For those of you that have been reading for awhile, you know that I live in a suburb of Detroit. If you read much about Detroit, you know that the disgraced former mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, was just sentenced to 18 months – 5 years in jail for violating probation from his previous conviction of lying under oath.
Former "Hip-Hop" Mayor of Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick
Well, Tuesday, June 8th was Kilpatrick’s 40th birthday. Coincidentally, a ‘Prayer Rally’ was conducted at the Little Rock Missionary Baptist Church in Detroit, and was attended by 350 people. It is claimed by the organizers that this was not a ‘support Kwame’ rally, but a chance to pray for the city and the nation. It just so happens that many of the people there were wearing t-shirts bearing Kilpatrick’s image and signature, along with bible verses. In other words, it was a ‘support Kwame Kilpatrick prayer rally’, even if you don’t want to formally call it that.
My first question is, how does Kilpatrick even have 1 supporter in the city of Detroit? OK, he still has family around so I will accept that he can have a few supporters. Other than family, how does this man still have people that are willing to stand behind him and buy a t-shirt with his face on it? Keep in mind that in 2008, he pled guilty to obstruction of justice, so even Kilpatrick has admitted his own wrongdoings. (To a degree that is. He is still incredibly arrogant and even at his recent sentencing hearing , he said he has never lied to the court. That is ironic since he was charged with perjury…)
So during this prayer rally, Reverand Horace Sheffield proclaimed that “One of our most gifted black men in America has been done wrong,”. Well heaven help our county if Kilpatrick is one of our most gifted men in America. Unless of course, you are referring to being gifted in lying, cheating, hiding assets and more. Another prayer rally attendant was quoted as saying that Kwame got a raw deal and was probably set up by somebody. Now really, how educated of an opinion is that? How in the heck did he get a raw deal? He admitted to some of his guilt, and his texts were captured by an independent company. From what I understand, Kilpatrick never said those texts were falsified. So explain exactly how Kilpatrick was set up please instead of just making random comments.
I could go on for days about how Kilpatrick’s own arrogance was his downfall and how the city is much better off without him. In my opinion, instead of focusing on prayer rallies for criminals, these 350 people would do the city much better by putting together plans to rip down crack houses and clean up the streets. There is so much that needs to be done in the city, and until people stop making excuses and focus instead on actually fixing problems, the city will never move forward.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I didn’t even know about this guy…that shows about how much I keep up with national current events. Anyway, I have no idea how so many criminals have supporters other than family. Is there something in the water? Would they rather support him than admit they were duped? Who knows…
Oh but Kwame moved from Michigan to Texas before he had to come back here to go to jail. I would think your state would have flourished while he was there! Just google him if you ever need amusement.
I can’t believe how many criminals are in government… You’d think that people would support the best and brightest, and yet here we are!
The government is starting to become a joke… Soon it’ll be like the wild wild west again… Sad very sad!
Money Reasons – It is shocking in this world how many people still follow admitted criminals. Its like blind loyalty or something, but it needs to change for sure.
Kwame has always behaved like he was above the law, and I am so glad he will be rotting in jail for at least a little while.
I find Detroit to be a remarkable story. I did an article on my blog a while back called “A House for the Price of a Cup of Coffee”, and it was on very low cost housing in Detroit.
It’s something else, how that city went from around 2 milion people to less that 900,000 now. Actually, it will probably be less than that when the 2010 Census is all said and done.
I stayed in Detroit for a few months many years back, for work puposes, and found a city that was a shell of what looked to be a great self in the past. Heard so many people tell me about how things used to be.
Suburban Detroit has some very nice areas. I enjoyed the area around Somerset mall. Also, I had a good time at the old Tiger Stadium – that was a neat old place with tons of history. I vividly remember those games I went to there.
I hope for better days ahead for Detroit, somehow. I enjoyed my time there, and would like to think that the city needs a break!
Hi Squirreler! Thanks for your thoughtful commentary. You are very correct, the city definitely needs a break and it isn’t going to happen with corrupt people running the government. I hope and pray Dave Bing can turn it around.
By the way, I live 4 miles north of Somerset…
I have read that the city is trying to “consolidate”, by eliminating some blighted neighborhoods and ultimately reducing the city’s serviced “footprint”. Detroit, as I remember, is a vast, expansive city.
Should be interesting to see how things unfold there over time. It will be quite a long term project. I’m rooting for Detroit.
If Detroit’s decline has become emblematic of the dire state of our economy, I sincerely hope it can remake/reinvent itself, and in so doing lead the country to the other side.
{ 1 trackback }