Alright, I've lived in Livonia all my life, and I'm pretty aware that it is a city that lacks diversity. It's no secret that Livonia is like one of the whitest cities in the country and I'm fine with that. I never thought it was like that because citizens didn't allow black people in, or felt like there wasn't a place for people who aren't white. I was just always under the impression that there were just more white people in the city than any other race.
A lot of people in my high school and middle school were Asian and Indian. A few were African-American. But truth be told, there were just more white people.
Now, I guess that there's a proposal for a Wal-Mart to go in down at Middlebelt and Plymouth. Okay, first of all, there's one 1/2 mile north at Middlebelt just south of I-96. Why are they going to build another one right there? But I guess that's beside the point.
What got me was that there was a community of people who live right behind the place where the store will go who don't want a Wal-Mart there. They don't want a Wal-Mart there because they are afraid it will attract more black people and turn the area ghetto.
Please, please, please, people of Livonia--tell me this isn't true. Tell me that the people in the media are just making news. First of all, why is it okay to label Wal-Mart shoppers as ghetto? Secondly, why assume only black people shop there? Thirdly, why oh why make the correlation between a large african-american shopping population and something turning ghetto?
To be completely honest, Wonderland Mall (the mall that used to exist where the Wal-Mart might go up) was always considered the "ghetto mall" in the first place. Making it a Wal-Mart, or filling it with black shoppers isn't going to change its ghettocity.
So dear Livonia, I love you and your tall trees and wonderfully timed traffic lights and your highly achieving schools. But if you think that you are above diversity, GET A LIFE. And open your eyes.
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5 comments:
KARI - it was so good to see you this weekend at Fall Fest!! Hope you had a good time :-)
Dear Kari,
I am one of the people who lives right behind the Wonderland Mall property, on Orangelawn. In fact, the cement wall is on my property.
My problems with this project are many...but not one has anything to do with race, or ethnicity.
I'm writing to tell you that I love diversity...I have a life... & my eyes are wide open...as they will be when the 24 hour walmart is shining lights through my cutain covered shades in my bedroom every night!!! My eyes will be wide open every time I hear the airhoses filling tires and hydrolic wrenches being used to change tires with frozen lug nuts from the walmart tire center!!! My eyes will be wide open as I look around in my own backyard, trying to find a place to hold a conversation that won't be drowned out by the excessive noise from the walmart air conditioners on top of their building & the refrigeration units!!! My eyes will be wide open as I watch semi after semi sit loudly idlling, waiting for their turn to drop off the products made by the hands of children in China...for that whopping big wage of 25cents/hour, if they even get that!!!
My eyes will be wide open as I watch local business after local business, either go bankrupt or just leave our city...because the walmart corporation crushes every competitor in every city they have a super walmart in!!!
I'll tell you this...
Mitch Albom was right...because of the comments of a few ignorant people in my city of Livonia, the folks down in Bentonville, Arkansas (by the way, a whiter city than we are!!!) are laughing their butts off that this has turned into a racial issue and clouded the real reasons that the majority of the citizens don't want a walmart on the Wonderland property...see, even you bought into it!!!
It is obvious to me that you are young...& probably went to school with one of my sons, or at least with the sons and daughters of my family & friends in Livonia. So, because of your lack of experience & understanding of global issues, I will forgive this faux pas & chalk it up to immaturity. FYI...at the meeting that I attended, the few people who made ignorant & racial comments DO NOT LIVE RIGHT BEHIND THE PLACE WHERE THE STORE WILL GO!!!
Also, you should know that the rest of us vehemently, booed them!!!
My advice to you...
In the future, learn all the facts before you blog what you think are the facts. Because, young lady...
A follower listens to what others say is a fact & they run with it, just like you did.
A leader listens to what others say is a fact & they research what they have been told & find for themselves, if it is indeed, a fact.
I thank you for the opportunity to help you better understand what the real issues are surrounding this project that will affect me, my family, my neighbors, and yes dear Kari...our entire community.
God Speed,
Victoria Kowaleski
Victoria,
I am glad for your comment, and I apologize if I offended you. I was reacting to what I saw on the channel 4 news about why people don't want a wal-mart there. I was hoping that it wasn't true, because I also think it is a stupid reason to not want a Wal-Mart there. It just confused me because assuming it has nothing to do with race, how would a Wal-Mart be different than having the mall there?
I learned later, and confirmed by your reply, that it would be a 24 hour Wal-Mart, which also did shed some light on the protest.
I'm not going to lie, I don't own my own home yet, so I'm not going to pretend I know what it's like to have the city infringing on my property. All of your points are valid and understood. I'm not arguing any of them. I honestly don't care for the Wal-Mart idea, but it's because I know it wouldn't be any "newer" or "better" than the current one.
Like I said before, I was reacting to something I heard that I was hoping wasn't true.
I appreciate your comment, and thank you for helping clear the issue up.
