Flint, MI: So much lead in children’s blood, state of emergency declared • Hacker News Board

Re: Flint, MI: So much lead in children’s blood, state of emergency declared

#111

Post by Lawtonfogle » Tue, Dec 15, 2015, 4:50 PM UTC

andrelaszlo wrote: post #77

rickdale wrote: post #39

I'm glad to see this on HN. Flint is often a forgot about place in the world. I grew up there and now live outside of Flint. My dad was murdered there. But I always think Flint is prime for opportunity. The people need basic essentials, water, food, shelter. But the infrastructure to build factories is there. Power, train lines, the whole deal. It's really a shame. The sad part is, the people are still hell bent on s…

I wanted to see what Flint looks like, so I dropped the little yellow streetview guy randomly. I ended up on Asylum Street (!). I'm at a loss for words: https://goo.gl/maps/UuPPKQK5MoF2 https://goo.gl/maps/KunFSxxRFWA2 https://goo.gl/maps/yg1NH6ZMkFJ2 https://goo.gl/maps/xVi2n8muHV32 https://goo.gl/maps/pAQEyZSAEw92 https://goo.gl/maps/ssGZRAdiQak (memorial garden?) https://goo.gl/maps/B2waNiVfeut https://goo.gl/maps…

>I'm at a loss for words:

Why are you are a loss for words? This doesn't look significantly different from the town I grew up in (well near). I feel like I'm missing something.

Re: Flint, MI: So much lead in children’s blood, state of emergency declared

#112

Post by mercer » Tue, Dec 15, 2015, 4:51 PM UTC

rickdale wrote: post #39

I'm glad to see this on HN. Flint is often a forgot about place in the world. I grew up there and now live outside of Flint. My dad was murdered there. But I always think Flint is prime for opportunity. The people need basic essentials, water, food, shelter. But the infrastructure to build factories is there. Power, train lines, the whole deal. It's really a shame. The sad part is, the people are still hell bent on s…

> Flint is often a forgot about place in the world.

At least this Dutch boys knows about Flint through Sufjan Steven's song "Flint (For The Unemployed And Underpaid)"[1]:

    It's the same outside  
    Driving to the riverside  
    I pretend to cry  
    Even if I cried alone

    I forgot the start  
    Use my hands to use my heart  
    Even if I died alone  
    Even if I died alone

    Since the first of June  
    Lost my job  
    And lost my room  
    I pretend to try  
    Even if I tried alone

    I forgot the part  
    Use my hands to use my heart  
    Even if I died alone  
    Even if I died alone  
    Even if I died alone  
    Even if I died alone  
    Even if I died

[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAJCUGD6FtM (I rather like this fan-made video)

Re: Flint, MI: So much lead in children’s blood, state of emergency declared

#113

Post by mhurron » Tue, Dec 15, 2015, 4:51 PM UTC

forrestthewoods wrote: post #91

jonknee wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's frequently referred to as an example of a wasteland, but not referred to as a place of possibility.

I swear there's something in the water in Flint. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_from_Flint,_Mic...

> I swear there's something in the water in Flint.

Lead apparently.

Re: Flint, MI: So much lead in children’s blood, state of emergency declared

#114

Post by _pbfr » Tue, Dec 15, 2015, 4:52 PM UTC

untothebreach wrote: post #90

artlogic wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't as surprising as you might think. Roger and Me isn't a documentary, it's an editorial. It's actually used in film classes as an example of creative editing to make a point. I'm not saying that Flint isn't bad, but Moore did pretty much everything he could to make it look as bad as possible. The feeling of most folks from Flint I've spoken to is that Moore made a disingenuous "documentary" about Flint not t…

I grew up in the Flint area, lived and worked there for a number of years. Roger & Me is pretty much spot on.

I grew up there too, and while I agree that he is tricky with editing, on the whole I would say its as bad (or worse now) as displayed in the film.

Re: Flint, MI: So much lead in children’s blood, state of emergency declared

#115

Post by TheGirondin » Tue, Dec 15, 2015, 4:52 PM UTC

twoquestions wrote: post #83

Why should the Michigan state government care about this? Flint is a bunch of liberals, and the State government is Republican. The Snyder administration will certainly pay a heavy price for "giving free handouts" to the Democrats in Flint, all to remedy a problem that many Republicans don't believe exists. EDIT: wording

What is more toxic: Flint's water or this comment?

Re: Flint, MI: So much lead in children’s blood, state of emergency declared

#116

Post by golergka » Tue, Dec 15, 2015, 4:57 PM UTC

The fact that this kind of isse will generate publicity after just a year, and that citizens will actually care enough to fight for their rights, and that mayor will feel fallout because of that — it makes me feel so jealous of US.

