 
Monahan568
Member
Username: Monahan568
Post Number: 182
Registered: 04-2004
| | Posted on Friday, August 31, 2007 - 6:29 pm: |    |
I am a white male and when i was at city hall the other day getting a building permit and i kinda felt this under lying feeling that many of the black workers did not want to help me or didn;t even want me there has any one else felt this way before in detroit? |
Supergay
Member
Username: Supergay
Post Number: 77
Registered: 05-2006
| | Posted on Friday, August 31, 2007 - 6:33 pm: | |
I feel that way almost everywhere I go in Michigan. |
Eric
Member
Username: Eric
Post Number: 919
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Friday, August 31, 2007 - 7:07 pm: | |
Trust me some city workers can be just as disinterested and unhelpful if you're black.
(Message edited by eric on August 31, 2007) |
Mackcreative
Member
Username: Mackcreative
Post Number: 98
Registered: 08-2006
| | Posted on Friday, August 31, 2007 - 7:13 pm: | |
Try getting permits as a woman, they called people out of the back to see me, then were very surprised that I had any knowledge of my project or construction at all. Gotta agree with Eric though, regardless of race or gender city workers can be hard to deal with, especially by phone. |
Iheartthed
Member
Username: Iheartthed
Post Number: 1521
Registered: 04-2006
| | Posted on Friday, August 31, 2007 - 7:42 pm: | |
I think everyone pretty much feels unwanted down there. |
Johnlodge
Member
Username: Johnlodge
Post Number: 2202
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Friday, August 31, 2007 - 7:45 pm: | |
I feel unwanted pretty much any time I have to deal with any government employee anywhere. I may as well be the Black Death walking into a secretary of state. |
Genesyxx
Member
Username: Genesyxx
Post Number: 788
Registered: 02-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, September 01, 2007 - 8:04 am: | |
Man, I'm glad I don't work at the desk right now. LOL |
Buddyinrichmond
Member
Username: Buddyinrichmond
Post Number: 212
Registered: 02-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, September 01, 2007 - 8:34 am: | |
Have you ever engaged a Building Department anywhere else? They don't have patience for amateurs. If you are pulling a homeowners permit, true or not, you automatically get the amateur label. Get used to it and stop crying because of your pale skin. People are more likely to get treated poorly at city hall because they are either dumb or cocky. |
Granmontrules
Member
Username: Granmontrules
Post Number: 151
Registered: 01-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, September 01, 2007 - 8:48 am: | |
This is the most stupid chat line I have ever seen. My wife works in CAYMC - yes there are some poor workers. But the majority of people are very nice, professional, and helpful REGARDLESS of the color of your skin. Stupid - race baiting thread. |
Oakmangirl
Member
Username: Oakmangirl
Post Number: 232
Registered: 08-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, September 01, 2007 - 9:11 am: | |
"This is the most stupid chat line I have ever seen."
Not technically a chat line; I think those are around .99 a minute? ;)
I agree GR; there are both helpful and indifferent public service reps everywhere you go. Maybe, DY Forum should charge per thread you start; it wouldn't be so gunked up by stories of girls afraid of the city. (I'm guilty, btw, of gunking too)
BiR, most city halls really have very little guidance in the form of signage, instruction boards, or brochures to make us un-stupid, so I can see how city front-liners tire of answering the same things, but the blame lies with the city management, not the resident. |
Buddyinrichmond
Member
Username: Buddyinrichmond
Post Number: 213
Registered: 02-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, September 01, 2007 - 9:34 am: | |
Right. It all comes down to signage.....JFO |
Pete
Member
Username: Pete
Post Number: 91
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, September 01, 2007 - 9:39 am: | |
I am a white male and have worked in Detroit for nine years and lived in Detroit for six and a half years.
I have NEVER felt that I received negative treatment or have been perceived in any kind of negative way because of the color of my skin, by city workers or otherwise. And lately, I feel like you get special treatment and everyone is super friendly if you are trying to conduct business at CAYMC while carrying your baby girl or pushing a stroller.
On the other hand, I feel I have been given preferential treatment because of the color of my skin, mostly by the Detroit Police the few times I've been pulled over.
Also, I am one of three white families on my block (the rest of the block being African American families) and I feel closer to my neighbors here than I ever did growing up in the suburbs. |
Kaptansolo
Member
Username: Kaptansolo
Post Number: 176
Registered: 07-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, September 01, 2007 - 9:43 am: | |
Monahan058
In 1987 a friend of mine from Milford and I rode down to the city to look at an 1969 Mercury Cougar for sale.
The lady who was selling the vehicle lived on Hillsboro between Northfield and Dailey Ct.. This buddy of mine would not shut up about he felt like such a "minority" being in the city. Everywhere he looked everyone was black and he was pretty messed up to say the least.
