No One Should Have to Walk 21 Miles to Work

[ND-Dem]

No One Should Have to Walk 21 Miles to Work: A Detroit man's awful commute epitomizes America's broken policies.

Of course James Robertson deserves a car. For the past decade, ever since his 1988 Honda Accord died, the 56-year-old factory worker has been walking 21 miles round-trip from his Detroit home to his job in Rochester Hills—a story few people knew until the Detroit Free Press Sunday profile of him in went viral. Four days later, and a crowd-funding campaign to "Help James Robertson Get a Car" has brought in nearly $300,000 in donations. Robertson's punishing daily slog is over.

But even as we celebrate the end of his patchwork foot-and-bus commute, we must recognize it as being only one extreme instance of some pervasive macro-level social problems. Robertson’s story is also a story of job migration, the failures of public transit, and especially of poverty. His commute highlighted the fact the working poor have commuting expenses twice as high as other workers, and because poverty makes ordinarily things like getting around very, very hard.

Furthermore, the response to Robertson’s story showed a classically American kind of nearsighted problem-solving: reducing every political question to the stories of individuals, and believing that helping those individuals can substitute for addressing systemic causes....Our natural empathy for individuals leads to solutions that tend to be feel-good rather than do-good. But to be serious about the situation faced by Robertson and scores of other low-wage workers requires an appreciation that, to achieve a just outcome, charity must be coupled with reform. Or, as Yale chaplain William Sloane Coffin said, “Charity is a matter of personal attributes; justice, a matter of public policy. Charity seeks to alleviate the effects of injustice; justice seeks to eliminate the causes of it.”

Even more pernicious, perhaps, is how Robertson’s boss used the story as a stick with which to beat other workers. “I say, if this man can get here, walking all those miles through snow and rain, well I'll tell you, I have people in Pontiac 10 minutes away and they say they can't get here — bull!” Instead of seeing a 21-mile commute as an outrageous theft of Robertson’s time and health, Robertson’s boss saw it as a model to be aspired to.

Simply elevating Robertson as a folk hero, and lavishing him with support, therefore risks coming to the wrong conclusion. “We could use more men like James Robertson in this world,” wrote donors to the fundraising campaign. But surely if we want more men with Robertson’s fortitude, we also want far fewer to have suffer as he has. What he endured may be inspiring, but it's horrifying too.

Certainly, James Robertson’s story has been a powerful affirmation of public compassion. The internet has an astonishing power to amass and bestow money on people with inspiring stories, and it's heartwarming to see Robertson's terrible burden finally lifted. But there are inherent limits to this kind of charitable response. If we celebrate Robertson’s automotive commute as a victory, then we risk making it harder to get attention for those who suffer only slightly less punishing distances to work each morning. Their stories will not go viral, and their own commutes will continue long after Robertson drives his new car off the lot.


http://www.newrepublic.com/article/120980/james-robertsons-detroit-commute-symbol-broken-policies

[hunter]

1. Nope, I did not find this an inspiring story. My first thought was "Wow. The U.S.A. really sucks!"

Good for this guy, but there are thousands just like him, every bit as worthy or more so, who are destroyed by the system.

[deafskeptic]

2. Indeed.

I was appalled at the boss endorsement of Robertson's 21 mile trek to work as something to aspire to. There's something inhumane about that. He likely had had no choice but to go to work by foot and it's quite likely he didn't have the funds for a replacement for his car. I consider a one or two mile trek by foot or bike as something far more reasonable than his 21 mile or to work or more accurately a 42 mile trek by foot from to work and back home.

Where was the boss' concern for his health and time?

[ND-Dem]

3. yeah, that part kind of floored me too.

Even more pernicious, perhaps, is how Robertson’s boss used the story as a stick with which to beat other workers. “I say, if this man can get here, walking all those miles through snow and rain, well I'll tell you, I have people in Pontiac 10 minutes away and they say they can't get here — bull!”

Instead of seeing a 21-mile commute as an outrageous theft of Robertson’s time and health, Robertson’s boss saw it as a model to be aspired to.

So it figures that after more than 12 years at that place, the exemplary employee is still making just $10.50 an hour.

