PHOTO: Adrian C. Garcia
The crisis flowing through the streets of Flint has galvanized the soul of the country.
Michigan Welfare Rights Organization (MWRO) is very engaged as we look at and react to what has occurred, and we find ourselves in turmoil as to what is to be done. Members of MWRO search for the deeper meaning of events as we try to anticipate and predict political trends in an effort to expose the true nature of capitalism, the economic system we live under that is not good for any of us.
The rise of robotic manufacturing changed forever the profile of Flint. Industrial manufacturing accounted for upwards of 80,000 Flint residents working around the clock in 1978, and by 2000 – fewer than 8,000 were still connected to factory work during that year. Today, fewer than half of that number is still actively employed in the one auto factory that is left. The city was relegated to the “unimportant sector” because they were no longer part of the active workforce, so their quality of life fell fast.
In 2011, Flint residents along with several other cities in MI lost the right to vote, stripped of democracy because, “Flint lives don’t matter.” Democracy was destroyed while America stood by and watched, not understanding the significance of what that meant. The governor authorized a series of EMERGENCY MANAGERS over Flint, who decided it was cost-effective to switch from clean water, to river water.
We now face a systemic disaster that calls for a systemic solution. The political call must be adjusted to fit what is needed. We must continue to deliver water but also consider these steps: Demand that the residents be temporarily relocated into nearby communities where the water is clean and accessible. Mobile homes, state-county-city owned houses, vacant apartments, unused military housing—a decent system would have activated use of these and more, offering residents immediate relief and distance from danger. Clinics offering 24/7 access should be constructed near those sites so that round-the-clock health monitoring can take place since the damage done is permanent. While residents are away from their permanent homes, repairs and replacement of all involved pipes, which should have started within days of discovering what happened, start. All of these steps should have taken place along with a team of investigators whose task should be to indict those who caused this crisis.
MWRO hopes we might one day construct steps to unite us as we fight these devils who would destroy humanity, poison children, challenge our collective futures, and harm mother earth all in the name of profit.
Excerpts from a MWRO statement by Maureen D. Taylor
