Detroit gets dumped on yet again

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

In reference to the Vancouver hockey riot, Rainn Wilson tweeted, “Vancouver is now the Detroit of Canada”.

Very witty and very topical, Mr. Wilson. How long did it take you to come up with that line? And nice job referencing an event that occurred 27 years ago.

Here is an interesting fact: since the 1984 Detroit riot – which occurred after the Tigers won the World Series – several other major cities have equaled or surpassed the Detroit “celebration”. Boston, Los Angeles, Edmonton, Montreal, Oakland, and Denver have all had similar incidents of post-sporting event rioting, complete with cars tipped over and set ablaze, looting, injuries to bystanders and police, tear gas, bonfires, etc.

Oh yeah, there was also that other riot in Vancouver. In 1994. The last time the Canucks made it to the finals. This one resulted in 200 injuries, 50 smashed storefront windows, and more than a million dollars of damage.

Something else that did not garner headlines: In 2009, the Red Wings played the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup finals. It went to game seven. The Wings were handed a very tough 2-1 loss at home. There were no major incidents after the game. The Wings fans simply went home, then got up and went to work the next day.

I guess that would have made for a pretty boring tweet.
mmm

2

Ugh, gross. I guess he’s gotten some backlash on twitter for this?

Whew, good save. I forgot how much Rainn loves Ford Motor Co. Now we can get back to appreciating Rainn Wilson for who he really is: a talented comedian and actor.

3

well, I sure can sleep well tonight now that I know what Rainn Wilson thinks of my hometown.

seriously, who the fuck is Rainn Wilson and why should I care what he thinks?

4

Since you said ‘seriously’, I will answer: Wilson is an actor/comedian (he plays Dwight Schrute on “The Office”).

You misunderstand, jz78817. My post was not about his opinion, specifically; it was instead directed toward the ease with which Detroit is continually considered in a negative light. Facts are not verified, that would take effort. Skewed perception is apparently enough. It is lazy and opportunistic ‘comedy’ that perpetuates bullshit.
mmm

5

Column in the Detroit Free Press this morning that touches on this very topic. No mention of Rainn Wilson 'cause he hadn’t come up with that gem yet I s’pose.

6

I always thought Windsor was the Detroit of Canada, and Vancouver is the Seattle.

7

I think Detroit probably sticks in people’s minds for this sort of thing because of the Halloween riots every year, though.

8

I don’t believe he was referencing the 1984 WS riot - he was referencing the fact that Detroit is viewed by most people as one of the most violent cities in the country.

9

This is what I came in to say. There can only be one.

10

It wasn’t about losing game 6 and then game 7 at home to lose the cup? like detroit in 09?

edit, guess not

11

Of course Wilson is getting flack for his comments. Was he directly referring to 1984 riots in Detroit after the Tigers? I did not think so when I read the comment. I assumed what he meant was a reference to the general crime level in Detroit, of which there can be no argument. Detroit is crime ridden and unsafe. Anyplace in Canada would have a long way to match the City of Detroit’s crime level.

12

More misinformation. There never were any “Halloween riots”. There were, however, several years when “Devil’s Night” was viewed as an invitation to commit arson on abandoned homes and garages. In any case, that is old news as well. It has been several years since this has been a problem.

I don’t think so, Al. He was commenting on a specific situation (a riot) following a specific event (sporting event), as situation for which Detroit has long been the poster city. I suppose I could be wrong, but I took it as a direct reference to 1984.

ETA: Wilson later tweeted about tipping over his Prius and setting fire to it. That doesn’t sound like he’s talking about general crime to me.
mmm

13

Just a day in the life in Cleveland. (“Hey, has your river caught on fire lately? Hur, hur, hur.”)

14

Do you know where it’s never been a problem? Everywhere else. Hence, the stigma Detroit has earned.

False. You mentioned several other cities which have been known to do so, Los Angeles being the more famous. Detroit is *definitely *the poster city for “crime riddled” - it’s much more likely Wilson was ribbing Motor City for that association.

15

Umm, false. Camden, New Jersey. Saginaw, Michigan. Gary, Indiana.

Granted, none of these areas approach the severity of Detroit’s troubles at its peak; I am merely pointing out that your statement is incorrect.
mmm

16

Remind me one of these days to go over the concept of hyperbole with you.

17

Actually, I think Cleveland has come a long way in overcoming its negative perception.

Of course, falling out of first place in the AL Central isn’t helping. :smiley:
mmm

18

That’s the exact point though. It’s hyperbole to say that Detroit’s the only place where these things have ever occurred, but it gets joked about anyway. Why?

19

And it’s not even an accurate analogy - the Detroit Tigers won; the Vancouver Canucks lost.

20

Because joking about things is fun. Taking it too seriously isn’t. This wasn’t Tom Brokaw announcing that Vancouver is officially the Canadian Detroit - it was a professional funnyman doing so. Grain of salt.