Flint is the only place I've been where I felt anything could happen. Grew up in Detroit, I've been there at times and in places I shouldn't have been...but I always felt I at least knew what to expect and look out for. Been to bad parts of Chicago. But Flint might as well be Baghdad.
Walrus you should go to Flint. Lots of white people there get a pass to say the n word. Like, white kids and adults who grew up in various projects with black people, saying "what's up my nicca" etc...shit kinda made me take pause.
I'm not sure they get a pass so much as it's the white people who are all the horrible thug stereotypes in Flint so black people just kinda keep quiet. It's like not even some weird racial thing but more who got wrecked hardest by the factories. Flint was arguably the most progressive Michigan city race-wise, blacks were treated pretty near equals in the factories, until The Crisis on Infinite Flints started. A city of "wiggers" now, as an Aussie put it.
Flint suffered Black Flight of all things. Though apparently they're coming back, up from Detroit. A good amount of Flint's population is "early retirement" GM workers, so there's room for 30 year old black dudes to pick up work more than parts of Detroit.
People are always surprised that Flint's only 55% black now, was like 50% in 2000. Saginaw's like 45%/45%. It makes things real weird. All the other big cities are like Lansing/Grand Rapids/etc. where it's like 65/30 white or Detroit where it's 85/10 black.
You know anything about the political situation in Grand Rapids? My dad's whole family is from there, so I've always wondered.
PD already mentioned Amash. But he's not a perfect example since GR is effectively split between two super Republican districts, including the only one McCain won 51% in. Amash has more of GR proper but it's watered down by everything else. That said, Amash outperforms in the city because he's more libertarian. (Pro life, but only on government funding really...was against DOMA, will support SC ruling on marriage, lenient on drugs, against NSA, etc.)
GR proper, the main downtown, is standard urban and Democratic, it's also increasingly Arab American. (Which Amash is.) Everything around it becomes greater and greater Republican as you circle out through a large Mitt Romney zone until you hit basically Santorum Country.
All the Republicans seemed to come out of the GR side of the state and Oakland County on the East, and the two sides warred forever for control of the party. The GR wing being a more Romney type that is socially conservative but would rather ignore it if possible to do business/economic stuff, and the other wing of the state-party which is like FUCK EVERYTHING, WE HAVE TO STOP GAYS AND ABORTIONS IMMEDIATELY AND DO NOTHING ELSE WHATSOEVER, NOT EVEN CUT TAXES. Dick DeVos got caught between being personally in the former, and his wife having spent years in the latter camp and being its biggest proponent.
Thing I like most about Amash is his using Facebook to explain all his votes. And he puts in strong constituent services.
He was also called "Al Qaeda's best friend in Congress."
Rick Snyder is from the East side, but not really part of the political scene there. John Engler was from the center of the state. Milliken was from Traverse City. Honestly they're all more Ford-lineage Republicans and I don't mind them being the GOPers that win election to things.
The state Democratic Party is actually pretty shitty. Especially now that Levin's done. And they forever have to live with the fact that they actually ran Geoffrey Fieger. Ford Republicans are sorta the least bad option often. It sucks when the GOP takes a dive running Santorum types against garbage like Stabenow. It's one reason Snyder did so well in 2010 is that he wasn't from either of the shitty parties really so he got lots of crossover.
But not only am I rambling off the cuff but PD might disagree with detail.
