As you might have already read on this website, a viral Internet movement is underway to provide the citizens of Detroit a RoboCop statue [read Fans Decide Detroit Needs A RoboCop Statue Despite Government Rejection]. What started off as a joke suggestion from a New England man on Twitter has turned into a donation drive to bring an actual statue of the sci-fi hero to the city. The drive has been so successful, the required $50,000 cost has already been raised in less than 10 days. While this grassroots campaign is nothing short of amazing, I can’t but feel like this is leaving a sour taste in my mouth.

Face it, there are a million reasons why Detroit’s Mayor David Bing rejected this idea of creating a RoboCop statue. The most important reason? Because it is stupid. Why spend the city’s dollars on creating a statue to a fictitious crime fighting robot? What will that do for the declining city and its disenfranchised population? Some parts of Michigan don’t even have enough money to run a local paper and yet somehow, $50,000 was raised to put up a statue of RoboCop? I am as much of a fan of RoboCop as the next guy, but there isn’t a reason out there that can explain why a statue is needed.

Comic book writer Ron Marz felt the same way and let it be known on his Twitter account. Rather than run his mouth on the issue though, he actually did something about it. He donated some dollars to a charity based in Detroit called Forgotten Harvest and urged his followers to do the same under the Twitter hastag #robocharity.

It is just a great cause and anyone with a Twitter should spread the message. RoboCop was created to protect and serve the citizens of Detroit. I can’t think of a better way to do that than to donate: https://www.forgottenharvest.org/donate.php.