Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and other state officials should be held fully accountable for their role in the poisoning of the children of Flint. What they did is morally reprehensible and criminal. It is one more example of how class exploitation and racial oppression interpenetrate in catastrophic, sometimes even deadly, ways in this beleaguered city.
The actions – or inactions – of Governor Snyder and others in high places should land them in prison. There is no justifiable defense for the harm done to the children of Flint. The next news cycle shouldn’t turn this travesty into yesterday’s news.
Imagine the reaction if children in the superrich neighborhoods of Grosse Pointe tested positively for lead poisoning due to governmental negligence. The uproar would be immediate and the culprits held accountable. Their excuses, no matter how plausible sounding, would be contemptuously dismissed. Prison time would be in their future for such an egregious and callous breach of the public trust.
The life of every child should be precious, fulfilling, and magical no matter where they live or the color of their skin or the class background of their parents. A life of endless opportunities for some and cramped possibilities for the rest shouldn’t be a standard that decent people tolerate.
So, please sign the petition. It’s a small way that you can stand up for the children of Flint and their families in their struggle for justice.
Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore was born in Flint and first became famous for his Emmy Award winning 1989 film, Roger & Me, a documentary about what happened to Flint after General Motors closed its factories and opened new ones in Mexico, where the workers were paid much less. Through Democracy for America, Moore has an online petition: Demand Gov. Rick Snyder resign and face arrest for poisoning Flint’s water. To sign the petition, go here.
People’s World reporters are on the ground covering the Flint water crisis and will be filing reports this week.
Photo: Flint residents protest against Gov. Rick Snyder, asking for his resignation and arrest in relation to Flint’s water crisis on Jan. 14, at the Capitol in Lansing, Mich. Jake May | The Flint Journal | via AP
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