Crime in Philadelphia discussion (King of Prussia, Warren: construction jobs, landlord, store)

[Duderino]

Originally Posted by cpomp

I slept very well last night too, it's the optics and vacancies that concern me, not Wawa itself.

In all honesty, the national Philly optics have been pretty abysmal since the 2020 sh**show, and even before that, they were never super amazing. But the city is still standing, and despite constant setbacks and frustrating events, it always does manage to move forward.

Philly is nothing if not a resilient city, and it doesn't not get nearly enough credit for how economically stable it actually is. For the first time in half a century, the economy is actually not Philadelphia's worst problem.

The crime/safety issue has to be addressed, but to me it's a macro-societal issue that's particularly acute in Philadelphia. It's not going to be solved overnight or by any one politician or party.

I get the hand-wringing and sharp rebukes that come out after each embarrassing or upsetting headline, but literally none of it is something that the city has not experienced before, or experiencing for years.

I still maintain that Philadelphia has multi-generational dysfunction, but it will never be solved by demeaning, shaming, and finger-pointing. I'm not sure why so many people think that approach will ever amount to anything constructive (and not directing that comment at you specifically, but it's a general complaint about the dialogue surrounding Philadelphia's problems).

[Redddog]

As far as Philly's national image...Philly has to be PERFECT in every way for the national image to change. If they are on par with any other large city, we get the worst love of any of them.

Is what it is. Philadelphians don't help.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by Redddog

As far as Philly's national image...Philly has to be PERFECT in every way for the national image to change. If they are on par with any other large city, we get the worst love of any of them.

Is what it is. Philadelphians don't help.

+100.

My hometown of Kansas City, Mo., also has a pretty serious crime problem, one serious enough that many residents simply avoid visiting the part of the city where it's most likely to occur.

But you don't hear Kansas Citians talking about how this proves what a horrible place KC is. They still talk up the city to anyone who will listen (trust me on this, folks, I'm not some freak in this regard).

[JamesJay64]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

Tyson Foods was headquartered in Chicago?

News to me. AFAIK, company headquarters has always been in Springdale, Ark. Or was this some back-office operation?

Edited to add: And the corporate website home page includes a photo of the sign in front of the company's world headquarters at 2200 West Don Tyson Parkway. You will find that street in Springdale.

Not headquartered in Chicago, but they had about 500 employees in that office which is fairly significant. Here's my source (I know it's Fox): https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/...sparked-exodus

[JamesJay64]

Originally Posted by thedirtypirate

Citadel did not leave Chicago because of crime. They left because the political and tax climate in Chicago. Ken Griffin is a right-wing zealot and the biggest funder of the GOP.


Citadel’s billionaire CEO Ken Griffin becomes GOP $100 million midterm megadonor


and don't forget:




Yass and Schwarzman are big Philly guys too. We are weeks away from one of the most important elections ever here.

Griffin said it was because of the crime, but I didn't know about his GOP involvement. I'm not trying to push any narratives here, I love Philly and Chicago. Just sharing stuff that I've read.

My concern (which I may have mentioned before on this forum) is when I look at Baltimore vs. Philly. Baltimore was doing great, crime was lower each year, and they even had a year or two of small population increase. The the Freddie Gray riots happened. After that, nothing has ever been the same. People have been steadily leaving, homicides and all crime have pretty much only gone up, etc. All the progress is gone, and I'd never live there again. Baltimore's homicide rate was 40% higher than Philly's RECORD year, last year.

Philly had a similar turning point in 2020, followed by a similar instantaneous increase in all crime. Is there any reason to think we will turn things back around and not go down Baltimore's path?

I think a lot of Philly today is perfectly safe to live in, and I love it here in Center City. In fact, I think most of the fear-mongering I read from people greatly exaggerates reality. It's just hard to ignore how this has already played out elsewhere, especially when considering spending my savings on a house.

[lpranger467]

I think most can agree that the broken window theory (and Rudy Giuliani) turned NYC from the seedy place it was to the thriving city (it atleast was up to a few years ago, now headed back to being a dump). People can push for afterschool programs etc- but its clearly a motivated, and backed police department that can make or break a city. As long as Krasner is going after every cop with a vengeance and we have a commish whose priorities are fingernail polish we are bound to continue down our current path.

Originally Posted by JamesJay64

Griffin said it was because of the crime, but I didn't know about his GOP involvement. I'm not trying to push any narratives here, I love Philly and Chicago. Just sharing stuff that I've read.

My concern (which I may have mentioned before on this forum) is when I look at Baltimore vs. Philly. Baltimore was doing great, crime was lower each year, and they even had a year or two of small population increase. The the Freddie Gray riots happened. After that, nothing has ever been the same. People have been steadily leaving, homicides and all crime have pretty much only gone up, etc. All the progress is gone, and I'd never live there again. Baltimore's homicide rate was 40% higher than Philly's RECORD year, last year.

