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Does Santa pop up from the turret in a bulletproof vest? (Photos: WXYZ video)
City sidewalks, busy sidewalks
Dressed in military style
Call us old-fashioned, but we prefer holiday parades without armored plating and a rooftop gun turret.
Roseville Police mean well with this festively festooned entry in a Saturday night Holiday Lights on Wheels procession through the Macomb city, though it seems an odds symbol of the Christmas spirt of peace on earth and good will.
The suburban force strung colored lights around its U.S. Marine Corps surplus mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicle (MRAP), obtained from the Pentagon for barricaded gunman situations and other SWAT responses. Starting around 5 p.m. tonight at Roseville High School, it and other police, fire and civilian vehicles roll through neighborhoods and past senior living centers to spread the holiday spirit.
In a three and a half-minute preview below, WXYZ reporter Jennifer Ann Wilson gushes about "this amazing way to celebrate."
"See how the community is rallying together," Jennifer Ann Wilson says on WXYZ.
Not everyone feels comfort and joy, however. These are among reactions under a Saturday morning tweet from her with a shot of Roseville's repurposed war vehicle:
► Some real dystopian shit here.
► Uh, read the room. People are struggling right now and wondering why our governments can't help us. No one wants to see this.
► That's really stupid-looking. Holiday good will and peace on earth with an urban assault vehicle. It's an affront to humanity.
► A military parade in Trump country? Pass.
► Nothing says Happy Holidays like a decorated murder vehicle.
► It's like that scene from "The Santa Clause" where Scott Calvin's bosses try to use Santa to market the tank toy. Very gross.
► Disgusting.
► This sucks.
► Why the fuck does the Roseville PD have that equipment?
Update: On Facebook and Twitter, Deadline Detroit readers react to this article
► "Nothing says 'birth of the Christ child' quite like a military surplus vehicle donning lights. ... The optics are pretty bad."
► "Somehow one doesn't get [a] warm, fuzzy feeling having armored cars roaming the streets."
► "So much for the whole 'Prince of Peace' thing, I guess."
