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| As always, it's the children who are suffering the most, |  |
...though it could well be that their parents are suffering even more.
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It was the parents of Flint, Michigan who watched helplessly as their children's skin broke out in lesions and their hair fell out in clumps and they became sick with mysterious chronic illnesses that baffled the pediatricians. It's the parents who've anguished over the inexplicable slowing in their babies' and young children's physical and mental development and who are now sick with worry that their children will suffer irreversible brain and neurological damage from the neurotoxins in the water they've been drinking and bathing in.
Who in this country questions the water that comes from our faucets? And yet what parent in Flint, Michigan isn't now suffering the tortures of the dammed for having so trustingly given their children the poisoned water that their children so trustingly accepted from them?
Who in this country questions the water that comes from our faucets? And yet what parent in Flint, Michigan isn't now suffering the tortures of the dammed for having so trustingly given their children the poisoned water that their children so trustingly accepted from them?
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But for all the harm done to their children, could there really be anything worse for these parents than knowing that their children's welfare was thrown to the dogs? That those state and local officials whose penny-saving safety-cutting measures poisoned the water didn't give a thought to the children of Flint?
When the residents of Flint complained about the foul water coming out of their taps they were repeatedly assured by government officials that their water was perfectly safe, while behind their backs these residents were being mocked, called "hysterical" and "The Anti-Everything Group" by the officials they came to for help. When Flint pediatrician Mona Hanna-Attisha held a news conference sharing her deep worry about the correlation between the water and the spike in the number of children with elevated levels of lead in their blood, she was publicly belittled and discredited by Michigan state officials who insisted that their own data showed that the water was safe. For 18 months state and local officials downplayed or denied every outside test, investigation and study indicating that the water flowing into the homes of Flint residents was high in lead and other sickening substances.
Clearly none of the public officials who closed their eyes to the danger in the water cared about the children of Flint, Michigan.
The grand irony in all of this is that the city of Flint switched its water source from the Detroit system to its own system using the filthy Flint River water to save money. To further save money the city cut corners on its water treatment, including leaving out the federally required chemicals that prevent corrosion in pipes.
When the residents of Flint complained about the foul water coming out of their taps they were repeatedly assured by government officials that their water was perfectly safe, while behind their backs these residents were being mocked, called "hysterical" and "The Anti-Everything Group" by the officials they came to for help. When Flint pediatrician Mona Hanna-Attisha held a news conference sharing her deep worry about the correlation between the water and the spike in the number of children with elevated levels of lead in their blood, she was publicly belittled and discredited by Michigan state officials who insisted that their own data showed that the water was safe. For 18 months state and local officials downplayed or denied every outside test, investigation and study indicating that the water flowing into the homes of Flint residents was high in lead and other sickening substances.
Clearly none of the public officials who closed their eyes to the danger in the water cared about the children of Flint, Michigan.
The grand irony in all of this is that the city of Flint switched its water source from the Detroit system to its own system using the filthy Flint River water to save money. To further save money the city cut corners on its water treatment, including leaving out the federally required chemicals that prevent corrosion in pipes.
And so the old city water delivery pipes of Flint quickly corroded, causing lead to leach into the water on its way to the homes of the people of Flint.
And now the city is about to be hit with a massive class action suit by the 100,000 residents of Flint. The city will be hit up for money to cover the possibly life-long medical problems and special needs of the children who will have developed physical and learning disabilities from the damage done to their developing brains and nervous systems from the city's lead-poisoned water.
| I'm no fan of activist film maker Michael Moore, |  |
...but in this case I can't dispute his call for criminal charges to be brought against Michigan governor Rick Snyder for ignoring Flint's water problems.
Except what good would that do the children?
Except what good would that do the children?
References:
1. "As Water Problems Grew, Officials Belittled Complaints From Flint," By Julie Bosman, Monica Davey, and Mitch Smith, The New York Times, Jan. 20, 2016
2. "Fouled Water And Failed Politics. Officials Dragged Their Feet as Evidence In Flint Piled Up", By Abby Goodnough, Monica Davey and Mitch Smith, The New York Times, Jan. 24, 2016
3. http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/timeline-water-crisis-flint-michigan-36419075
4. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-flint-water-got-poisonous_us_569907f5e4b0b4eb759e1426
5. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/01/19/michigan-flint-water-contamination/78996052/
1. "As Water Problems Grew, Officials Belittled Complaints From Flint," By Julie Bosman, Monica Davey, and Mitch Smith, The New York Times, Jan. 20, 2016
2. "Fouled Water And Failed Politics. Officials Dragged Their Feet as Evidence In Flint Piled Up", By Abby Goodnough, Monica Davey and Mitch Smith, The New York Times, Jan. 24, 2016
3. http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/timeline-water-crisis-flint-michigan-36419075
4. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-flint-water-got-poisonous_us_569907f5e4b0b4eb759e1426
5. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/01/19/michigan-flint-water-contamination/78996052/
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