First I would like to say I like Robert Snell's work. He is going after corruption in addition to many law enforcement members and concerned citizens and others (Freedom of Speech). It took a lot of people to stand up to a huge network of corruption that has persisted for a long time. We have become so accustomed to bad behaviors and "how things are done" that it becomes a way of life for many. In this case, it began to impact the entire city and surrounding area (i.e. one of the reasons it went bankrupt.) Some of this was likely mob run and others of it collaborating self oriented pockets of groups. Each had wealth and prestige on their mind.
I wonder what is the super high attraction to money? Sure....more money is great. However, what are going to do with all that money if you aren't going to try and do good things with it? Sure....have fun if your rich....but what are you going to do with it all? What is your personal legacy? Is security enough and/or do they want more?
We often support the wrong type of people, focus on short term gains, and sell out people for this paper (I guess now electronic paper.). I'm happy the place is getting cleaned up and I'm happy that Detroit is finding in many ways its own footing. Greater engagement with the people of the area and reducing the culture of corruption and fear of silence is helpful. It takes honesty and transparency by officials to overcome challenges of this magnitude.
I really wonder how many small justifications lead to many large scale justifications. This is social learning where small bad behaviors become acceptable because of lack of accountability and that leads to many other people engaged in such behaviors (I have seen this happen on many different levels. Some argue its because its "Detroit" and I argue its because we have come to accept these behaviors as "normal". I have seen people do terrible group things that are the exact opposite of Detroit. Its a human and a societal problem. It persists because we aren't willing to step up. Those who see themselves as entitled shouldn't be given a free pass in their behaviors. It causes bigger problems.)
I support those who try and do the right thing and especially those who run against the grain of indifference because they are the ones walking the talk. You can't make people see things because they haven't built the cognitive connections that allow them to see what they are not aware of. If we can't stand up for some very basic values we slowly erode the fabric of what holds us together. One of the reasons why we have divisions in society because some don't believe in shared futures.
Side note: This situation highlights why we shouldn't give a free pass or look in the other direction when people are "connected", have the right name, race, party, religion, or group. Its inherently lopsided and a defunct ideology. It leads to cultures of corruption in our cities and in our hometowns. We either believe in certain universal values or we don't. We can't fake it or otherwise we see situations like this where decades of bad behaviors persist in front of our face and no one says anything or sees anything. I would suspect there are 100s of people who had knowledge of these behaviors who didn't say anything and in turn were not followed up on. Some did and they were people with backbone and they believe in something bigger. In the situation I'm familiar people did bad things, smirked about those bad things and used their social connections in an effort to cleanse their community. Much of that community has come to recognize those behaviors as inappropriate and sadistic in nature. However, without a level of accountability we will see this situation rise again. Call out bad behaviors and you will find yourself increasingly exposed to other harms. We shouldn't be so fooled just because people don't first admit they did wrong. And we shouldn't assume that people with Muslim, Jewish, Euro, Hispanic, Asian, etc... names are always wrong (Meaning depending on the society the "other" can be defined in different ways; not race or religion specific.). Meaning anchoring our sense of justice and fair treatment to superficial differences and not value of character. Lack of accountability means our value system as a people and as a nation has declined and we are derailed in our national legacy. Wisdom and accountability means that we understand that some values apply to everyone. The proof is always in the pudding. We should begin to ask what does justice take and when is it appropriate to act on certain values? As of yet.....the moral jury is still out and in many ways the behaviors continue (as of a few months ago and in more heighted fashion. ). What does it take as a society to learn we must stand behind our core/universal principles and not behind corruption, social networks, or race/religion based distortions. Time will always tell....but it drags on.....values are a tough sell sometimes. Would of, could have, should have usual comes into play after the damage us done.
As of yet I just can't say what it is in us (that spark) that thinks certain behaviors are ok as long as you belong to the right group. I have no real explanation other than its deeply rooted in some people's beliefs and its nearly impossible to change without changing the environment because their social networks become self confirming. Our institutions are unsure of what to do so we should expect them to stick close to truth and moral conscious; of course some in those institutions won’t. Like in this situation where most officers are great people we find some engaged in corruption; the shadow market of society (Some can see that underbelly better than others). Its important to make sure our values apply in these situations and without doing that......our future could look much like Detroit's past (hopefully the area is now moving in a better direction....and in many ways it made a comeback.). Maybe we can do the same? 🤷 Time will tell...but its been enough time already for certain values and deeper insight to kick in. Let’s reach for something higher….the question is who else is going to reach? Echo echo I'm thankful there is at least a small minority of people who believe in something greater than themselves. To be honest I’m not so sure all the time which way our society and future will land. Too many people putting their fingers into a lukewarm pot to determine what values they should have for that day and time.
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