Official Greater Philadelphia Area Crime Thread (Penn: floor, basement, interior)

[bursitis]

Originally Posted by FindingZen

Now, if one were offended and embarrassed by the blackface but still felt that the murders should have led the news, that's one thing. However...

Why would I be offended and embarrassed?


The guy was wearing black makeup, not blackface.


Even if he was wearing blackface (complete with white lips), it's not me or my family, so no reason to be embarrassed.

[FindingZen]

Crime, especially when committed by poorer people, is often an act of desperation. There’s a lack of opportunity for too many in the city proper. If you’re older than 40 or otherwise have studied local history then you know why. To a degree, the same pattern has played out in many other cities although we had the “bonus” of Frank Rizzo.

Blackface is a reminder of a time when Black people, despite their eagerness to be gainfully employed, were shut out of opportunity. It can be transcend political lines as partially referred to here. Unfortunately, national leadership to address such issues in a trans-partisan way is lacking. But again, that’s a topic for another forum.

Again, I give credit for the brigade leaders for taking ownership of the issue at the parade instead of getting defensive or minimizing the significance of historic pain and insult it has for African-Americans.

[maineguy8888]

FYI:
https://www.inquirer.com/news/philad...-20200101.html

[lpranger467]

If your talking about stealing (shoplifting) to feed your family then yes, its a crime of desperation. But thats a very small portion of what happens here, and certainly not the case when gangs of 10 or more beat people randomly. Back in the bad old days in NYC they called that "wilding" its a nifty name for lets gang up and beat on innocent folks.

Originally Posted by FindingZen

Crime, especially when committed by poorer people, is often an act of desperation. There’s a lack of opportunity for too many in the city proper. If you’re older than 40 or otherwise have studied local history then you know why. To a degree, the same pattern has played out in many other cities although we had the “bonus” of Frank Rizzo.

Blackface is a reminder of a time when Black people, despite their eagerness to be gainfully employed, were shut out of opportunity. It can be transcend political lines as partially referred to here. Unfortunately, national leadership to address such issues in a trans-partisan way is lacking. But again, that’s a topic for another forum.

Again, I give credit for the brigade leaders for taking ownership of the issue at the parade instead of getting defensive or minimizing the significance of historic pain and insult it has for African-Americans.

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by lpranger467

If your talking about stealing (shoplifting) to feed your family then yes, its a crime of desperation. But thats a very small portion of what happens here, and certainly not the case when gangs of 10 or more beat people randomly. Back in the bad old days in NYC they called that "wilding" its a nifty name for lets gang up and beat on innocent folks.

Here they call wilding a "flash mob" which gives a bad name to those who spontaneously break out into a choreographed public dance routine. But I digress...

Yes, certainly that includes nonviolent but nonetheless harmful crimes such as shoplifting. It can also include people who turn on their neighbor out of a false sense of pride, defending one's "turf" or a general frustration with life that therapy may have addressed.

Mind you, I'm not excusing the crime in this city or anywhere else. But in terms of people of color, I understand where many of its roots ultimately come from. It's certainly not an innate propensity to commit crimes. It comes down to a chicken vs. egg debate of which came first: the failure of poor people (of color) or historical actions and attitudes that set them up for failure.

[Redddog]

Getting off to a rousing start this year - homicides already up 100% (4 so far vs 2 last year).

[moneymkt]

There was a shootout in a area this past weekend that surprised me. Walnut Hill?? 46th and Walnut

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by Redddog

Getting off to a rousing start this year - homicides already up 100% (4 so far vs 2 last year).

The new commish will have her hands full that's for sure.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by moneymkt

There was a shootout in a area this past weekend that surprised me. Walnut Hill?? 46th and Walnut

There was at least one shootout that I recall at 40th and Walnut but that was back in the 90s.

[moneymkt]

Originally Posted by kyb01

There was at least one shootout that I recall at 40th and Walnut but that was back in the 90s.

I havent heard crime about that area since I been in Cedar park which is now 4 years