Flint, Michigan declared a financial emergency in 2011 and made plans to switch from water purchased from Detroit to the contaminated Flint River as a way to save money. They did this despite a long history of industrial waste and other contamination being dumped into this river. They did this despite multiple people who knew better advising against it. They did this without having proper infrastructure to complete the change, including a water treatment facility that was updated and able to handle the capacity and updated piping not made from lead. In addition to heavy metal poisoning from lead and copper, the water was filled with other contaminates. Fecal matter, other chemicals, parasites, and bacteria were all present (AND ARE STILL PRESENT) in this water. An outbreak of Legionaries Disease was covered up and not reported for years, and there is no way to know exactly how many people died from this due to them not properly tracking and reporting the outbreak. People in the government worked harder to hide this issue and gaslight people into believing they were taking action than they ever did doing anything useful. They tried to tell people that the sicknesses, the cancer, the fatigue, the hair loss, the miscarriages, the learning disabilities, and the rashes were all in their heads and not a big deal and ABSOLUTELY not related to the perfectly clean water. General Motors refused to use the water in their operations due to the nasty water rusting and ruining their parts and machines, yet it was okay for people to drink. Come on. Please be aware that this issue is not resolved. Only a fraction of the lead pipes have been replaced. Pipes in homes have not been replaced. People are not getting medical treatment. People are not being supplied lead filters for their sinks. They have lifted the boil water advisory. People are still getting rashes from showing in this disgusting water. Testing has been done incorrectly to fake positive results. Water is not being supplied, and delivery of water to homebound individuals has stopped. This crisis is not over.

HERE ARE MY HOT TAKES FROM THE BOOK. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO READ THEM, SKIP TO THE NEXT HEADING FOR COMMENTS ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE BOOK.

Governor Rick Snyder is a scumbag of a top tier. People in his administration also fit that description. People in subsequent administrations also fit that description. The media who have failed to accurately report this ONGOING crisis by inaccurate reporting, killing stories, and ignoring coverage also fit that description. It is CRIMINAL that these people will not be held accountable for their blatant disregard for human life, and their need to line their pockets and have political power.

This, and other environmental issues, makes more recent administrations cutting EPA funding and power all the more disgusting. This country has a history of making industrial wastelands out of rivers and areas they operate in, and there absolutely should be safeguards in place to prevent this. Cutting programs and funding is exhibiting a blatant disregard for human life, which we have seen multiple times over the years. Nuclear testing sites, industrial contamination, etc. are ongoing issues that require ongoing attention.

People love to yap about how wonderful America is, but when the government is actively poisoning its own citizens, among all the other shenanigans, and refuses to implement necessary infrastructure upgrades...it is really difficult to accept this silly nationalistic idea that this is a superior country. While it has many wonderful qualities, places, and freedoms, it is severely lacking in education, healthcare, environmental protections, lack of racism, lack of sexism, equal rights, and proper infrastructure. People refuse to accept these things and then get upset when people do. Grow up.

The past two presidential administrations, Trump and Biden, have done nothing to help these people. I think Trump is a useless individual who is a bigger scum bucket than the Governor who caused this problem, but the Democratic response to this issue has been just as disgraceful. This is not the only ongoing contamination issue that people are facing, and it is a shame that no administration seems to be concerned enough about it to fix it. Blaming one political party or another is childish and will do nothing to fix the issue. This seems to be a continuous thing to sling mud about, while disregarding the actual problem at hand.

If anyone deserved free healthcare, it is the people of Flint who have been poisoned by their own governments. It is disgusting that they are not getting free healthcare for the horrific health issues that they are facing because of this. It is equally disgusting that proper tracking and reporting were not done to see the types of illnesses, how many, and what areas were most affected.

COMMENTS ABOUT THE BOOK:
The book was extremely interesting. I knew only a little bit about the Flint crisis from some little streaming service documentary I watched about the Flint water crisis and police force a while back. I, like many other Americans not living in Flint being poisoned, thought this issue was resolved. When you google it, it does say WAS a crisis in past tense, which is simply untrue. The author is an investigative journalist, and the interviews and relationships built with the people of Flint gives this book an even stronger level of humanity and hopelessness. This was one of the better books I have read this year. I strongly suggest looking into this issue more, because it is a WHOLE MESS.