By Jennifer D. Kluge
Feb. 17, 2011
Well as a Detroiter, the Chrysler ad at the Super Bowl made quite a stir here in the city. The sentiment is that finally someone is sticking up for the perseverance and strength that our community really has and not what the media and the misperceptions are of our region. Detroit is about hard work, conviction and our hearts of steel. Thank you Chrysler for depicting in your commercial how beautiful Detroit is. How elegant we are. Thank you for telling the nation we are tired of the media negativity that we receive. It was well done.
The Fox Theatre, Campus Martius, our music culture, our beautiful architecture and art district were all so prevalently displayed, not the images you get in the national media that is for sure. I bet if I took some writers and photographers to Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City I could find blight, political corruption, create a bad image and sell the heck out of that story. It’s about money and sensationalizing the negative. It sells.
It’s become so widely accepted to portray Detroit as a negative stereotype it reminds me of bullies in elementary school picking on kids. Creating labels. Humiliating others to get ahead. The problem is that the country doesn’t realize the majority of Detroiters are strong fighters. We have been through hell and we’ve taken it, with no help or support from our fellow citizens.
With over six million views on YouTube alone, I wonder if the nation got the message properly. I am disappointed with the comments, posts and rhetoric that someone naïve at their computer can post about the city. Have you been here? Have you seen the innovation, small business and job growth that we are delivering? Do you know about our other industries that are flourishing? Have you been to our region and seen the mansions, the wealth the prosperity?
We are a strong workhorse culture here in Detroit. We have had struggles, we have taken the nation’s verbal thrashing, and we have survived. Detroit is about surviving. If we survive the country does well. If we don’t, the entire country will not bear well. Whatever happened to our nation supporting each other during difficult times?
I understand that the Auto industry has made many mistakes in the past 30 years, and quite frankly, we have paid for them and now are wiser and stronger. We needed that - a nice wake up call. Yep, we’re still here. I understand that our city has had some problems with leadership. We have faced it and now we have new leaders ready to serve in quite uncertain times. They are brave and deserving of recognition.
Why does the nation not understand that everyone’s economic conditions are directly related to the auto industry? May I remind the nation that when the auto industry has problems, our entire country leans toward a recession. One out of ten national jobs are directly related to Detroit.
Chrysler said to the nation what every hard-working Detroiter has wanted to say but didn’t have a voice to do it. Detroit rolls up its sleeves and gets the work done while the bullies laugh and snicker. We are made of steel. Hey national media…I dare you to tell it like it really is.