[JohnnyRingo]

4. I was a bit puzzled by this story.

At an average of 3.1mph, a 42 mile walk would take thirteen and a half hours if he doesn't stop anywhere. Given an eight hour job and a half hour at home for dinner, that leaves him two and a half hours to sleep before he gets up and does it again.

I know he rode public transport for a suspiciously undisclosed distance, but that small detail seems to get lost in the plea for donations. It also doesn't explain why he didn't buy a bike. I passed up several mountain bikes last summer for $15 at garage sales. If he can't even afford that, why does he work 21 miles away at barely minimum wage? Get an equally crappy job closer to home. Even if he walks half the distance, he has to be going through a new pair of shoes each month at what for him, is apparently a great expense.

Now that a car dealer has donated a 2015 Ford and he has $300,000 in cash donations coming his way, should people stop helping him, or will a new McMansion close to his job and a new car barely get him on his figurative feet?

While this man's story touches one's conscience and raises awareness to wealth disparity, some things just don't add up. I don't want to appear heartless, but what good does it do to dump all our charitable resources on one person while so many others continue to suffer?

[Fumesucker]

5. Yeah, it seemed a bit off to me as well

A bicycle easily triples your speed at a given effort level, from 3 mph walking to 9 mph on the bike.

Back in the mid 70's I was riding my Peugot bicycle about seven miles each way to work, it took me just over a half hour to make the trip, then I broke my leg falling down some stairs and had to take the bus which took me over an hour in each direction with a bus transfer at about the midway point in my trip.

I also agree with the other comments on the thread regarding the boss, he appears to be a major league asshole who is totally unworthy of such a dedicated employee.

[BubbaFett]

11. When I was in college

I rode at least 50 miles a day just for health/commute purposes and still had plenty of time for 15-17 credit hour load, 30 hour a week job, and keeping household at an off campus apartment.

[ND-Dem]

6. he walks 21 miles *a day*, not 21 miles each way. and i read somewhere that it takes him something

like 3 or 4 hours on either side of work.

I don't think the story's fake; too many unconnected people involved.

[BubbaFett]

12. you can get a shit pay job

anywhere in your own neighborhood.

But without actually meeting the parties involved and talking to them, I have to withhold judgment.

[whopis01]

17. Why did you double it? It is 21 miles in the story - not 42. n/t

[JohnnyRingo]

21. That is one of the exaggerations I've read.

Almost every account, whether here or in the media, mentions an inflated figure that he walks. It was yesterday that a poster stated that it was an undue hardship that he walks 42 miles a day.

In this particular post it is insinuated that he walks a 21 mile round trip (see subject line). That isn't true, as he clearly rides public transport for a consistently untold distance.

Don't get me wrong, I have great empathy for this man and others like him, though I wonder why he subjects himself to this daily ordeal. It's obvious that anyone with even a minimum wage job can put together enough cash after a couple months to buy an alternative means of transportation. Even a moped is only a few hundred dollars new, and would cut his commute time by at least 66%. A used one would be less than the money he spends on shoe leather.

I believe this story hit a social nerve when it broke. Those on the left saw him as a working class hero representing the downtrodden. Those on the right saw him through equally sympathetic eyes because they relate him to one who literally grabbed his bootstraps and accepted his lowly lot without complaint. The media fell in love with him because it's what they do for news filler.

From there it snowballed to the point he can now park his new Ford in the garage of a $300,000 McMansion much closer to the neighborhood where he works. I wouldn't be surprised if he still walks to save the cost of gas though. It just may be what he enjoys doing. Remember, he didn't seek out the attention, it found him.

Twelve, twenty one, or forty two miles, do you really want to argue the exact distance? I've read numbers that are all over the place, depending on the source.

[whopis01]

23. I understand your point and don't disagree

However, it really hurts your otherwise valid argument when the first paragraph of the article says a "21 mile round-trip" and you then double it and show that it doesn't make sense mathematically.

Again I don't disagree with what you are saying - And no, I don't want to argue the exact distance, but if you are going to try to calculate how much time the fellow has left for sleep in the day, using the numbers provided in the post seems to make sense to me.

[kcr]

18. You are the one who can't add, as others have pointed out

Are you going to respond?

[JohnnyRingo]

20. That's one of the exaggerations on this story I've read.

Almost every account, whether here or in the media, mentions an inflated figure that he walks. It was yesterday that a poster stated that it was an undue hardship that he walks 42 miles a day.

