Toon and text by John Auchter
After three years of the Flint water crisis, fatigue may have set in — first and foremost, for the citizens of Flint who have had to live with the daily grind and persistent worries. But also for Michiganders living outside and looking in. The fatigue for us is different — it’s trying to stay engaged with a story that may not seem to affect us, at least not directly. Three years is a long time to hold somebody’s attention.
This week Michigan Radio presented several stories from a number of angles to mark the anniversary. In fact, the reporters and staff have done yeoman’s work from the start to keep this very real and worthy story relevant to those outside of Flint. They have done such a wonderful job that I found myself hard pressed to come up with something new to say in a cartoon.
I finally got the idea of writing a thank you note because, well, my mom taught me the importance of writing thank you notes. When somebody has done something for you, it’s important to acknowledge the gift. And having grown up in the Flint area and lived in Michigan since, Flint has taught me (and continues to teach me) plenty.
Sometimes the lesson has been what to do, for example, witnessing the grace and resolve with which many of its citizens have handled this ongoing crisis. Sometimes the lesson has been what not to do, for example, building an amusement park without roller coasters or electing a self-serving, egotistical businessman named Don as your leader. (Sorry, those are inside jokes for Flintoids.)
But what may ultimately be the best reason to be thankful is this: If we can work with Flint to help it prosper, we can certainly handle any problem Michigan faces.
John Auchter draws cartoons. Lots and lots of them. You can find them at his incredibly popular website auchtoon.com. You can also find his stuff on Michigan Public Radio’s website under Opinion.
Well done, and Thank you for the excellalant prospective.
John, you certainly speak for me and hopefully all of Michigan.
Thank You!
Well said.
Here is the most ridiculous part of this story: They want to charge people in Flint about $200 per month for their poison water! And, they are “threatening to cut off the poison water,” if people do not pay!
Yikes! They owe the people of Flint free good water for the foreseeable future. Please cut me off, Poison Water Commission! Please just do it. The state of Michigan is responsible mostly for this problem, but the local Flint folks who think people might pay $200 for poison water are nuts.
Anybody could buy a month’s worth of good Champagne for $200. Shrink back and disappear, you Flint water officials! Begone!
Thank you, John ~ and right on.
My Flint family home had high lead content in the municipal water back in the early 1970s. Actually higher than the levels reported over the last three years. The lead infused pipes have been in the ground for 70 years+. This is nothing new and Flint has lower lead amounts than a large number of other US municipalities. This whole “Flint Water Crisis” fiasco is just a grab for taxpayer money.
So your logic is “I dealt with this way back in the 70s, they should just suck it up and stop whining.”?
You are just confirming the lack of compassion and caring from the right. This is the exact type of response I would expect from you .
You’re right. The least we can do is stay engaged and encouraging. Flint needs so much.