Philly had a similar turning point in 2020, followed by a similar instantaneous increase in all crime. Is there any reason to think we will turn things back around and not go down Baltimore's path?

I think a lot of Philly today is perfectly safe to live in, and I love it here in Center City. In fact, I think most of the fear-mongering I read from people greatly exaggerates reality. It's just hard to ignore how this has already played out elsewhere, especially when considering spending my savings on a house.

[MarketStEl]

This is probably going to throw many of you for a loop, and I expect blowback on this, but:

Last night I hung out with a brilliant young Black poet and author who's a regular at the monthly Pen & Pencil Club poetry readings and who I met several years ago through my involvement with an organization called The Brothers' Network that's devoted to promoting Black arts and culture and celebrating the talents and achievements of Black men. (I wrote the organization's newsletter in its early years; you can find archived issues on the website.)

Our discussion did touch on two subjects he knew I had an interest in: gentrification and crime. On the latter, he also knew that I was part of that older Black generation that sees stop-and-frisk as a way of "treating the gunshot wound" (as I explained it to him, using Mayor Ed Rendell's metaphor for the state of the city of Philadephia upon his taking office: "a patient being wheeled into the ER with cancer and a gunshot wound.")

He disagreed and suggested we needed to take a different tack. I thought his response to me addressed the cancer more than the gunshot wound, but he insisted that it also would produce results in the short run — and after thinking about it, I don't think he's totally wrong.

His recommended treatment for the crime problem can be distilled into a single word: Love.

Now, let me unpack this.

Young Black men receive constant messages from the world around them that they are feared, despised and somehow unworthy of love and support. Sure, lack of parenting contributes to that, but so does the larger culture. These men, my friend asserted, need to be told that they are good people and that they are worthy of love.

I responded with a story of a simple gesture that may seem insubstantial but gets to his point. (And, of course, it has a connection to my hometown.)

Starting in the 1970s, the Helzberg Diamonds jewelry-store chain became known throughout the Central Plains part of the Midwest as much for something it gave out for free as for the dazzling jewelry it sold.

It was a little red button that reads, "I Am Loved."

You'll find the brief story of its origins in the "1967" entry on Helzberg's corporate history. In this Facebook video, Barnett Helzberg explains how he came up with the idea after he had proposed to the woman of his dreams.

And even though Warren Buffett owns the company, which now operates nationwide, now, this tradition remains: Anyone can get an "I Am Loved" button for free at any Helzberg store. In this area, they have stores in King of Prussia, Deptford, Downingtown, Lawrenceville (Quaker Bridge Mall), Mays Landing and Newark, Del. (Christiana Mall). And they'll give you more than one if you ask.

I told him the story of the button, and he agreed that this simple gesture was in line with the message he thought we should be sending to young Black men.

Yes, just handing a young Black man an "I Am Loved" button isn't going to make him toss his gun into the wastebasket right there and then. But back the gesture up with more concrete forms of affirmation and he will, once he becomes convinced that the sentiment is genuine.

I'm afraid my friend Warren is right that many young Black men these days get messages that tell them they aren't valued, loved or respected but feared and despised. As I've also worked in PR, I do know that messaging can make a difference. We need to change that message. People will live up — or down — to the expectations we set for them.

[toobusytoday]

Thank you for your post MarketStEI. No blowback from me. That's the message from a campaign started by someone up my way - https://www.youbelongcampaign.com/about Everyone needs to feel loved.

[Muinteoir]

Originally Posted by toobusytoday

Thank you for your post MarketStEI. No blowback from me. That's the message from a campaign started by someone up my way - https://www.youbelongcampaign.com/about Everyone needs to feel loved.

I agree. That was very beautifully written, Sandy. It makes sense that while living in such vitriolic and hateful times, crime is on the rise. I hope people don’t reduce all of what you’ve written to “making excuses for criminals.” It’s so much more nuanced and complex than that.

[Duderino]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

This is probably going to throw many of you for a loop, and I expect blowback on this, but:

You shouldn't receive one bit of blowback; it's a very important perspective.

The fact of the matter is the "tough on crime" crowd wants to believe severe punishment will completely remove and prevent all criminal intent.

Where the nuance gets completely lost is that while the "tough on crime" approach is perfectly effective for holding INDIVIDUALS accountable, it does nothing to break the vicious cycle of crime.

Yes, we'll hear about how "namby-pamby" it is to make a concerted effort to tell people they're loved, yet love is the most powerful motivator known to mankind and THE most important element for particularly young children to succeed in life.

As far as I know, even before the days of "liberal DAs funded by George Soros," we had plenty of tough approaches to crime in the form of aggressive arrests, prison sentences, etc. yet crime rates didn't plummet--not by a long shot.

The more people realize that we have to take a complex and multi-faceted approach that involves individual accountability and cycle-breaking interventions, the sooner we'll get to a crime-free society.