Robocop & Detroit - Fiction meets Reality

Did the 1987 movie predict the future of Detroit?

I have been following the problems in Detroit. It is a fact that they are filing for bankruptcy and the fact that the city is broke! Detroit used to be the highest median household incomes and now ranks 66th out of 68. There used to be over 2 million people living in Detroit at the height of the cities population; now, the population has declined severely and is around 700,000. There are abandoned neighborhoods, houses in shambles, and abandoned skyscrapers. I have included several videos to show the truth and the comparison to the movie. It is sad times in Detroit Motor City!

Police ignore calls to the abandoned neighborhoods. The abandoned neighborhoods have lost several homes and fields replaced the once home and property.  This is just one example, there are many more.

Detroit is a city that is dying on the vine. Home prices less that $500 is common place. One home is only $50. The lowest price a home sold was for $1. Yes, $1 dollar. The abandoned skyscrapers that once had bustling businesses.

Detroit had 5000 Police officers and now have less than 2800. They are stretched to the limits of breaking. There are promises of a "Pot of money", but no one can find it.



Detroit also has the most crime and highest murder rate in the nation. It is as if Detroit has become a third-world city in the heart of America.




Plot:
In the near future (freaky 1987 to 2013 = a mere 26 years), Detroit, Michigan is on the verge of collapse due to financial ruin and unchecked crime (both of which are happening today!). The mega-corporation Omni Consumer Products (OCP) enters into a contract with the city to run the police force. OCP plans to demolish "Old Detroit" and redevelop it as a high-end utopia called "Delta City." To address the city's crime, OCP tests several projects to engineer robotic law enforcement. During a presentation of a project spearheaded by the senior president, Dick Jones (Ronny Cox), the ED-209 enforcement droid malfunctions and kills a junior executive. With Delta City's construction scheduled to begin within months, the OCP Chairman (Dan O'Herlihy) immediately advances an alternative put forth by an ambitious, middle-ranking executive named Bob Morton (Miguel Ferrer). Morton calls his cyborg project "RoboCop."

Now onto the comparison to the 1987 Robocop movie and some clips from the franchise.The Robocop trailer.

Crime running rampant in the streets and not a single cop to be found.

Robocop scene when Detroit went bankrupt in the movie (Robocop 2).



Was the 1987 movie Robocop a foreshadowing to the future of Detroit? Is the movie's fictional tale of crime, abandoned area, and bankruptcy becoming a reality? Will a Robocop Detroit be a reality and not a fictional movie? You decide.

Chili Cook Off

Recently, at my work, we had a great Chili Cook-off. Co-workers brought in various styles of chili for the judges and the eater's (like me) to sample and enjoy at lunch time. After the 'official' judging was concluded we were allowed into the area to graze, er sample away. We each got a sample of every chili with a corresponding color cup. We placed our token in the colored cup at the main table for the one we enjoyed the most. Some cooks also indulged us with other tasty treats such as Jalapeno Corn Bread. A favorite I might add. Others brought in homemade chip dip and others brought in their Lemonade concoctions.

All-in-all everyone was polite and everything went pleasantly smooth. To include good food with good conversation. I am thinking in this following piece, something went haywire at this chili cook off.

Houston Off-Duty Cop Allegedly Tossed Tear Gas at Rodeo Chili Cook-off

HOUSTON - A Houston police officer was suspended after he allegedly threw a tear gas canister at rivals during a chili cook-off competition on Friday.

Senior Officer Mike Hamby, 51, is suspended with pay during an internal affairs investigation for "criminal allegations," according to The Houston Chronicle. 
Hamby was off-duty and part of a cook-off team when the incident happened, an unidentified co-worker told the paper.
The annual chili cook-off is traditionally a huge event with hundreds of teams. The three-day competition kicks off two weeks of the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. 
The organizer of a neighboring tent, sponsored by the USO, says her guests were overcome by the noxious gas.
"We were devastated by it," Susie Barlow told the Chronicle. "We have elderly people, and I have two folks that night who were a double and triple amputee in wheelchairs."
Rodeo officials say 117,000 people attended the cook-off on its final day this year.

My thoughts, I love the word Allegedly - "Allegedly" he threw a tear gas canister. And "Allegedly" people were devastated by it. I am not sure why or how the double and triple amputees play into the story? Where they overcome from the gas, gasping for air as snot flew from their faces and their eyes burned? Just to qualify, I have been through several gas chambers, so I know the feeling well. Also, for something as serious as a tear gas canister being tossed into a crowd of people or chili tent, wouldn't there be more meat, excuse the pun, in this story? I guess that is why I blog and not write professionally!!!!  Have fun peeps!