I don't know if this is the feeling you had or is it just the common assholes that work in many big city agencies across the country?
I have to say that whenever white americans stray away from the common sections that were designed to attract them of any major city, it is an experience to say the least.
lol Oakmangirl |
Granmontrules
Member
Username: Granmontrules
Post Number: 152
Registered: 01-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, September 01, 2007 - 10:05 am: | |
I think those of us on here who are actual Detroiters (not commentators who drive thru looking for a bar or car) live in predominantly african american neighborhoods and don't feel at all slighted in anyway here, here to Pete - I feel the exact same way you do. |
Pete
Member
Username: Pete
Post Number: 92
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, September 01, 2007 - 10:25 am: | |
Right on, Granmontrules. And I agree with Kaptansolo, too. Earlier this year a small group of my white friends decided to go to They Say! on Jos. Campau near the Atwater Block Brewery. They complained to me vehemently about how they were reverse discriminated against because they were the only white people in there and they were seated in a corner, not served drinks in a timely manner, and dinner took an hour. I'm sure those things actually happened, but it was all perception as to why. They first thing they notice is that everyone else is black, not whether or not everyone else is receiving the same treatment. At an establishment where the clientele was mixed or majority white, I'm sure the issue would be poor service, not reverse discrimination. |
Rjk
Member
Username: Rjk
Post Number: 827
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, September 01, 2007 - 10:29 am: | |
If a black person made these claims about dealing with MaComb county I doubt it would be dismissed as easily as Monahan568 assertion is on this thread. If it happened in Oakland County this thread would have a 100 posts already.
Monahan568 could be overreacting to bad treatment that everyone gets to some extent regardless of color or it could be a bit of anti-white discrimination that has seeped into city hall. Just about every election over the last 30 plus years one, if not both candidates for the mayors office has attempted to paint his/her opponent as being the white mans/suburban candidate so obviously this is playing well among some Detroiters. Who's to say that some of those people aren't working in city hall. |
Oakmangirl
Member
Username: Oakmangirl
Post Number: 233
Registered: 08-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, September 01, 2007 - 11:18 am: | |
Buddyinrichmond,
"Right. It all comes down to signage.....JFO"
I sense a little hostility. Why? I wasn't blaming city workers; maybe you have the inside info the rest of us lack. Obviously, it doesn't all come down to signage, but shouldn't any customer service center be welcoming and informative? I worked in public service, so I know full well ANY person can be an unreasonable pain in the ass. I just don't get your blanket assumption "that everything comes down to amateur, stupid, or cocky people". And I thought I was a misanthrope.... |
Monahan568
Member
Username: Monahan568
Post Number: 185
Registered: 04-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, September 01, 2007 - 11:32 am: | |
first off i am not an amateur i own my own construction company. i am not over reacting either. i have found that when dealing with the city if i my black employee to pull permits get inspections ect.. he is more sucsessful then i am and i have more knowledge of the project and what is going on then he dose. the same can be said about 36 district court had a white grosse pointe attorney got major fines and penalties harried a black detroit law firm got most of the cases dismised. if you think that reverse discrimination dose not happen then you are saddly mistaken. according to detroit city council every time a white business chooses not to locate (kroger) in the city it must be because the city is black you honestly think this attitude dose not boil over into other aspects of city hall |
Oakmangirl
Member
Username: Oakmangirl
Post Number: 234
Registered: 08-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, September 01, 2007 - 11:47 am: | |
Monahan568,
I didn't say you are an amateur; Buddy did.
Maybe, it's cause your Irish? Just kidding. I still don't think it's fair to assume it's racial. I've been treated kindly and rudely by both races; I think it has more to do with the repetitive nature of the job. Don't you ever feel bored or get impatient at work? It's just plain human nature. |
Gannon
Member
Username: Gannon
Post Number: 9959
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, September 01, 2007 - 12:15 pm: | |
Somebody needs to go check up on Monahan...unless she spent some serious cash on a quickie sex-change operation, I think we might have an Invasion of the Body Snatchers pod-person problem here... |
Vas
Member
Username: Vas
Post Number: 790
Registered: 01-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, September 01, 2007 - 12:23 pm: | |
Yep, I think there's a little of that. I feel it at some stores in the city. Thats what happens when you isolate and oppress people, after keeping them in slavery for 300 years. There is a little resentment.
Also, resentment from me to my elders who created these bad relations. |
Patrick
Member
Username: Patrick
Post Number: 4869
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, September 01, 2007 - 12:30 pm: | |
I have seen it a few times...several times at the DPL and a few more at WSU with various workers/aids. Black people get the same shit from white people, but on a far larger scale.
