Published accusations of NIMBYism

Did you know that there used to be a print version of AnnArbor.com that came out every day? It was called the Ann Arbor News, and, on occasion, they’d print letters from readers in Ypsilanti. Here’s one of those letters, written by my friend Leighton in 2000, in response to another reader’s idea that Ann Arbor’s homeless be relocated to Ypsilanti, where they’d likely fit in better. It’s not exactly timely, but I thought that it was the kind of thing that deserved to be protected here, in the MM.com archive.

leightonypsiscan2

Those of you who would like to give Leighton a piece of your mind, will have ample opportunity to do so in April, as he’ll be traveling across the country, wreaking havoc with the Meatmen.

This entry was posted in Ann Arbor, Art and Culture, Ypsilanti and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

10 Comments

  1. Posted March 28, 2011 at 10:04 pm | Permalink

    The confetti guns were great!

  2. Someone
    Posted March 28, 2011 at 11:37 pm | Permalink

    Nothing like fighting generalization with generalization to inspire and create and join people together in a cause.

    All the bad crime in the area happens in ypsi, so Leighton’s letter must have worked. (I read it on annarbor.com)

  3. Knox
    Posted March 29, 2011 at 6:03 am | Permalink

    I’d like to see the original letter/article that led to this. Does anyone have a copy?

  4. Demetrius
    Posted March 29, 2011 at 7:29 am | Permalink

    This just made me pump my fist with pride.

  5. Edward
    Posted March 29, 2011 at 8:21 am | Permalink

    Didn’t something happen around that time with the Ann Arbor Y? Weren’t all the men that lived there found accommodations at Ypsi residential hotels, or something like that? My memory is foggy. The 9/11 attacks kind of wiped my memory out of everything that came before.

  6. Smelly Tongues
    Posted March 29, 2011 at 10:35 am | Permalink

    So why aren’t the Meatmen playing in Michigan? :)

  7. Elf
    Posted March 29, 2011 at 3:50 pm | Permalink

    Was this at around the same time that Leighton was selling “Fuck Ann Arbor” bumper stickers at the Elbow Room?

    All hail Leighton.

  8. Posted March 29, 2011 at 5:40 pm | Permalink

    @Edward – the SRO housing at the Old YMCA wasn’t closed until about 2005. (Double-checking my memory with google led to this gem: the residents of the Old Y were temporarily relocated to hotels in Canton to free up rooms in Ann Arbor for football.) McKinley later offered up a block of apartments, I believe in one of their Golfside complexes.

    2000 would have been the construction of the Delonis Center on Huron Street.

  9. Posted March 30, 2011 at 11:29 pm | Permalink

    Someone: “Bad” crime is no higher now than it was then, but you might be generalizing.

    Knox: Maybe ask Mark, as “Maynard Newton” was obviously a nom de plume.

    Smelly: We are playing the glove. Grand Rapids in July. Shows like that are self-abuse.

    Elf: The stickers actually said “Ann Arbor Sucks” with varying subtitles involving Panera Bread, Strip Malls, and Coke Dealers.

    Finally, AA has completed its transition from edgy incubator of punks and progressives to a chokingly dull Everytown, swollen with national chains and the frightened superwhite. It’s the most appropriate home to our current, and very Republican, Governor SnydBot 2010.

  10. Posted March 31, 2011 at 6:31 am | Permalink

    Why not, “Fuck Canton” or “Fuck Dexter” or “Fuck Freedom Township”, better yet, how about “Fuck Ypsilanti”.

    Everyone should be required to create bumper stickers disparaging their neighboring town.

    It is depressing, a CVS just opened on State, a testament to the difficulties that independent business has in keeping anything open, hopefully it will go the way of Tower Records.

    Next, we’ll have a Dollar General. Village Corner has been raized, now we have a 7-11 where Ritz Camera used to be, not that we haven’t had 7-11’s before.

    I say that, but really, nothing about Ann Arbor has changed since I was born 42 years ago. People say it has, but really it hasn’t. It’s always been a small, wealthy college town. I think that America has changed more than Ann Arbor has.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Connect

BUY LOCAL... or shop at Amazon through this link Banner Initiative VG 3D