The Mower Gang: #Anarchy in Detroit, Part I
We all know Detroit's in trouble: A bankrupt city full of crumbling houses, abandoned factory buildings, and a dwindling population.
But while politicians, unions, and investors slug it out in bankruptcy court and grasp for their share of what little cash is left, ordinary citizens are left to fend for themselves in a city with no functioning government. This is Reason TV's coverage of what happens when people are left to their own devices and forced to come up with creative ways to pick up the pieces and find solutions in a city they once loved.
This is #Anarchy in Detroit, a four-part series showcasing what actual Detroit residents are doing to make the Motor City a better place to live.
In Part I, Tom Nardone is tired of seeing Detroit's public parks go unmowed by the city government. He thinks that children should have a place to play. So, he hops on his mower and does it himself. Then, he invites others.
"I was surprised when the first person showed up. I was like, 'All right. I guess someone's as crazy as I am,'" says Nardone.
Hence, the Mower Gang is born.
Watch the video above, and check out the rest of the series here. Part II profiles Detroit Threat Management, a private security firm supplementing the efforts of the city's beleaguered law enforcement. Part III explores Fireweed Universe City, a neighborhood of anarchist squatters. And Part IV takes a look at one man's wild idea to purchase an island in the Detroit River and turn it into a libertarian paradise. Or, watch the whole thing here.
Approximately 3 minutes. Produced by Zach Weissmueller. Shot by Tracy Oppenheimer and Weissmueller. Music by Cassiopee Asphodel and Treaty.
Click the buttons below for downloadable versions of this video, and don't forget to subscribe to Reason TV's Youtube channel for more content like this.
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You found the one white guy in detroit?
Okay, okay, I kid, there were clearly several in that gang.
I’d say something about, “…and note how the shite guy is the only one WORKING…”, but that would be RACIST, so I won’t.
/Merkin
I’m just going to leave that, cause it’s kind of meta-funnier the way I typed it.
Mourning, Reason!
Lisa Lampanelli, that you?
Uh, they are all white.
Any way to make it cool for the hipsters to move to Detroit? Kill two birds with one stone that way.
Some of this has started with the artisanal mayonnaise types. Lofts, certain bars, “urban gardening” – there’s a definite hipster crowd of teh whyte youngsters entering the city.
How long they stay and what impact they have? We shall see.
I don’t particularly care whether they make the place better if they can go down with the city and take hipsterism with them, too.
They may smell funny and beg punching, but I have to admit they do usually improve the neighborhoods they infest.
Urban Gardening.
Hey, try these tomatoes. You won’t believe the incredible flavor all the mercury produces.
Can we trade for some leaded carrots instead?
Either way you’re getting 10,000% of your manganese for the day.
Uh, huh. It’s all fun until these gangs start in with the turf battles.
“I thought it just was a gunshot. But it turned out to be a mower backfiring!”
Turf battles……I just envisioned a bunch of snarling guys engaging in a war of ‘bumber mowers’.
Clearly these people are all criminally insane and a danger to the children of Detroit.
Tony said there can be no cooperation without coercion. So clearly this video is a fabrication.
Well, it is reasonTV, so it must be libertarian propaganda.
Yeah. Those tyrannical libertarians trying to impose liberty on people. The fucking nerve…
Sarc, do NOT encourage Tony to come in here and spin this. I’m enjoying my espresso and shake.
what actual citizens are doing to make the Motor City a better place to live.
Well, if they’re so smart, why aren’t they working for the government?
I know you think you’re helping by celebrating this stuff, but you’re not.
These people are being extorted by looters into putting themselves in the vulnerable position of being lawbreakers just so their society can function at a basic level.
The problem is the “vulnerable” part will end like this:
http://www.boston.com/news/wor…..political/
It always does.
You’d be better off rioting and burning all the city government buildings in Detroit to the ground. That at least would have a chance to succeed. This “constructive anarchy” stuff ends with bulldozers destroying everything you’ve built as soon as the state decides to give a shit for five minutes.
I think we as libertarians should organize charity drive so each citizen of these enclaves can have a rifle and ammunition.
I think we as libertarians should organize charity drive so each citizen of these enclaves can have a rifle shotgun and ammunition.
/Biden
Good point. They should get together, incorporate, and buy the park. Then mow it, improve it, do whatever. Of course, the city will invoke Eminent Domain and take it right back, but at least they’ll have to pay. In this case, these guys might get a hearty pat on the back at best before city workers cite them for destroying public property and operating a motor vehicle without the proper license.
You’d be surprised how doable this is. I once read about a story in Texas where a guy got a house for free by maintaining it and filing for adverse posession. Apparently, Texas has forms where you can file, and you get the property in like 5 years, not 30. I would guess that most states have something like this.
