Trigger Unhappy
We received a number of comments on Michael Jackman's Sept. 17 blog post "Black open-carry advocate arrested in Detroit; rally Sunday" about the plight of Elijah Woody, a black man who was allegedly arrested for carrying an unconcealed weapon.
Reader Mike James wrote:
I'm not a gun owner or advocate, but do support individuals' rights to arm themselves. This country seems to be getting more racist, it's just out of control. Set this man free!
Reader Michael S. wrote:
No surprise to me. Unfortunately open carry, concealed carry, legal firearm ownership advocacy, and most of all, self-defense, is not supposed to be for black people. While the talk is good, "equal gun rights for all," this proves like so many examples to be untrue. Now where are all the George Zimmerman, Darren Wilson, Second Amendment advocates for this black person, Elijah Woody? Where's Andrew Branca? Frank Taaffe? Sean Hannity? Artistic Genius
ARTPRIZE
We received a few comments for Lee DeVito's Sept. 17 chat with Jerry Vile about the merits of Grand Rapid's ArtPrize event.
Facebook user Anastasia Gold commented:
This has to be the best story you guys have done this month. It's cynical and bratty, but actually gets a worthwhile point across.
Reader Irene Z. Will wrote:
Love the idea and magnitude of this. For once the process of deciding what is great art is made by the people. Very democratic ... very fun.
The Problem with "The Problem with Detroit Homecoming" We received many comments about Michael Jackman's blog post "The problem with Detroit Homecoming," which took aim at an initiative to get successful ex-Detroiters to invest in the city.
Reader Dave Rose wrote:
What a load of hipster bullshit. Detroit Homecoming is nothing more than an opportunity to pitch development (gentrification) opportunities to investors, I don't disagree there. However, you couldn't possibly have approached this subject from a more privileged and selfish angle. Detroit doesn't exist solely for the benefit of artists and struggling writers. There are hundreds of thousands of residents who do mind the failed public services because they depend on them to survive. People who don't live in "edgy" neighborhoods and "tolerate" the social ills here because they choose to, but because they're deeper in poverty than you can imagine and they don't have a fucking choice.
The "boobs" running Detroit shouldn't give a damn about keeping the city "interesting" to you and your friends. Not if poverty and dysfunction is what interests you. If you're going to oppose development and gentrification, go for it. Stand up and fight for the residents who are being displaced and have nowhere to go. But if you just want to preserve your dystopian hipster theme park, you can go fuck yourself.
Reader Ronald Taylor wrote:
I would like to move to Detroit. But here is how doing that would increase my expenses right away: City income tax. Detroit water bills. Higher car insurance. Higher home and renters insurance. Personal security expenses. I doubt I could afford it.
Reader Alex Hogan wrote:
To get people to move to Detroit, you need to promise more than cheap loft space. You need functioning infrastructure, including police who come when you call them, a transit system that you can actually use, improving schools, and a reduction in crime.
Janet's Secret
We received a handwritten letter from Janet herself for Alysa Offman's Sept. 3 profile of Janet's Closet:
Alysa Offman and the Detroit Metro Times team:
I would like to extend my personal thanks to you, as well as everyone else here at Janet's Closet, for the article that you published about our store. You covered every avenue of our business in a short and sweet column, explaining what Janet's Closet is. Your care alone to understand some of the less-known things about crossdressing (our gaffs, for example) really showed that you were truly interesting in portraying Janet's Closet as it was meant to be. We just wanted to say thank you for publishing such a kind and accurate article on our store. —Janet Law
