On the one hand, people from my hometown ask if I live near a lot of 'blacks.' I do. In fact, I work mostly with people of a darker skin complexion. In fact I'm the only one on our recruitment team that has straight heritage from Europe, and I find that pretty cool.
If people hear I'm from Dearborn they ask how Sharia Law is and if I can hear the prayer bells each morning. I respond by letting them know that Dearborn's mayor is Irish and yes, I do live next to the Islamic Center of America, but a large majority of Arab-Americans practice a form of Christianity.
Their sickening grin often fades quickly.
I bring this up today to talk about Detroit's image. Mainly, I don't think its fair to say that Detroit's image problems are completely due to the people who live here. While there needs to be some self-love and some true work on the problems, I also think we get a bit of a bad rap. Like playing Detroit in Apples to Apples when 'Worthless' is the green card. That sucks.
I won't say that Detroit isn't all sunshine and roses. This is a true story that is downright terrifying. And yes, I found this house on Google maps and no, the image isn't photoshopped.
Its that sort of thing that really puts a damper on any kind of good news coming from the city. Like this. Okay, maybe the news is more bizarre than good, but still... wouldn't that be freaking awesome?
However, I still see Detroit get a lot of bad rap that isn't always due. Mostly, I see it as preconceived notions that are solidified through the experience you get on the internet. Let's try an experiment.
Open a new browser. Go ahead, make a new tab, a new window, a new page on your mobile device, whatever... just get a web browser up. Got it? Okay. Now, Google image the following: New York City, Chicago, LA, Baltimore, Detroit. It has to be the images.
Spend some time on each city. Look at the first several pages of pictures. None have to be too detailed of a search, but notice what you see. Look at the related searches for each city- this will come up later.
You should have noticed that when you Google any of the first four cities listed, you get some beautiful pictures of the skyline during the day, at night, some famous sites, and beautiful cityscapes. You'll also notice that Google gives some other options on what to search for like: (city) at night, (city) skyline, (city) professional sports team.
Pretty right? What happens when you Google image Detroit? You see a few skyline shots, but you also get several crumbling buildings, vacant lots, a photo of the 1967 riot, and a shot that is actually Manilla in the Philippines that has been tagged as Detroit. And, oh yes, related searches include: Detroit skyline, Detroit lions, and DETROIT SLUMS and DETROIT GHETTO.
Awesome. Thanks for taking the time to optimize people's searches Google.
Well David, you say, Chicago and New York are a little bit different than Detroit. I think you should calm down.
Okay fine. Google Cleveland. Do you see 'Cleveland slums?' How about any crumbling buildings? Try out Newark. Anything yet?
Oh, I've got it. At the expense of my personal freedoms and liberties surfing the internet, let's Google Baghdad, Kabul, any city in Syria, and see how badly the war has ravaged these towns. Ah, I see. There's a freaking WAR going on in these places, but we don't have any pictures of crumbling buildings to be shown. And good luck finding related searches with slum or ghetto.
I don't deny that Detroit has problems. I don't deny that the photos shown aren't real. I do deny that Detroit gets treated just as fair as every other city and I do deny that it is only due to the people's attitudes that we get treated this way.
If the people from my hometown believed that Detroit was crumbling in all corners, filled with slums and dilapidated lots, Google would certainly confirm their thoughts. And no matter what I tell them, until they actually come to see the city, these preconceived notions will stick with people forever.
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