Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Flint Sit-Downers Memorial Vandalized

The Flint Sit Down Strike was always a source of pride in my family. My mother liked to tell the story of how the newspaper ran a picture of my grandmother lifting my then 5-year-old mother (or maybe it was one of my baby aunts? I don't seem to recall exactly...) through an open shop window into the arms of my grandfather, one of the sit-downers.

Someone looking at that picture probably thought what a sweet human-interest story that a gruff shop rat missed his daughter so. The truth of the matter was that my grandmother was a pistol and she was tire of the strike dragging out so long and wanted Charlie to get his a$$ back home.

I would post the aforementioned picture, but it has somehow been lost to history. Instead is this stock I found at this Michigan History Link.

So it is sad to see that vandals targeted the Sit-Downers Memorial Park in Flint.

That said, it always seemed strange to me that such a big deal is made of that strike even today. The union was a necessary evil in the beginning, but ended up eventually driving GM out of the city. I mean, the water pipes started out delivering cool, refreshing water before eventually spouting the lead. Will the last person left in this city be standing in an over-grown field looking lovingly at a statue of plumbing pipes?

But when society and the media celebrate the destruction of property and the statues of imperfect people, maybe this is what you get. In fact, if it is ok to tear down the statue representing someone  with whom you disagree - then maybe the sit-down vandal(s) were upset at these statues and justified for the same reasoning. Had these gentlemen not made a deal with the UAW devil, then just maybe these unfortunate vandals would today be game fully employed in a thriving Flint town instead of roving the cracks and crevasses of this once-vibrant Vehicle City looking to tear something down that isn't already in ruins.

And that's the memo.

7 comments:

  1. I can't speak to the Sit Down in Flint, but I do believe that unions were necessary in the old days because there were terrible abuses of the workers. I also believe that unions became their own worst enemies when they started to request incredible benefits.

    As far as the de-statuating of statues goes, I'm against giving in to this soros funded gang of thugs. If you give an inch, they'll want the world.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The popular notion is that unions were necessary.
    Those guys stole that factory from it's rightful owners until their demands were met.
    That's extortion.
    They couldn't keep workers willing to work out, so they had to keep everyone out.

    ReplyDelete
  3. cube, I am not a fan of unions (especially public) and that is one reason I am an oddity at family weddings and funerals.

    Ed, So you're saying that in a way, these strikers took the factory and willing workers hostage? That they were basically slave holders? Hmmm *scratching chin* I LIKE!

    ReplyDelete
  4. If I'm wrong about unions being necessary in the old days, please let me know how I'm wrong. I really hate being snowed so if you can shed some light on this, I would appreciate it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm with Cube....it's like affirmative action; it served a purpose once. Not anymore. NO?

    ReplyDelete
  6. I agree, cube and Z, that the unions were a necessary evil in the beginning. I respect my granddad for standing up (errr... you know what I mean) but hindsight is 20/20. Their demands became more and more ludicrous, quality and workmanship suffered, while Japan and others provided cheaper and more dependable alternatives.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I do believe the union demands have become excessive and, believe me, I'm no fan of their shenanigans either. I think we need to stand up to these thugs now because they've crossed a line that we need to push against.

    ReplyDelete