I Was a Stranger, Day 34: Little Miss Flint

Can I just say that I am absolutely in love with Amariyanna “Mari” Copeny, Little Miss Flint? She is a powerhouse of a personality. At just nine years old, she's become the voice for her afflicted city, Flint, Michigan, which has been without clean water since 2014. President Obama approved funding to fix the situation in Flint back in December, but you can guess what's happened with that since a certain Cheeto and his minions came into power. You might remember her from contrasting photos with President Obama and #45. (And I would certainly say that #45 is "irresponsible to the state" and "irresponsible with God"!!! Here's what Mari says about her city:

The water smelled bad. It gave me a bad rash. It smelled like bleach. We couldn’t use it no more. [We used] bottled water: 36 gallons for a bubble bath and so we could brush our teeth.

We didn’t get the money [to fix the pipes] approved until December. [We need] new pipes, but they don’t care about Flint because some people here are poor and black. They don’t care about any poor people that need some help.

Keep fighting for Flint! Don’t let people forget about Flint. Keep the attention on Flint and keep Grump accountable, because he looks like an Oompa Loompa and he’s orange and he has that fake hair on!

I’m a celebrity now, so I can tell people not to forget about Flint. People listen to me better than anybody else, because people listen to kids better than adults.

Vote for me in 2044 for president. [I will] make sure everybody’s water is clean, and make sure everybody has health care, because our water made us sick. People died. A lot of people. Kids had lead poisoning—brain damage, memory loss.

I will make America awesome. I will not use that catchphrase [make America great again] ever again because that sounds so weird. So weird! So instead, I’m going to make America awesome. People aren’t gonna hate, and I’ll give everybody a free hug. I can change the world and make America a better place again. Anyone can change the world–but still don’t drink the water.

Better yet, watch her in action. She is delightful, and I'll definitely be voting for her in 2044 if I'm still alive and kicking!



Read more of my "I Was a Stranger" entries here.