Flint water crisis is destroying lives, babies dying literally
Babies are dying in Flint and the government of Michigan let this happen
Although officials had seen serious health problems in Flint such as a wave of Legionnaires' disease outbreaks in 2014 and 2015, no public warning was issued until early 2016. As a result, a number of Michigan officials now face criminal charges ranging from involuntary manslaughter to misconduct in office to obstruction of justice.
According to the article there is now a higher infant mortality rate and lower birth rate in Flint. The Flint water crisis is an example of failure of authority, and shows the problem with putting too much faith in centralized authority. If only there were was for people to mobilize to save themselves and each other even when the central authority fails...
On a side note, does this open a window of opportunity for anarchists to fly into Flint Michigan to promote a new ideology and way of thinking? As I always say I am politically agnostic, but I would think situations like these create opportunities for people who take an anti-government or anti-authority stance in terms of world view.
What can people do about this to hold the irresponsible authorities accountable and to prevent something like this from ever happening again on American soil?
References
West Virginia University. (2017, September 22). Flint's water crisis led to fewer babies and higher fetal death rates, researchers find. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 23, 2017 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/09/170922091626.htm
I live in the Flint area and I work in Flint. I believe some heads are going to roll regarding the cover-up. However, my understanding is the problem is that the pipes that go from the water mains to the houses are lead in many cases (not all). Apparently back in the 1920's when there was a big boom in Flint due to the auto industry and thousands of cookie cutter homes were built and it was standard protocol to use these lead pipes. The city is trying to replace these pipes but apparently, a lot of Flint city residents don't trust the government and won't let the authorities into their homes to test the water to determine if they have the lead pipes. There are currently stations set up around the city where residents can get free bottled water but I think this program is shrinking because less homes are being tested positive for lead. This what I've been hearing locally. Thank you,
I've been saying the US needs to be more concerned for the people in Flint not what trumps going or what the latest celebrity did. These issues service for about a month out of the year and get ignored by everyone who isn't affected shortly after nothing is done about it.
The Outcry of innocent children that some governments ignores should be an issue of concern, if American soil can be rated with such levels of carelessness as it relates to life and rights of her people then you can imagine the hell that we Africans are passing through from our government who in most instances never show any atom of responsibility, accountability, remorse nor of such.
They may be saddened to see the masses reacting this way but we careless because the truth must be told!
Please more of these type of important articles are highly recommended so I personally appreciate you for this.
Wow I commend you for writing about such important issues. you've got my support and follow.
I think you're asking a very important question regarding the massive failing of a yet another democratically run centralized government entity. Your article prompted me to look further. globalresearch.ca - "...women in Flint had a general fertility rate decrease of 12%. Fetal death rates for the group (women aged 15-49) increased by 58%."
This sounds like something we would have heard out of Vietnam; post Agent Orange.
Is there no one to overcome this big problem???
My conclusion on this is the system itself is too strong. Take out the garbage and more shows up. The ones that are being indicted are no different than those in before, nor those who are in place all over the country. We have a systemic failure/
I do agree with the notion that this is an example of what happens when you do put your trust in a central authority especially in a corrupt system. Government has a place albeit limited ideally. Unfortunately, the host is eating itself.
My feeling is that technology will ultimately be our way out of situations like this. The politicos have hidden for way too long. Newer technologies are on the way including blockchain that puts them all on notice. Everything they do will be above board. They will hate it but it will be good for the rest of us.
Thanks for the thought provoking post.
politics is bull shit, full of business person