Americans that cry about how the system "doesn't work" really don't have a clue about how this would turn out in other countries.

Re: Flint, MI: So much lead in children’s blood, state of emergency declared

#117

Post by Ocerge » Tue, Dec 15, 2015, 4:59 PM UTC

hellofunk wrote: post #86

andrelaszlo wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wanted to see what Flint looks like, so I dropped the little yellow streetview guy randomly. I ended up on Asylum Street (!). I'm at a loss for words: https://goo.gl/maps/UuPPKQK5MoF2 https://goo.gl/maps/KunFSxxRFWA2 https://goo.gl/maps/yg1NH6ZMkFJ2 https://goo.gl/maps/xVi2n8muHV32 https://goo.gl/maps/pAQEyZSAEw92 https://goo.gl/maps/ssGZRAdiQak (memorial garden?) https://goo.gl/maps/B2waNiVfeut https://goo.gl/maps…

And not far from Flint, the city of Detroit now has the world's largest collection of urban ruins, even greater in size and quantity than Rome. Amazing, truly, what you see in that part of Michigan. I lived 2 hours away from there in Central Michigan from end of 2008 - 2010. One of the sadder experiences I had was, one day while out on my daily walk around the neighborhood, there were a mass of people standing around…

I spend a lot of time in Michigan as my company is based in Grand Rapids. It's almost like East and West Germany at times with how much better off Western Michigan is.

Re: Flint, MI: So much lead in children’s blood, state of emergency declared

#118

Post by cmiles74 » Tue, Dec 15, 2015, 5:03 PM UTC

rayiner wrote: post #71

cmiles74 wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think they are referring to the big businesses that are either consuming the water supply or polluting the water supply.

Do you even know if "big businesses" are even a major consumer of water in Flint? In a city (as opposed to an agricultural area), residential users are probably the primary water users. In any case, even if that were true, how is that relevant to the city charging too low a price for water to be able to replace aging lead pipes?

It comes down to what you think of as a "consumer" of the water. Clearly, someone was using the water to dispose of these contaminants. I admit, it's not as clear-cut as, say, the use of water by the Coca-Cola Company.

Regardless, my understanding is that Flint has no money, neither the individual constituents nor the city itself. Literally no one can pay to replace these old pipes. IMHO, the reason they switched water supplies in the first place was because they couldn't afford the rising rates from their previous water source.

Re: Flint, MI: So much lead in children’s blood, state of emergency declared

#119

Post by ryanSrich » Tue, Dec 15, 2015, 5:03 PM UTC

Lawtonfogle wrote: post #111

andrelaszlo wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wanted to see what Flint looks like, so I dropped the little yellow streetview guy randomly. I ended up on Asylum Street (!). I'm at a loss for words: https://goo.gl/maps/UuPPKQK5MoF2 https://goo.gl/maps/KunFSxxRFWA2 https://goo.gl/maps/yg1NH6ZMkFJ2 https://goo.gl/maps/xVi2n8muHV32 https://goo.gl/maps/pAQEyZSAEw92 https://goo.gl/maps/ssGZRAdiQak (memorial garden?) https://goo.gl/maps/B2waNiVfeut https://goo.gl/maps…

>I'm at a loss for words: Why are you are a loss for words? This doesn't look significantly different from the town I grew up in (well near). I feel like I'm missing something.

Yeah I agree. You'll see similar scenes in the rust belt. I grew up in Upstate NY and this could easily be images from parts of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, etc.

Re: Flint, MI: So much lead in children’s blood, state of emergency declared

#120

Post by vanderZwan » Tue, Dec 15, 2015, 5:04 PM UTC

Lawtonfogle wrote: post #111

andrelaszlo wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wanted to see what Flint looks like, so I dropped the little yellow streetview guy randomly. I ended up on Asylum Street (!). I'm at a loss for words: https://goo.gl/maps/UuPPKQK5MoF2 https://goo.gl/maps/KunFSxxRFWA2 https://goo.gl/maps/yg1NH6ZMkFJ2 https://goo.gl/maps/xVi2n8muHV32 https://goo.gl/maps/pAQEyZSAEw92 https://goo.gl/maps/ssGZRAdiQak (memorial garden?) https://goo.gl/maps/B2waNiVfeut https://goo.gl/maps…

>I'm at a loss for words: Why are you are a loss for words? This doesn't look significantly different from the town I grew up in (well near). I feel like I'm missing something.

You missed the

> As a Swede

... part