The water contamination in Flint, Michigan is horrifying; the death toll in Chicago is a national tragedy. Governing officials must be held accountable. Now.
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Did you know that the water in Flint, Michigan has only just been cleared for human bathing? (But only adult humans; still very dangerous for children).
And did you know that the “approved” water smells like bleach, sparks massive headaches, and sometimes causes chemical-like burns all over residents’ skin?
I bet you didn’t know that. Perhaps like me, you assumed a national crisis like lead poisoning in an American city’s pipelines wouldn’t take two years to get fixed. Two years and counting.
I bet you assumed no American government would allow years to pass while thousands of citizens went without clean drinking and bathing water.
That’s our government.
What the hell.
Did you know that 66 people died, and nearly 400 people were shot in the month of May alone… in Chicago? That’s right, the Chicago you’re familiar with.
Four hundred people. In the month of May alone.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel has done nothing. Governor Bruce Rauner has done nothing. Republican Senator Mark Kirk has done nothing. And Democratic Senator Dick Durbin has done nothing. I took the liberty of perusing the websites of Illinois senators Durbin and Kirk. They appear far more concerned with making sure airport security lines are not causing passenger delay than they are in protecting the lives of their own constituents.
Did you know that 66 people died, and nearly 400 people were shot in Chicago… in the month of May alone?That’s right. Chicago. The Chicago you’re familiar with.
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Could it be because the primary victims are black? Before you argue, consider:
On antebellum southern plantations, black lives did not matter. If a black person died, the only people who noticed or cared were fellow slaves who knew and cared for that person. But there would be no police investigation, and there would be no charges filed. No one was ever held accountable for a slave death.
Black lives did not matter to our government.
Chicago and Flint look terrifyingly similar. No one has been held accountable for the lead poisoning in Flint, Michigan. Not the governor, not the EPA. Everyone says what a shame, but it was someone else’s fault. And oh, by the way, we might not have the money to fix that any time soon. Deal.
No one has been held accountable for the lead poisoning in Flint. Not the governor, not the EPA. Everyone says what a shame, but it was someone else’s fault. And oh, by the way, we might not have money to fix that any time soon. Deal.
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In Chicago, Rahm Emanuel continues on, tenured in office, scathed but still in power. There has been no resignation. There has been no concerted effort to bring peace. There has been no respect or dignity given to the black residents of Chicago’s South Side. As far as power players are concerned, “those people” can just deal.
This is so outrageous, it almost defies belief. Where are the protestors?
If there were any place you would expect (nay, hope!) to find mass protests and public demands for government accountability, it would be in Michigan and Illinois.
Instead, we are endlessly bombarded with Donald Trump’s latest media stunt.
As important as Trump’s casual bigotry, ignorance, and sheer vulgarity, there are people dying. Literally dying. And this is not Baghdad.
This is Flint.
This is Chicago.
If we don’t care, then who are we? It doesn’t matter if you usually vote Republican or usually vote Democrat. Fellow Americans are suffering for lack of clean drinking water, for lack of reasonably safe streets to walk on. And no one ever takes responsibility, and no one is ever held accountable.
I am far and away beyond disgusted. Flint and Chicago scream: our country has not followed through on its ideals, and not even on its most basic duty to provide simple safe living conditions to its citizens.
If you are not similarly horrified, I’d ask you to seriously reconsider your priorities.
You can start with a call to the office of Rahm Emanuel, Bruce Rauner, Dick Durbin, or Mark Kirk, and ask them why they haven’t resigned.
Photo: Flickr/Ken Lund
Flint, Michigan was broke due to the corporations sending their factories overseas. All those emergency managers were hired by the Republican Governors to oversee Afro-American cities. Not one was hired to oversee a mostly white population city.
Chicago has been run by Democrats for years, as has the state of Illinois…. Republican Governor, yes but is Controlled by Democrats. And let’s not forget that Rom is Obama’s buddy. Of course places like this would never show the video clips of Chicago blacks screaming that Obama has done NOTHING for them. If the liberals would take a moment and open their eyes, they may just become as critical about their party as the Republicans have about theirs. When Obama introduced his plans for immigrants, the black communities were and continue to be enraged but you’re not going to… Read more »