Comments

2

@1 wr2, uh, I don't know how you got that from the article, but you know, you just described Republicans perfectly.

5

@3 and @4, why don't you Trump humpers move to Jacksonville or Oklahoma City or Indianapolis? You don't belong here. You can call me whatever derogatory term you want, call me a leftist hypocrite....idgaf. But please go somewhere else. Your critique of how things are run here is so without value that it's annoying to have to wast time scrolling past your stupid comments time and time again. Seattle is not a good fit for you, it's obvious that you hate it so please spare us your libertarian, survival of the fittest sociopathic worldviews and go join the rest of your tribe in one of those glorious conservative shitholes mentioned above.

6

What a stinking pile of third world Marxist drivel. 😂🤣

7

@1. Your scumbag opinion is worth less than dog shit.

9

@8. Fuck off forever Feebs.

10

speaking of Silencing your Oppostion:

Repubs hate Unions
because they bring Power to
the Masses. How ya gonna have a
Strong Daddy-type running the Show
if EVERYONE has a little Power? Solution:
Concentrate that Power in the hands of the Very Few.

and what do you get?
Dystopia

"Charles, it must be a burden always being right."
an affliction that, Luckily (for you), jackkkay,
you need never worry about contracting.

12

@1, @3, @4, and @8: Begone, lil MAGAs, before you draw flies.

13

" Talton at least knows such leaps "are a stretch," but he resorts to an old and almost never challenged story of Detroit's spectacular decline: it began with the riots of 1967."

BULLSHIT! Did you even read the article? Let me just quote one part:

"But the city’s troubles long predated 1967. They can be traced to misguided federal and local government policies, as well as business decisions by the Big Three automakers.

Racial discrimination, conflict, and “redlining” that kept Blacks from buying homes in white neighborhoods had a long history, dating to the Great Migration of Southern Blacks coming for jobs in Detroit factories. The effects were far more pervasive and long-standing than what happened in Seattle.

Starting in the 1950s, freeways were rammed through such Black neighborhoods as Paradise Valley and Black Bottom, destroying hundreds of Black-owned businesses and homes. "

Holy fuck, Charles. It is like you just wanted to write your contrarian piece, but didn't even bother to realize that a better writer had beaten you to it. Detroit is an unusual city. No other city has fallen for so long. (Notice how everyone uses "Detroit" to mean a city in decline, and not New York City or Philadelphia (which also declined, then recovered)). Simple explanations don't explain it, and Talton does a good job of hitting the highlights. I think this is a good short explanation: https://www.urbanophile.com/2012/02/21/the-reasons-behind-detroits-decline-by-pete-saunders/.

The decline of Detroit (and rise of its suburbs) creates environmental and economic hardship, not only for the area, but for the country as a whole. Not only do we have massive economic stratification for individuals (yes, I do think it matters that Bezos has more wealth than entire cities) but it also creates geographic stratification. Young people are given the choice of living in extremely expensive cities, soulless suburbs or inexpensive cities with little opportunity and a lot of hardship.

14

I welcome more musings along these lines - I am fascinated by the interaction of wealth, art and creativity. Hopefully this train of thought ends up where I am: art/creativity is a bottom-up thing not a top-down thing. I despise elitist views of art/craft. We don't need government directives here or "Arts programs" - creativity flourishes because it is human nature to create.

Very nice on-line bead shop at the African Bead Museum site. Great selection of bone beads.

15

An elegant screed that actually says very little, but was pleasant enough to read. Like most of the Stranger, actually. Maybe I'll send you enough for another pizza.

Seattle is becoming more like Chicago than Detroit, but at least it isn't headed to Baltimore.

16

@13 Ross, good comment, thanks for pointing that out. Being unfamiliar with Talton, I had googled him after reading CM's article, and his twitter feed seems to politically reflect your typical left-leaning liberal.

The article title is clickbait, and I don't really see the connection to the article itself, which makes the whole endeavor seem without much of a point. I assume CM is obligated to produce a certain number of words each week, and this one was filling a quota.

Rantz is the same kind of troll that inhabits these comment sections, and it's kind of lazy to use him as a foil. Since CM is likely aware of that, he tried to shoehorn in a more respected journalist so it wasn't solely based on what an idiot Rantz is.

And while I would agree with CM that the Seattle Times is slightly center-right, that doesn't mean every writer and article/opinion piece is.

18

@16 -- I would say the Seattle Times editorial staff wavers between center-right and reactionary/you-gotta-be-fucking-kidding-me. In general they are fiscally conservative, but socially liberal. It is just that quite often they go off the rails. If you ever watched O'Reilly back in the day, you would be familiar with the idea. Half way through the show you're thinking "this guy is fairly reasonable, even though he is a bit conservative for my taste" and then all of a sudden "What the Fuck?! Seriously dude?". The Seattle Time editorial staff is like that.

I wouldn't say the columnists are. I think Talton is very good -- not that different than say, Krugman, except with a local focus. He doesn't understand transit, but you can say the same about every writer for The Stranger (even though a lot of them understand a lot of other issues). He understands economic and governmental issues, and the interplay between them, which is very helpful.

19

@18 Ross, very well put.

20

Dr Nelson Salim helped me with my Election Erectile Dysfunction which I suffered every two years. I would have most of the votes, but the GOP always won their candidates.
Dr Nelson's herbs and medicines helped me get Better Elections, and cleaner candidates.

21

@13: Freeways were built like mad in the 50's and 60's. So when you said:

"Starting in the 1950s, freeways were rammed through such Black neighborhoods as Paradise Valley and Black Bottom, destroying hundreds of Black-owned businesses and homes."

I needed clarity on that. Here's another take on it, from the Detroit Historical Society. Now I know you'll say, to add credence to your narrative, that they chose black neighborhoods for the freeway instead of other routes -- be my guest. But at least take note of this:

Urban renewal programs and the construction of freeways in the 1960’s abruptly halted life in Paradise Valley and the Black Bottom neighborhood. Automobile manufacturers outgrew city factories and relocated to new sites in suburban areas such as Livonia, Wayne and Dearborn. Expressways were needed to make it easier for workers to commute from Detroit to the suburban plants. Consequently, the Chrysler Freeway was built and paved over much of Paradise Valley.

https://detroithistorical.org/learn/encyclopedia-of-detroit/paradise-valley

22

Dr Mudede helped me with my Election Redlining Problem, and admitted that Seattle is quickly turning into the city I predicted back in 1999 in The Stranger, a city of 40-100 story tall buildings that would eventually displace the black community, but not the brown community that would intermarry into the white community, leaving us with a White Hispanic city with a minor Asian vibe.

Now vote.

23

@22 San Diego, then.

24

@23 no. More like Tri Cities with an urban face.

25

@12, yet more tribalist cheerleading(still waiting on your opinion about a post). Another reason to hate Trump, is that it is impossible to have any nuanced discussion without someone coming along, from the left, and calling you a Trump supporter(or "a maga" as grizzled boomer calls everyone) for not being in lock step agreement.

26

@25. Like Ben Sasse!

27

@13 "Holy fuck, Charles. It is like you just wanted to write your contrarian piece, but didn't even bother to realize that a better writer had beaten you to it."

This quote could be applied to nearly everything Charles has posted on Slog.

28

@27. The projection is strong with this one.


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