Youd think that filing would get the city government’s attention, but this is such a little-used thing that I doubt any lawyer or bureaucrat anywhere would ever catch it getting filed.
And even if they did, they simply don’t have the manpower to police these guys from doing their mowing. Actually, if the city is smart, what they’ll do is write a letter GRANTING permission to these guys to do what they’re doing, as a way to get out of adverse posession. Denying entrance/the right to mow and maintain would probably not work as well in the court, as the team’s members could just change a little bit and then it’d be a whole “new” group doing the mowing.
Such a diverse group! /rolls eyes. Progtard.
This “constructive anarchy” stuff ends with bulldozers destroying everything you’ve built as soon as the state decides to give a shit for five minutes.
Those anarchistsa are taking good jobs away from AFSCME members!
As the great Krugman informs us, destruction is the key to prosperity.
Wars make us richer. Blowing stuff up makes more stuff. Have you thrown a rock at a window today?
Officials will put an end to it in 3-2….for the children.
You CAN’T have people driving around town on their mowers without helmets. Think of the costs on health!
Jesus you people are sickening.
I’m pretty sure it was Libertarian Anarchists that were responsible for all of Detroits problems. And do these people have permits for all of these things? How can you have any pudding if you don’t have a permit. If Obama were made Emperor, he would would put a stop to this uncivilized non-permitted behavior right now.
How can you have any pudding if you don’t have a permit.
+1 one brick in the wall
+2 Really clever turn of phrase.
Meanwhile, the sparkling mind that is Obama makes a point about raising the debt ceiling doesn’t add to the debt. Notice his smug ‘the average person’ jab.
The guy is just too much. Your leader. Not mine.
http://cnsnews.com/mrctv-blog/…..t-has-over
Oops. Link,
No one really knowzs what will happen for sure. We have to go ahead and raise it to find out.
raising the debt ceiling doesn’t add to the debt.
And if I never weigh myself, I’ll never gain weight.
Freedom means asking permission and taking orders!
Have these people gotten the proper permits? Have they acquired the necessary licenses? Is some government jerk with a clipboard watching them and telling them what to do?
I don’t think so!
HOW DARE THEY?!?!
We should get some tents and protest!
It’s not their fault. They just need reeducation immediately. Off to the camps.
Interviewer: Why are you protesting this initiative by concerned citizens?
Progtard (let’s call him Tony): Like, um, it’s not right, man! The Koch brothers are behind this cynical ploy to take jobs away from union city workers who deserve a living wage! And the teabaggers and Saral Palin! We’re here to put a stop to this illegal activity! What happens if they mow a child down! Who will pay for that? What if that kid has no insurance? Hygiene, I mean, it’s not hygienic! Look, it’s, um, simple, they didn’t build that park. This is not, like Somalia. Fuck! How are we going to collect taxes? What’s next, these people are gonna wanna, like, put guns and shits on their mowers? That’s all we need a bunch of good Samaritans thinking they’re James Bond and shit. What’s going on in my country when people do shit like this! Where’s FEMA? The EPA? Any government agency! My world is falling apart!
/falls to knees sobbing.
What’s next, these people are gonna wanna, like, put guns and shits on their mowers?
Look at the clip again. The one guy is clearly driving a scary assault mower already. It has a scary skull and crossbones on it! Just like you suspect, soon, if these barbarians are not stopped, they will have gun turrets on the mowers with scary assault weapons mounted. Then they’ll just drive around the city on their illegal assault mowers, looking for any children to gun down in the streets.
I’ll bet they’re all concealed-carry clipper types, too.
Suburbanites trying to take over the city’s jewelws*!!!
*this is what people in Detroit ACTUALLY BELIEVE
Link please. I have an X485. What are my arming options? I’m very disappointed that my local John Deere distributor has ZERO showroom options for me. Very disappointed.
I hope they’ve all got their permits in order…
I just can’t get over that it’s voluntarily paying more taxes.
I’d be fine with it if it was a kind of homesteading and you’d eventually be given title to the land for improving it, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. I’d probably mow adjacent lots to keep nuisances down, but I prefer to mow down nuisance government.
You can’t fool me with this. It’s just a bunch of white guys who want to show off their riding lawnmowers.
Good for them !!
my buddy’s aunt makes $83/hour on the internet. She has been laid off for 5 months but last month her pay was $12861 just working on the internet for a few hours. Read Full Report
http://www.Rush60.com
If Detroit is to ever survive, this sort of thing must happen more often and the citizens HAVE to decide FOR honest government instead of the mess in place. Maybe it won’t reach the heights of the ’50s and ’60s but the city can survive, if it wants to. My family lived on 7 Mile and Russell until everyone left in the early ’70s. Detroiters, decide!
Citizens have to wake up like this.
Albert W. Peters