When I asked the people in Detroit how they liked their city I would typically get these answers: “It’s a shithole”, “it’s a toilet”, “it’s the butt of the United States“. Partly, this answer may be the result of cynical humor. However, to my surprise, the answer matched a very bad odor that I could detect in the city streets. The answers also may be related to the typical situation with restrooms. Never before in my life had I seen so many “No public rest room” signs pinned to the doors of the hotels, bars and gas stations. Toilets, I concluded, are very precious here and the Detroiters defend them eagerly.
Another reason for the unpleasant way the Detroiters talk about their hometown may be the result of political disappointment. These people feel abandoned. Every other month, a car factory is shut down. Unemployment and crime force people to leave the city, with 500,000 leaving Detroit in the last 30 years. Today, 900,000 people remain.
Corruption also causes widespread disenchantment with politics. Major Kwame Kilpatrick, an overweight Afro-American democrat, has been the target of a variety of different accusations. The same night we arrived, he spent in jail, because he had ignored a warrant not to leave the USA. When this article was published, Kilpatrick was free again, but he had to pay a $50,000 bail and wear a shackle.
Exploring downtown Detroit, I stumbled into an exciting political debate in an excellent café named Urban Bean (if you make it to Detroit you should check it out!) “Politicians are snakes,” said Amelia Casilias, a barista student. “Our major is a rattle snake”. Her feelings were shared by the other guests in the café who leaned comfortably on the bar. This is what Joe, a slim 18-year-old bicycle mechanic, said: “Why would I vote? It does not change anything anyways. When George W. Bush was elected for the first time, more people actually voted for Al Gore. Bush won anyways.”
The bartender – who until this moment had been quietly smoking one cigarette after the other – was about to join the debate. However, a man quickly entered the café, marching straight towards the back of the Urban Bean. Just before the stranger could lock the bathroom door, the barkeeper got hold of him. “This is not a public restroom,” he said, and kicked the stranger out.