In this post it is insinuated that he walks a 21 mile round trip. That isn't true, as he rides public transport for a consistently untold distance.

Don't get me wrong, I have great empathy for this man, though I wonder why he subjects himself to this daily ordeal. It's obvious that anyone with even a minimum wage job can put together enough cash after a couple months to buy an alternative means of transportation. Even a moped is only a few hundred dollars new, and would cut his commute time by at least 66%. A used one would be less than the money he spends on shoe leather.

I believe this story hit a social nerve when it broke. Those on the left saw him as a working class hero representing the downtrodden. Those on the right saw him through equally sympathetic eyes because they relate him to one who literally grabbed his bootstraps and accepted his lowly lot without complaint. The media fell in love with him because it's what they do for news filler.

From there it snowballed to the point he can now park his new Ford in a $300,000 McMansion much closer to the neighborhood where he works. I wouldn't be surprised if he still walks to save the cost of gas though.

Do you really want to argue the point?

[Nay]

13. Yeah -- and all this time, nobody thought to take up a small collection to

get this guy a used car, or get his car fixed? No one ever replaced their own car and decided to donate their used one to this guy? Especially the boss, who probably makes plenty? It was a weird story, and while I have no doubt the poor man had to walk, it wasn't any 42 miles, because that's impossible. 21 miles is more believable, but even then. . .no one commutes from anywhere near him who could give him a ride?

It's a strange, strange story, and I agree with the OP's posting. It's a testament to how shitty this country is getting.

[nilesobek]

7. The car might be actually bad for him.

He must be in good shape to be able to walk so far. I've been in those shoes myself, I've never owned a good car but when I got this last Ford I gained 10 lbs quick. No more walking to work.

[woo me with science]

8. "reducing every political question to the stories of individuals, and believing that helping..."

Furthermore, the response to Robertson’s story showed a classically American kind of nearsighted problem-solving: reducing every political question to the stories of individuals, and believing that helping those individuals can substitute for addressing systemic causes...

Excellent, excellent point, and a tactic that is cynically used for political and business propaganda all the time.

This is how we get pretty pictures of the president writing a check to a poor person, while also signing a second round of food stamp cuts, putting SS on the table to justify another round of austerity, and preparing to push through the predatory TPP.

I caught a TV show last night called something like "Undercover Boss" that was the most cynical, despicable bit of PR you could imagine. It was basically a commercial for Taco Bell, masquerading as a television show. But the most insulting thing about it was that this millionaire corporate executive of Taco Bell spent a week working alongside minimum wage workers and then at the end did things like giving a deserving one a car.

No attention to the fact that they are ALL are underpaid. No resolution to improve the quality of their lives overall. Give one of them a car, and everything's better. An insulting, cynical, utterly manipulative bit of advertising.

[woo me with science]

9. K&R

[BubbaFett]

10. I get what you are saying

but no one "deserves" anything.

I've never had an expectation for something I didn't earn, pay for, or work like a dog to get.

I don't think this man did either and it is a testament to his fortitude to do what he had to do to TCB.

That he got this windfall from the kindness of others just show that there are still lots of good people out there.

But let's get the framing right: no one deserves anything more than what they are willing to do themselves to get it. Unless they are differently abled, elderly or unable to do for themselves. Then society as a whole has a responsibility to help those people.

But never be mistaken: there is no dignity in charity.

[ND-Dem]

15. you just said you deserve what you have because you earned it, paid for it, and worked for it.

so evidently you *do* think people deserve things.

[BubbaFett]

22. the word earn

is different than the word deserve.

The world doesn't owe you anything.

[kcr]

19. It's clear you are the one who doesn't get it

The point isn't charity. In fact, it was pointed out in the OP that charity isn't the solution. Don't you think if there was more opportunity closer so this man didn't have to walk so much every day, he might have taken it?

[KG]

14. i didn't find that story inspiring.

[greytdemocrat]

16. But this I did...

DETROIT, Mich. — UPDATE: James Robertson's long walks to work can be a thing of the past now. The Michigan man has received a 2015 Ford Taurus from a local car dealership. Over $300,000 has been raised via an online fundraiser started by a college student.

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/weird-news/detroit-man-walks-21-miles-work-each-day/nj3Yz/