On the surface, this whole Belle Isle as a state park thing sounds like a good idea.
The Free Press editorial board opines thusly: "Take that fear out of the equation, and a Belle Isle lease is a win-win. The city retains ownership while losing a budget item it can ill afford. And Belle Isle would get an influx of cash."
Oh, that's just what they want you to think. Spike, the leader of the Gremlins, would also like you to put your fear of the Gremlins aside. Yeah, it's an old movie but people who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.
Take a look at the picture above. It's an image of Belle Isle distributed by Mayor Dave Bing's communications team. The rotting picnic shelter, unkempt brush, and pot hole belong to The People(TM). They are public treasures to be cherished, not to be given over to "the state" for so-called "improvement." Those falling over parking curbs and cracked pavement don't need your help, Governor Snyder. You can't improve that which is already perfect in the eyes of the masses!
Now, take a look at this "after" picture that accompanied the wonderful photo above of Belle Isle's present jewels.
Really? Is the state DNR so arrogant that it just assumes Detroiters want picnic shelters with fancy new roofs and repaved lots with freshly-painted parking space lines? Are we in Soviet Russia or Apartheid South Africa? How dare Lansing tell Detroiters how they should park their cars in their park! And where is that precious jewel pothole? Why would they pave over something that important with no consideration of the feelings of everyday Detroiters? It's time to rise up against this injustice. The people united, etc. etc. and so forth.
If all this seems absurd and unreasonable to you then, congratulations, you are a rational being. The question now is whether or not City Council will join the ranks of rational beings. -- JTW
