—Tyler Durden, Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club
In this case two years has proven long enough for this column. Yup, this is the last M&S. I am shutting down in part because of another opportunity, in part because I feel like I have kinda made my point by now. When REVUE came asked me to do a column, they said: "Call out the stupid stuff, like Amway's ‘invitation only' downtown fireworks." Yeeeeah, but continually riffing on beaten dogs like Amway, the CRC or Tulip Time just wasn't that appealing.
I had a different thesis: there are many great things about GR, but our insecurity and neediness put those strengths at risk. Like the Beemer-driving douchebag checking his hair while parked on railroad tracks, we worry about impressions first, the reality of our surroundings last - if at all.
Even worse, when we make mistakes and get a bit of egg on our face, we pretend it didn't happen instead of learning from it. From the West Michigan Grand Prix to ArtPrize Jesus, we have had our share of red-faced f**k-ups. Remember the big initiative that was supposed to attract younger people to move and stay downtown? Or the "Keep it a Secret" campaign to ignite downtown retail traffic?
Look, trying crazy s**t is good, no risk no reward (!). But instead of sitting down and saying, "Wow, that sucked, how can we avoid that again?" we quickly hold up the next shiny object: "Um, er ... HEY look! We made Fire Hydrant Quarterly's Top 20!!! WHOOO!" Moreover, we stomp on anyone who DARES utter a questioning word about the sacred cow of the moment, be it ArtPrize, GVSC(cq), Rob Bliss or MSU Med School. So much for the marketplace of ideas.
Grand Rapids has incredible things to offer. We also have many things we need to work on. That work isn't happening because we are afraid to acknowledge problems much less discuss them.
I am not naïve - I know the insecurity of our "leaders" isn't going to change anytime soon. They will always be staring in the rearview mirror, oblivious to the oncoming locomotive. But if enough of us get out of the car and start pushing, maybe we can at least get off the damn tracks before it's too late.
SDP is really quite thankful for the graphic design wizardry, deadline-bending patience and disproportionate general genius of the entire REVUE team.
