iasonas Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Rochester Hills mayor pens open letter to Madonna http://www.clickondetroit.com/entertainment/rochester-hills-mayor-pens-open-letter-to-madonna/31825702 An Open Letter to Madonna: I read with great interest your recent comments about growing up in Rochester Hills and your description of our residents as “basic, provincial thinking people." As the Mayor of Rochester Hills, I feel compelled to respond. Admittedly, I don’t know what experiences led you to that opinion, but let me assure you, our community is anything but basic or narrow minded. In fact, we are and have been home to some of the brightest minds shaping our world. Our school district is one of the top performing in the state and boasts two Blue Ribbon Schools, the most in Michigan. Our Universities are among the fastest growing in the Midwest and are rich with cultural and ethnic diversity.We design and build more robots than any other city in North America, and Rochester Hills residents and businesses have been granted over 900 patents, nearly one a day, over the last three years. Not a typical achievement you would associate with “simple or basic” people. We are growing in many ways including in our economic, racial, and religious diversity. We are home to one of the largest Mosques in Metro Detroit and the largest Albanian Catholic church in the world outside of Albania. We have a growing senior population with a vibrant college town feel. In fact, these are just some of the factors Money Magazine used to select Rochester Hills as one of the top ten best places to live in America. We are, or have been, home to quite a few amazing people who are known more for innovative thinking than provincial - Olympic gold medalists, NASCAR Champions, visionaries in the fields of medicine and education, and even a top selling global singer/songwriter. That’s right. Despite your distaste for us, we actually have enshrined you on our Community Wall of Fame at the Van Hoosen Museum. Your portrait sits alongside Bertha Van Hoosen, one of the first women to graduate from the University of Michigan in 1888 and one of the world’s leading surgeons for nearly 60 years. A female trailblazer in the field of medicine at the University your daughter now attends. Your picture hangs just a few feet from Helen Southgate Williams. A renowned author of children’s literature who was ultimately appointed to the International Board of Books, an agency of the United Nations and one of the highest recognitions possible in the field. I assume that would be of some interest to a fellow children’s author like yourself. Two strong women, ahead of their time, and in all of my research, I could not find the terms, “basic or provincial minded” to describe them or their accomplishments. Madonna, you have achieved unbelievable success and while we appreciate your talent and achievement, we expect you to appreciate ours. Undoubtedly, we have changed in the 40 years since you cheered at Adams High School, but in many ways we have stayed the same. Our neighborhoods have long been filled with innovative, free-thinking leaders not afraid to make a difference. By generous, charitable people who care more about doing what they believe is right, than by what they read in the media. We are many things, Madonna, but basic and provincial minded we are not! I invite you back to Rochester Hills to see who we are and what we believe in. While we certainly don’t need your stamp of approval, I am quite confident we would earn it. Bryan K. Barnett, MayorCity of Rochester Hills Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulaAbdul Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Wow. The fact that this town has to pen a letter to her seeking her approval just PROVES Madonna's point. Pathetic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOD Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 And Madonna's response should be: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rachelle of London Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I don't think it's pathetic at all. The mayor is the ambassador for the place, he's just doing his job. Kinda dumb of her insulting the place tbh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runa Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I don't think it's pathetic at all. The mayor is the ambassador for the place, he's just doing his job. Kinda dumb of her insulting the place tbh. I agree. Normal reaction in this case. And she should not have said this. This is a generalization and generalization is never good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apples388 Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 It's not a generalisation really. It was her experience when she was growing up there DECADES ago and she's entitled to it. Things may have changed in the intervening years but that's her recollection of her experience. End of story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sloane Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I knew they'd come around to shitting their pants over this. 'Surprised it took them this long. That city is everything Madonna said it was and IS. In fact, it's gotten worse since she was there. It was once a nice shady little town, now it's endless SUV traffic at all times of the day. It's a nice SAFE place to raise a family, very little crime, and I give them credit for that. But as far as the people there .. they are boring as fuck and shallow as a rule rather than exception. It's a poisonous atmosphere and as far as any diversity... don't make me laugh. Everybody is the Detroit metro area knows what's up in Rochester Hills. The only city more up it's own ass around here is Birmingham. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rachelle of London Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I agree. Normal reaction in this case. And she should not have said this. This is a generalization and generalization is never good. The same thing she's accusing the Rochester people of being like.... I think the letters cute I think this letter is giving Guy Oseary some form of NTP ideas. The next stop on promo tour, Madonna meets Rochester Mayor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick00 Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 That's M always making headlines and pissing off people by opening her mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 the mayor did his job, but why madonna shouldn't have said it if, at the time, she felt that way? quiet all people in the world moving to big cities do it for better lives and to escape provincial thinking hometowns....she's not been hypocrite.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rachelle of London Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Personally I don't see anything wrong with the letter. It's very polite and cute. He even invites her to come back. He's prob excited that she mentioned Rochester, she usually speaks about Detroit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreeMySoul Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 It's not a generalisation really. It was her experience when she was growing up there DECADES ago and she's entitled to it. Things may have changed in the intervening years but that's her recollection of her experience. End of story. She should have Liz put out that statement. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rollap Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 It's not a generalisation really. It was her experience when she was growing up there DECADES ago and she's entitled to it. Things may have changed in the intervening years but that's her recollection of her experience. End of story. Exactly! FFS she has a right to talk about her experiences . She wasn't having a go at the people there now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carey Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 They are entitled to respond. I feel like it was very un-Madonna to generalise and lump the whole population of Michigan with that description. Having said that, I'm sure that's not what she intended to do. It's very clear that her childhood and adolescence was a painful time for her and it appears to be a stumbling block for her. In a lot of ways her vulnerability is partly that young girl who felt so isolated and like she didn't belong. I'm not excusing what she said though. She gave a rather unbecoming soundbite but I'm sure if she responds or is asked to fully explain it then the "basic and provincial" comment wont necessarily be directed towards people but more at her experiences and the time during which she lived them. We've also got to remember that while she didn't explicitly define this, she was talking about her time growing up there. Not what it's like today (Madonna actually visited Michigan recently and posted insta pics of her with small innovative businesses) I'm sure she is proud of that aspect of it but middle America in the late 60s and early 70s really wasn't the most liberal and free place to be and I think, albeit unflatteringly and somewhat blunt without explanation, that is what she meant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sloane Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 blah blah blah Bay City got mad too when she called it smelly town. Same shit different decade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rachelle of London Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 They are entitled to respond. I feel like it was very un-Madonna to generalise and lump the whole population of Michigan with that description. Having said that, I'm sure that's not what she intended to do. It's very clear that her childhood and adolescence was a painful time for her and it appears to be a stumbling block for her. In a lot of ways her vulnerability is partly that young girl who felt so isolated and like she didn't belong. I'm not excusing what she said though. She gave a rather unbecoming soundbite but I'm sure if she responds or is asked to fully explain it then the "basic and provincial" comment wont necessarily be directed towards people but more at her experiences and the time during which she lived them. We've also got to remember that while she didn't explicitly define this, she was talking about her time growing up there. Not what it's like today (Madonna actually visited Michigan recently and posted insta pics of her with small innovative businesses) I'm sure she is proud of that aspect of it but middle America in the late 60s and early 70s really wasn't the most liberal and free place to be and I think, albeit unflatteringly and somewhat blunt without explanation, that is what she meant. This!!!! If only I could've articulated my original post like this. Btw I djdnt mean M has no right to share her experiences it's just not fair to generalise people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whyme? Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 She was talking 1978-ish. Compared to NYC, it was probably very backward it her mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Barthes Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I wholeheartedly agree with Madonna. 10 years ago i put on my blog a map of France i made calling Paris home and south of France where i spent 8 years between 10 and 18 "nest of assholes", i still see this map popping up on Fb from time to time in many variation but at the time 10 years i got shit online for it. I had a very horrible experience living there and i can't say anything nice about the place or the region. It's MY experience and many times i've been told to shut up about which fueled even more anger in me because i had a very miserable time growing up there. So i'm team Madonna all the way and they can fuck off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikki Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 if you've never lived in a small town you shouldn't judge because you don't know what you're talking about. she's right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adirondak Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I don't think it's pathetic at all. The mayor is the ambassador for the place, he's just doing his job. Kinda dumb of her insulting the place tbh. What? She didn't really insult the place. She described her experience of why she left when asked about it. I also think she was talking about the overall generality of thinking in small suburbs versus the big city. The answer to these problems ins't always getting offended, but instead how about we stop getting offended at things that aren't intended hatefully? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerGirl Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 As someone who currently lives in a small town, I know what she means. I hate this place and the people who live here. However, I do understand the mayor and his letter wasn't that bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryan Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 It's not a generalisation really. It was her experience when she was growing up there DECADES ago and she's entitled to it. Things may have changed in the intervening years but that's her recollection of her experience. End of story.This Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebelvvv Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 It's not a generalisation really. It was her experience when she was growing up there DECADES ago and she's entitled to it. Things may have changed in the intervening years but that's her recollection of her experience. End of story. Exactly. These days, everything has to be so sanitized, qualified and politically correct as to not actually voice an opinion at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nonoka Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I kinda get what she says, was living in a small town throughout my complete childhood and actually hated it for the very exact reason. Sure, you shouldn't generalize, but I do think it's true that you'll come across a lot more backwards-thinking, small-minded people than you do in a big city. Made the experience myself and honestly, there are lots of people who can confirm the same too. So I don't think she meant to offend the city or anything, she was just judging from her own experience - an experience lots of people made besides her too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qans1990 Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 M didn't express her view all that well, and it did come across as a generalization. I'm tired of everyone shading each other all around. I'm tired of others shading her for being old, etc etc. And I'm tired of her shading others as well. I'm sure there have got to be better, more intelligent and nuanced ways of expressing viewpoints than this soundbite generalization way of communicating that is so common everywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNT Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 It's not a generalisation really. It was her experience when she was growing up there DECADES ago and she's entitled to it. Things may have changed in the intervening years but that's her recollection of her experience. End of story. Yep. As someone who also grew up in a small town in the midwest I can tell you these towns are a dime a dozen. Her summation was almost certainly spot-on. Besides, nobody but Michigan locals / Detroit suburbanites would even know this place existed if it weren't for Madonna. They should be kissing her ass for even mentioning them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spotlight-japan Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Well Madonna is entitled to her opinion. Her childhood house was burnt down by an arsonist, wasn't it? Is that the kind of appreciation that Rorchester Hills has for their home town girl? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeakMaker Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Funny how we live in a world where none likes to be called a bigot or small minded or backward but truth is this world is still full of sexism, homophobia and intollarence in general. So it's gotta come from somewhere... Looks like this major is trying to cover his ass. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diversity83 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 She lived there in the fucking '70s. She said it "was". She didn't say it "is" now. What a dumb mayor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknrolla Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 The article is actually pretty complimentary of her compared to a lot of the nasty press she has received lately. And no, she shouldn't generalize an entire town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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