People are assholes regardless of skin color. |
Cub
Member
Username: Cub
Post Number: 73
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, September 01, 2007 - 12:42 pm: | |
This is just another instance of all the red tape you have to deal with when you have to deal with the city. This happens not cause of your skin color but because some of the city workers think they have the "POWER". |
Barnesfoto
Member
Username: Barnesfoto
Post Number: 4084
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, September 01, 2007 - 12:53 pm: | |
I dealt with the folks at CAY many times, as I have purchased city-owned properties and rehabbed them.
I always look the person in the eye and say "good morning" or "good afternoon" before requesting a service...I remember one woman who was a little short when I asked how long a title transfer would take...but that's hardly mistreatment.
While I'm sure some incompetent people can be found there (like everywhere) I was always treated well.
Not to sound too crunchy, but perhaps if you bring your bad energy with you, bad energy finds you. |
Newport1128
Member
Username: Newport1128
Post Number: 120
Registered: 05-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, September 01, 2007 - 1:05 pm: | |
I lived in Detroit for 25 years, and had many contacts with city workers in various departments. I have also lived in St. Clair Shores, Warren, Harper Woods, Grosse Pointe Woods and Clinton Twp.. I attended Wayne State for many years. I go to the Sec'y of State and Post Office frequently. In all these locations, I've had both positive and negative interactions. One thing I've found is that if you approach someone with a smile on your face and say "Hello", "Good morning", or whatever, and treat them with courtesy and respect, you are more likely to be treated the same way in reverse. Usually, you go there for help, and the person behind the desk or counter is not the one who has caused your problem. If you approach someone with a negative or hostile attitude, you can expect it to be returned. That's just human nature. My strategy usually ends up with me getting what I need. Even the Border Patrol guards(US and Canadian) respond, albeit barely, to a smile and polite greeting. |
Charlottepaul
Member
Username: Charlottepaul
Post Number: 1577
Registered: 10-2006
| | Posted on Saturday, September 01, 2007 - 1:42 pm: | |
"This is just another instance of all the red tape you have to deal with when you have to deal with the city. This happens not cause of your skin color but because some of the city workers think they have the "POWER"."
I second Cub's thoughts. This is hardly an issue of race or gender. It more along the lines of the fact that the people in city hall/CAYMC 'run the show.' You are going into their house. Things will be done their way and at their speed. Unlike the restaurant example, going to the CAYMC is required for building permits, etc. So you just have to relax and wade your way through the red tape. Newport1128 sums it up best: "treat them with courtesy and respect, you are more likely to be treated the same way in reverse." You really have no choice. |
Ladyinabag
Member
Username: Ladyinabag
Post Number: 317
Registered: 03-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, September 01, 2007 - 2:06 pm: | |
I went down to the Winans church last Sunday (I am white). I was waiting outside for a friend of mine and this woman (black) walked by, frowned at me first, and then bumped into me....on purpose. I said "excuse me"....just in case I WAS in her way, but I wasn't. My friend was 20 minutes late. But, after that, I got in my car and went home. I really felt bad about this for a number of days. Talk about Satan not wanting anything good to happen between the races.
(Message edited by ladyinabag on September 01, 2007) |
Oakmangirl
Member
Username: Oakmangirl
Post Number: 236
Registered: 08-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, September 01, 2007 - 2:18 pm: | |
Maybe she didn't see you since you're in a bag? Seriously, what does this have to do with service at city halls? More race-baiting.
I once had a girl play pedestrian chicken with me on the street in Philadelphia. Guess what? We were both white; she just happened to be a sociopath. Mean streets can exist anywhere! |
Miketoronto
Member
Username: Miketoronto
Post Number: 656
Registered: 07-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, September 01, 2007 - 2:30 pm: | |
The only time I have felt out of place in Detroit, was when my friend was driving me through North West Detroit in a neighbourhood near Grand River Ave. Anyway the neighbourhood was all black, and the black people sitting on their porch, were yelling "WHITES" "WHITES" as we drove by, and gave us weird looks.
But it was not to big a deal. |
Charlottepaul
Member
Username: Charlottepaul
Post Number: 1582
Registered: 10-2006
| | Posted on Saturday, September 01, 2007 - 2:37 pm: | |
LOL Miketoronto, I was running through a neighborhood a few blocks from my house here in Charlotte, and some black people were sure to point out (of course loudly enough so that I could overhear) to the other blacks that they were hanging out with that I was "a white person in the neighborhood." Only didn't bother me because I assumed that as recently as a generation ago, they probably met with same comments when they traveled through a white neighborhood. Probably doesn't make it right, but makes it OK. |