Gearfuse Technology, Science, Culture & More
A while back it was recommended to Detroit, Michigan mayor Dave Bing that, in order to help repair the image of the city of Detroit, the mayor fund a project to erect a statue commemorating the Motor City’s most beloved icon. No, not Henry Ford nor Alice Cooper or the MC5 (good guesses, though).
RoboCop.
In a move that surprised just about nobody the mayor politely rejected the proposal. However, as is the case with these kinds of things, once the idea of a RoboCop statue in the heart of Detroit began to spread across the Internet there was no stopping it.
A website, Detroit Needs Robocop, was started with the intention of raising $50,000 to fund the creation of a RoboCop statue in the same manner that a statue of Rocky Balboa was erected in Philadelphia. They’ve met that goal and have since surpassed it, and they will keep accepting donations until March 29th.
The $50,000 goal was achieved due to the generous $25,000 donation of San Francisco businessman Pete Hottelet, who owns Omni Consumer Products. Omni Consumer Products is responsible for the beverages “Tru Blood” from the television series of the same name, and for “Brawndo” from the cult film Idiocracy.
And yes, the company name was lifted from RoboCop.
While many citizens of Detroit feel that a tribute to RoboCop would serve as a reminder that Detroit is seen as a cesspool of crime and filth, I (and many others) see it as a light-hearted, yet touching tribute. I, for one, fully support this.
Link
That would because you don’t live around the area.
Its not funny. It’s sad, it’s real, it’s peoples lives and it’s horrifying. Someone you love can walk down the street at any time and the chances of something truly awful happening to them there are greater then most areas. So much so that you have to change your actions because of it.
That money could pay for more police. Or start a small business that could hire a few people. It’s great that everyone thinks it’s funny, and that the big bucks spenders are just doing their thing living high working hard. But there is an absolute disconnect between what people imagine to be worthwhile an what is really happening for people on the ground. Do you think all these people live in detroit and surrounding areas because they just don’t care? Because they want to be around this kind of stuff? Do you think that people there are so poor because the area is destitute and without industry and anyone with 50,000 bucks can come in and make a joke out of the whole thing by putting up a robocop statue?
Many people are starving. Living on welfare. Addicted to drugs. Stabbing, raping, and murdering people that other people love because they are too strung out, forgotten, and left behind to even understand how to pull themselves up again.
Robocop is hilarious, it is actually an incredibly sardonic and dry commentary on us as a society. And the horrifying part is that by putting a film character statue project like this into the city, in a tragic ironic circle kind of way it is actually completing the vision in the film here in our own reality.
This isnt a joke, there is actually some logic behind this idea. Those of us who live in Detroit constantly have to hear crap about our city and people assume that we are ashamed or that we just want to pull ourselves together. Fact of the matter is, we are very proud of our city. Look at the Chrysler ad with Eminem, the roughness of Detroit was glorified because its what identifies us. Our city may not be pretty but its people are strong. That was the message behind Robocop. Sure, the money people fundraised could be used for other stuff, but then again by that same logic every bit of art, music, poetry, or self-expression can be considered a waste of resources that should be going towards improving the city .This money was raised by donors, not by taxes, and its for them to express themselves in the way they feel is most fitting. The statue is not ironic but true to the films meaning, its not about making a city reach other people’s definition of “good” but rather allowing the city to retain its identity. Part of me feels like you have never been to Detroit but rather you are just another person trying to tell us what we are doing wrong.
@Annoyed
I was born in Flint, Michigan and grew up in Detroit. While I certainly agree that city funds could be better spent, I’ve no problem with private donations going towards this. That, more than anything else, is why I’m behind the idea.