Last Sunday, Clint Eastwood gave us a Super Bowl halftime pitch telling us Detroit's "coming back." Eastwood went on to say Americans "find a way through tough times, and if we can't find a way, we make one."Sorry, I couldn't shake it. Seeing Eastwood talk about Detroit triggered a replay of Gran Torino in my mind. In the film, Eastwood played Walt Kowalski, an aging Korean War vet and Detroit resident who stood up when he trouble came his way.
Fast forward to today, The Daily seems to tell us there's a bunch of Kowalskis in today's Motor City. Folks are keeping guns nearby, just in case:
Justifiable homicide in the city shot up 79 percent in 2011 from the previous year, as citizens in the long-suffering city armed themselves and took matters into their own hands. The local rate of self-defense killings now stands 2,200 percent above the national average. Residents, unable to rely on a dwindling police force to keep them safe, are fighting back against the criminal scourge on their own. And they’re offering no apologies.Sunday night, I thought Chrysler goofed in picking Eastwood as a spokesman. Why was it associating its corporate image with a guy who's last starring role was about a Detroit vigilante? But now, based these stats, it makes more sense. Eastwood is a guy Detroiters can identify with.
For those needing a Gran Torino refresher, here's a couple of key scenes from film's trailer.
Related post: Halftime in America
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