hands and knees along the way. It’s technically illegal, but police say they don’t mind. And visitors are impressed. “It’s really a once-in-a-lifetime thing you’re going to see,” said one British tourist. “You can really feel the history of a city. In Europe when things become derelict, they’ll demolish them.” Detroit hasn’t—in large part because it doesn’t have the money.
I can understand trying to find a way to make a buck….but this is a bit much for my tastes……and then there are those that gawk at the devastation of the inner city and marvel at the city’s woes……
There is another more educational side to all this horror story for those with the panache and the willingness to hear some truth about this . . . tragedy!
What the tourists in this story are actually doing is getting a first hand look what the future will look like for the rest of the country if they allow Right Wingers and extremists to get too much power in The United States.
What they are looking at is the results of the craziness that went on from 2000 to 2008 and the results of some of what happened in The Congress after the elections of 2010 when some of the crazies were let into the hen house.
You want to send all the good American Jobs overseas so that the obscenely rich can have bigger mansions and more refined imported cars then you can have all the inner city decay,devastation and looting by the appointed “Czars” . . . Emergency Managers that your heart desires.
You want to save what’s left of this country and somehow try to get it going again so that it prospers like it once did . . . throw the bums out in 2014 and 2016 and lock the door behind them.
Morning John…..To me it sounds like some want to see “how the other half lives”……hopefully, it will be educational but I fear it is just a tourist thing…..as long as money buys the issues we will not have a solution to this problem……the only way to solve this is to have elections to be publicly funded…take the cash out of the equation….maybe then we may return to sanity in government….but I will not hold my breath….chuq
I am afraid that as long as there is “Love Of Money” that can transcend “Love Of God” or “Love Of America” things will never change much for the better . . . maybe for the worse . . . but probably not for the better . . . unless, of course we are using the “Right Wing” definition of “Better” and if that is the case the entire argument I am making here will be reversed 180 degrees.
John. I fear that 2014 will give the country NO relief…..as an old radical I look forward to the mess they can make…..maybe then we can see real change….reforms do little to nothing….chuq
Shades of P.T. Barnum – “There’s a sucker born every minute”
A great observation…..and just a little sad…..
My tours with Motor City Photography Workshops bring people to the city, the reaction is, “I want to be a part of rebuilding the city”, “I want to live in Detroit”, “I love this city”, it goes on and on with nothing but positive comments. Fernando Palazuelo would never had bought the Packard Automotive Plant if it didn’t get the exposure from myself and all the other people who share images and excitement about it. It would just be another abandon building and land.. I don’t see any negative aspects of what I do. In town for the NAIAS? I have tours running this week
Welcome Jesse and thanx for stopping by…..sorry, but just how does this help Detroit…okay I get the plight and any exposure to assist the rebuilding is good….but what is this done for that purpose….since I do not live there I have limited access to info…..please enlighten me…..chuq