Posted: 02/16/2011
(WXYZ) - It all started with a seemingly innocent tweet.
On February 7 @MT offered this thought into the cyber conversation, “@mayordavebing Philadelphia has a statue of Rocky & Robocop would kick Rocky’s butt. He’s a great ambassador for Detroit.”
To which Mayor Bing replied, “There are not any plans to erect a statue to Robocop. Thank you for the suggestion.”
The mayor had spoken. End of story, right? Wrong.
The tweeter didn’t likely realize it at the time, but similar to the elementary school game of telephone, his Robocop whisper sparked a frenzy of rumors. Bouncing around the social media universe it gained momentum, and today—just nine days later—the idea is backed by $50,621 in funds.
Leading the Robocop statue campaign are the organizers of Imagination Station, a nonprofit based in Detroit’s Corktown. They have raised the money via their website and Kickstarter .
According to the site the project will be funded March 26 and with 38 days to go, has already surpassed its goal of $50,000.
Robocop will “Serve the public trust, protect the innocent and uphold the law,”—according to the 1987 flick—from a proposed location in Roosevelt Park facing Michigan Central Station. Constructed of iron, he will stand seven feet tall and be sculpted by local artist, Casey V. Westbrook.
Not all of the attention gained by the Robocop statue has been positive. In fact, blogs like Supergay Detroit criticizes the idea in a post entitled “10 Reasons why a Robocop is a bad idea.”
Supergay Detroit cites reasons such as, “2.) It’s disrespectful to police” and “7.) It’s a waste of money and manpower,” to back his dislike for the Robocop proposal.
We’ve heard from others and now we want to hear from you. What do you think of the science fiction cyborg statue? Is it brilliant or a bust?
LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW OR ON OUR FACEBOOK FAN PAGE AND CHECK BACK TO SEE WHERE THE CONVERSATION GOES.
Copyright 2011 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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