Down here in the good 'ol South, we like da Walmart. It's the best thing that ever happened to us. ;-)
Seriously though, there is a completely different image of Walmart in the South than back home in Livonia. Especially for the less well-to-do folk of Northeast Tennessee who have trouble affording basic necessities when the sales tax is near 10%. Walmart is a boon to them because of their low prices. Now believe you me, understand the potential consequences of having a Walmart opening in your town. Loss of small businesses, infringement on property rights, etc. Not to mention how the low prices affect the wages of workers over seas. However, in the town of Elizabethton, TN the new Super Walmart has actually begun something of a revitalization of a very rundown and economically stagnant community. Granted, many businesses have left the area, but that is not because of Walmart. This area has been economically depressed for years.
For me it has been quite an eye opener moving into a very different culture and seeing how they view things differently from how I was used to. I must admit that I regularly frequent the Super Walmart of Elizabethton for my groceries and other items. In Livonia I hadn't shopped at the Super Walmart until I had gone back for Christmas break, and that was only to get a prescription filled since I have my prescriptions with the Walmart here.
Is race an issue with Walmart in this area? No, not at all. People of all sorts, black and white, rich and poor, hill billies and city folk, all shop there. In fact this area is one of the most diverse in the region with people coming from all over the world to live in this welcoming locale.
Here, Walmart isn't a status symbol. It is just a place where people go shopping. I find it rather unfortunate that the same can't be said of Livonia. I understand the concern of property owners. And frankly I agree with them. I wouldn't want a Walmart in my backyard either. I think the city would be making a big mistake to have two Walmarts not even a mile apart from each other. But I also think it is a sad fact that some feel Walmart is a store only for black people. It is a testament to continuing racism despite years of labor to eradicate it.
Of course all of this is a little outside of me now. I don't really live in Livonia anymore and I don't plan on ever moving back there. But good luck and blessings to you who stay. It is a wonderful city and I'm glad that I had the privelege of growing up there.
Dear Matt,
I know exactly what you are talking about when you say, "here...it is just a place where people go shopping".
In fact, the first wal-mart I ever went into was in Middlesboro, KY, just off the 25E.
I also know the area of Northeast TN...my most favorite place in the whole wide world!!! I come down to Northeast TN every year at least one time; two if I am most lucky!!! I've spent time in Unicoi County on a mountain in the Cherokee National Forest, but most of my time is spent in Claiborne County in the Cumberland Mountains and in Bristol. I look forward to retiring on a mountain in NE TN...someday.
As I mentioned to Kari, diversity is not an issue for me. Since you mentioned that you grew up in Livonia, I'm sure you are familiar with the City of Inkster. We lived happily in Inkster for many years before coming to Livonia.
The issues for me are the same ones that people behind the wal-mart in Bristol, TN deal with every single day & night of their lives. If you live in or near Elizabethton, you are not far from Bristol. Some day or evening, when you have nothing better to do...take a ride up to Bristol...drive down the street that is right behind the wal-mart...park your car...get out & take a walk. Listen to the noises that generate from that building abutting that residential neighborhood. During the day, it's constant semi-truck trailers with their deliveries, the noise from air conditioners on top of the building, the cleaning of equipment behind the store, the opening of bay doors at every delivery, the diesel fumes constantly in the air in their backyards; at night it's the light pollution in their windows all, I repeat all night long...so bright that the residents have to shield theiir eyes in their own bedrooms!!! This is why this is so ridiculous...to put a 203,874 sq ft, 24 hour retail operation abutting a residential neighborhood...it's over the top...off the wall...and driven by one family's greed for their own pocket!!! And may I say with regards to diversity...this fortune has been built on the backs of poor white people, poor black people, poor Eastern Indians & poor American Indians & worst of all...poor asian children whose tiny little hands assemble the products that y'all enjoy so much.
My life is all about children & my heart breaks every time I think about the little fingers that work for 25 cents an hour (if that much), for sometimes 10 hours a day, so that the world can enjoy the products sold at the store with the smily face!!!
I just wonder...when do they get to smile, when do those children get to experience their happy days? When does someone say that those children deserve to enjoy their childhood?
Think about all the things you did as you were growing up in Livonia & with each memory that floods through your mind of your childhood, think how different those memories would be if you had a job as soon as you could use your hands with dexterity. Think about all the times you have laughed in your life growing up, & then ask yourself...how often are our children in China, Mexico, Taiwan & Bangladesh laughing & enjoying life?
Every time you see a child...look at their little hands & consider my words.
I know this is heavy stuff, but, it must be said & it must be heard.
So, for all of the reasons I cited & many more...I do not want wal-mart behind my home in Livonia.
God Speed,
Victoria Kowaleski
P.S. For Kari,
Thanks for this opportunity to share my feelings once again...through your blog.
God Speed to you & God's blessings to the young ones in your charge each day. Please remember to look at their hands holding a pencil & consider my words. Then remember to enjoy each moment when they look at you and smile.
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