The City of Brotherly Love is a myth.
- Thursday, 29-March, 97 murders in Philadelphia this year to date.
- Saturday, 31-March, 100 murders.
- Monday, 2-April, 104 murders.
… and there are 3 gunshot victims from yesterday alone in hospitals in critical condition.
Last I checked, NYC still had fewer than 90 murder this year. Philly has been in the lead all year. Sadly, many of the murders have been committed against innocent people. (Like the honor student who was killed for parking in the wrong place or the mother of 4 who was in the wrong place at 10:30 a.m. on a weekday last week.)
The police commissioner has sent his commanders and supervisors back to the streets in uniform. Commissioner Johnson will be out there too. This means about 300 more cops in uniforms on the street. The catch is each one of them is only going to be out there 1 night a week for 4 hours from 6 to 10 pm. I haven’t studied the statistics that closely, but that doesn’t sound like the right time for them to be out. 40 more cops a night could make a difference but how much of a difference? They are targeting the hot spots, walking the walk and talking the talk. But will it make enough of a difference? I’m all for giving it time but the announcement was made on March 27th and there have been 9 murders since then. Is this too little too late?
Honestly, I don’t think the police are going to be able to stop the escalating crime and murder rate in Philadelphia. Unless the City populace itself rises to its own defense, the worst neighborhoods are going to stay just as they are until gentrification comes along and refurbs the $9,000 row homes into $300,000 condos. That gentrification is just going to displace and concentrate the problem elsewhere anyway.
I tried but there’s very little I know how to do to help other than stay out of the way to avoid becoming another victim. This makes me even more frustrated with the city. It’s not that there’s nothing I could do, but there’s nothing I will be allowed to do that will help. The Philadelphia inner city culture needs to heal itself from within, probably with a raging fever to burn off the disease. I just don’t know what it will take for it to actually happen. Some of the sweetest kids I’ve ever met play in these neighborhoods. Some of the most passionately devoted parents and grandparents live there. Unfortunately, the great people are woefully outnumbered and, in a culture of violence and guns, the great ones barely stand a chance.
For those of you who wonder why I hate living in the Philadelphia area, this is a big part of it.