“Walters (a Flint mother) says her 5-year-old son has developed speech issues and a compromised immune system since the water crisis began. ‘There is no trust there anymore.’”
“So why was this the state of Michigan’s responsibility and not that of the elected leaders of the city of Flint? Because Snyder had trumped local decision-making by installing an emergency manager under a controversial state law that allows the governor to usurp democracy. And like many issues of inequity in Michigan and nationwide, there’s a racial component — it’s been invoked primarily in the state’s poorest and blackest cities.”
With so many factors to manage in our daily lives, many of us might forget about the integral role health and systems of government both play. For the people of Flint, Michigan, deliberate neglect, mistrust and abuse of power have led to an atrocious water poisoning at the hands of politicians. Over the course of the past few years, democratic abilities were withheld from citizens and those who protested water discoloration and taste were told the situation was under control. Only now, after details have come to light, has public discourse taken this issue into consideration. Regardless, certain damage has been done to both the people of Flint and their trust.
