Scoop’s Views

If you pay attention to CNN, the city of Philadelphia, known as the "City of Brotherly Love," some in the city are calling it the "City of Brotherly Hate." The people giving it that name may be the ones who recently attended a rally at the Community College of Philadelphia, though.

Dorothy Speight Johnson with Bill Cosby at a gathering at Community College of Philadelphia to protest murders and violence in Philadelphia (CNN video screenshot)

One of the speakers, identified as Dorothy Speight Johnson, of Mothers in Charge, said he son was gunned down for parking in someone else’s parking spot. See, here in Philadelphia there is very little assigned parking, so this had to be a turf/gang thing. Johnson, speaking at the gathering, which was filmed by CNN, said her son had been shot seven times for that parking spot.

Yes, in Philadelphia, like many places in the U.S., people think that the street right in front of their home is "their" parking spot if they don’t have off-street parking or a driveway. In fact, in the winter, some people shovel the snow from their sidewalk, then dig out their vehicle, and when they are done doing that, they shovel out a really nice parking spot. A parking spot that’s salted down, ensuring there’s no ice, snow, or anything obstructing clean street when they arrive home that evening from work.

When they leave home in the morning, after spending their time shoveling out their parking spot, they get odd things, like plastic summer patio chairs, and put two or three in the spot they cleared of snow. When they get back home that evening, often, in some neighborhoods, the patio furniture will be on the sidewalk — or simply nowhere to be found. What about that parking spot? Well, someone else parked in it.

If the person who did all that shoveling in the morning dares call the police, let’s just say there will be more insult to injury. The cops will tell the person the street belongs to the city and that there is no such thing as "private parking" or "personal parking spots" on a city street — even if you are the one who did shovel all the snow from the parking spot.

When did Johnson’s son get shot? I have no idea. I can tell you, from what I heard on the news, is that it was one in the ever-growing black-on-black murders and violent assaults. There are too many shootings and murders in the city — nay, in parts of the city — with crime spreading to other parts. It all goes back to our lousy mayor, John Street, has reduced the numbers of cops on the police force. He wants to shut down firehouses. He has ground this city into debt — even though he was given the proverbial keys to the city with a budget surplus by former Philadelphia mayor and now Pennsylvania’s governor, Ed Rendell. John Street even got rid of our mounted police unit. When it comes to crime, he makes sure it’s alive and well.

Philadelphia City Council, back in January, held a session where people — including a lot of teenagers who are former gangbangers and gangbanger-wannabe’s — presented ideas on how to stop crime. There was a 10-second snippet on one of the local TV news programs about the hearing. In that snippet, there was a black man sitting to the right of a black teenager. The teenager told City Council they had to do something to stop the violence. He was asked why. His response: "Because it’s bad." He then had to be prodded for answers, such as, "Is it hard for someone to get a gun on the street?" He said, "No." More prodding by City Council members. He comes back with, "If someone wants a gun, they will get one."

Big shocking news there, huh? But that’s what some called the city’s black youth getting involved to stop violence and murders. It was sad to watch. You would have expected the teens to have been primed for their appearance before City Council. You would have expected they would have had notes about talking point, or, at the very least, just in case they can’t read, have trouble reading, or are read horribly from notes, that they would have been prepped for even a three-to-five minute speech. Okay, forget that. How about them being prepped to answer questions, such as, "Is it hard for someone to buy a gun on the street?" Answer: "No, if you want one, you simply let this person know. All you have to do is let it be know that you are looking. If you do that, you will have a gun of your choice within 24 hours."

The mockery in City Council chambers didn’t do anything — nor did it produce anything — that helped rid crime, violence, and murders from the streets of Philadelphia. The hearing looked like more of a staged event by an organization that may be trying to help troubled youths or one where courts order teens to perform community service work. It isn’t unheard of for a judge to tell teens and others who have been on the wrong side of the bars, to perform community service and scare others.

A movie released back in 1978, Scared Straight, did that kind of thing, too. It was filmed inside a prison, and the prisoners tried to scare the living daylights out of kids. For a short time, the movie seemed to be helpful — but only for those who were "borderline" troublemakers. Those really looking for trouble, really considering a life of crime, well, there’s nothing you’re going to do to stop them shy of convicting them and slipping them a needle while strapped down, or someone shooting them.

John Street, along with his brother, Milton, have been figures here in Philadelphia since the 70’s. I met Milton and John the first time in the late 1970’s at a "Community Unity" protest they organized at "The Gallery," a multi-level indoor mall. Milton, a former state senator, is currently indicted in a federal investigation for scamming millions from the Philadelphia International Airport. John and the people around him, it seems, have been the target of an investigation lasting almost as long as the Whitewater investigation.

On April 13, 2002, John Street made me angrier at one person in a matter of seconds than almost anyone else has been able to do my entire life. That evening, on the local news, John’s remarks about his administration rang out loud and clear. In fact, it reverberated words, in a more polite fashion, that he and his brother, Milton, chanted at the "Community Unity" protest in 1977. At an NAACP meeting earlier in the day, John Street said (ignore his use of double-negatives, please, as it’s the only courteous thing to do for "the mayor"):

"The brothers and sisters are running this city. Running it! Don’t you let nobody fool you, we are in charge of the City of Brotherly Love. We are in charge."

So, what’s the big story right now? It’s that there were more than 365 murders in the city of Philadelphia. The story is that so far this year, in the city of Philadelphia, there are more murders than days that have ticked off the calendar for 2007. Statistically, it’s something like 1.3 murders per day in the city. I forget what the numbers are for the number of shootings.

For CNN, what’s the story? The story is people like Johnson. The story is people like Bill Cosby who came from his home in Elkins Park, a small town located just outside the city of Philadelphia, to visit a gathering in West Philadelphia. In fact, it was Bill Cosby who held up the picture of Johnson’s son while she spoke.

While Bill Cosby is to be commended for his willingness to take part in this, and many other events to get people out, to get people to work in the community to make things better, what’s the solution? That I can’t answer.

What I can tell you, though, the answer is not a bunch of teenagers and self-described gangbangers and gangbanger-wannabe’s talking to City Council. In fact, let’s take it a step further. It is not City Council — in Philadelphia or elsewhere — talking about finding the proverbial cure.

The cure is in additional cops on the streets. The cure is in getting people to talk. The cure is for people, like Johnson, to stand up, talk with the cops after each and every shooting — not only the shootings you witness and the victim or intended victim is a friend or family member. Open those doors when the cops arrive. Get out there, on the street, and tell the cops who did the shooting.

In Philadelphia, though, John Street and his "brothers and sisters" comment ushered in an era where many thought they could get away with murder. Sadly, they are. That era also helped usher in a "Don’t Snitch" campaign — complete with posters and T-shirts. The Don’t Snitch T-shirts are even sold in at least one store in The Gallery — the very place where John and Milton Street protested for more things to be given to the black community.

Yes, Philadelphia may have a murder rate three times the national average. The sad part about it is that it too many innocent people are murdered. If it were just gangbangers killing gangbangers, druggies killing druggies, or gangbangers and druggies killing each other, I’d push for the city to give a four square block radius for a free-fire zone for the scum. Let them kill each other off while the rest of the city gets on with life. Unfortunately, the scum doesn’t care where their bullets go. They kill anyone and everyone — for any stupid reason. Even a parking spot.

CNN Video: City of brotherly hate?