Wednesday, February 10, 2010

The Hero Experiment


Where does the psychologist behind the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment turn when he needs subjects for his latest project? Genesee County, of course.



8 comments:

  1. Joseph Campbell rocks (actually, rocked).

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  2. The folks who actually live in Flint, and fight the good fight every day - don't have a gun, don't have a pit bull, leave their house to go to work, knowing their children saw a strange man trying to break in their door to rob the supposedly empty house - folks who call the police during a break-in and get a three hour response... these are Flint's heroes.

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  3. Sorry, Gee, I meant to add this link - the Mott Park Neighborhood blog.
    http://mottpark.blogspot.com/

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  4. ...so having a gun makes the rest of those things irrelevant? Good to know.

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  5. Forgive me for being cynical, but does it really make sense for cash-strapped local schools to pay a for-profit business to come into the classroom and inform kids that holding a door for someone makes them a hero?

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  6. The program (part of their "Character Education" program) is in Grand Blanc where the schools are run in a very 'businesslike' manner. GB and Flint schools are at opposite ends of the spectrum. I'm a GB taxpayer and I like them spending on this program (we can each improve the world) a WHOLE LOT more than the Christian/Militaristic Positive-Thinking Weightlifting Team (yes, weightlifting) that they have brought in for years.

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  7. And to think I thought I was the cynical one. :)

    I held my tongue before, but after reading this post I couldn't help but imagine this guy as Chris Farley being a motivational speaker who lives in a van down by the river...

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsTTvKWPZGw&feature=related

    It's probably a good program though...

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  8. I own my home in Flint as well as two pit-mix rescues. When I leave to go to work I hope my dogs deter the punks who broke in numerous times before we moved in to never break in again. When I get home from work and see that no windows have been broken and my door hasn't been kicked in, I'll be sure let my pits lick my face a little longer to show my appreciation.

    Seems as though this program would be more helpful if it actually reached out to at-risk kids within Flint city limits... not in Flint "area" schools, GB, Fenton, etc. which are truly in a different world.

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Thanks for commenting. I moderate comments, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. You might enjoy my book about Flint called "Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City," a Michigan Notable Book for 2014 and a finalist for the 33rd Annual Northern California Book Award for Creative NonFiction. Filmmaker Michael Moore described Teardown as "a brilliant chronicle of the Mad Maxization of a once-great American city." More information about Teardown is available at www.teardownbook.com.