For many of my friends who grew up in Ann Arbor with me, it's hard to explain why my Husband Carl and I moved to Detroit. Maybe these shoes will explain a little bit of the City Pride. It has been hard the past couple of weeks because I have found myself in numerous conversations defending the city and still reading more national news sites stating Detroit has the second highest violent crime rate in the country...next to Flint. It's hard to believe that 310 people were killed in Detroit in 2010 when I have never heard a gunshot or been a victim of a hold up. It just goes to show that privilege shelters you from many of life's most devastating realities. I am privileged enough to have had an education, live in a safe neighborhood in the city away from most of those violent crimes. I am privileged enough to have an alarm system on my house and my car...where many could not afford such luxuries. It is also amazing to read such articles and see how much racism still exists in the world because often times those polls are riddled with comments from "Anonymous" stating how it's obviously the fault of "the blacks" because all the cities on the top ten list have a large black population. Well shit. That makes me angry. Cities like Detroit and their problems are more due to that exact racism... I wish their was an easier way to talk about the City but it always seems I have to be an advocate and defend the place I call home. No one questions my friends who have moved to San Diego, or Chicago, or Amsterdam for that matter...but when I say I live in Detroit, most peoples response is "Really? Why?" Well, I didn't want to turn into a Detroit snob that scoffs at others' uninformed opinions about the city but *scoff* I guess I have. It must be an insider thing. You'd have to live here to understand:)
