MOVE conflagration

[CHIP72]

Originally Posted by rotodome

I don't really see how this situation is paradoxical or incongruous either.

Ironic would be if say, the mayor was on the train, traveling to a national conference on transportation safety.

It is certainly an interesting coincidence that two tragic events happened on the same day 30 years apart, though.

One event involved a mayor (and city staff) allowing the bombing of residential units in his own city, creating a disaster in the city. A second event, occurring almost exactly 30 years to the day after the first event, involved a mayor (and city staff) quickly and strongly responding to a disaster in his city.

There is your irony.

[CHIP72]

Originally Posted by rotodome

Maybe my vote for most ironic MOVE-related event is Live Aid happening in Philly that summer while Osage was still smoking.

Not MOVE-related at all, but another even truer irony in Philadelphia history occurred in 1976 when the city finally tore down Connie Mack Stadium five years after it was seriously damaged by fire. At the same time in a different part of the city, Philadelphia hosted the MLB All-Star Game at Connie Mack Stadium's successor as the Phillies' home park, Veterans Stadium.

[propexpert]

Originally Posted by kyb01

The 30th anniversary of the MOVE conflagration is coming soon on May 13.

I've always found it rather ironic that on the very same day ground was broken for Liberty Place One.

I was a newspaper reporter working in that West Philly neighborhood the night before, Mother’s Day 1985, when the city was evacuating the nearby homes in preparation for evicting MOVE.
Among the folks I interviewed was an older woman whose house was on Pine Street. The rear of her house faced directly across the alley from the MOVE house on Osage Avenue. She took me back to her kitchen, pulled back the curtain and told me something along the lines of “This is what I have to look at every day.”
I saw three kids, with the signature locked hair, playing with a couple of dogs. I presumed they were MOVE kids, seemingly oblivious to what was happening. Unless one of those kids was Birdie Africa, they would be dead within 24 hours.
Wish I could tell you I was in the neighborhood the next day when the real fireworks began, from the shootout, to the attempted dislodging of the rooftop bunker with a water cannon, to the dropping of the C-4 explosive, to the subsequent fire, but I wasn’t. Like many, I watched the entire horrific scene – primarily the fire – unfold on TV from the newspaper office in which I worked over in New Jersey.
To this day, I think of the needless loss of life of the MOVE members and of the woman on Pine Street who lost the home that she graciously opened up to me for a few minutes.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by propexpert

I was a newspaper reporter working in that West Philly neighborhood the night before, Mother’s Day 1985, when the city was evacuating the nearby homes in preparation for evicting MOVE.
Among the folks I interviewed was an older woman whose house was on Pine Street. The rear of her house faced directly across the alley from the MOVE house on Osage Avenue. She took me back to her kitchen, pulled back the curtain and told me something along the lines of “This is what I have to look at every day.”
I saw three kids, with the signature locked hair, playing with a couple of dogs. I presumed they were MOVE kids, seemingly oblivious to what was happening. Unless one of those kids was Birdie Africa, they would be dead within 24 hours.
Wish I could tell you I was in the neighborhood the next day when the real fireworks began, from the shootout, to the attempted dislodging of the rooftop bunker with a water cannon, to the dropping of the C-4 explosive, to the subsequent fire, but I wasn’t. Like many, I watched the entire horrific scene – primarily the fire – unfold on TV from the newspaper office in which I worked over in New Jersey.
To this day, I think of the needless loss of life of the MOVE members and of the woman on Pine Street who lost the home that she graciously opened up to me for a few minutes.

A few years later I worked with a broadcast tech at WCAU. He was the camera man who shot the "money shots" on site. He got an Emmy for his work but he never discussed it other than to say "I was just doing my job" if anyone asked about it.

Most people don't realize that the majority of media people are just doing their jobs.

[propexpert]

Originally Posted by southbound_295

A few years later I worked with a broadcast tech at WCAU. He was the camera man who shot the "money shots" on site. He got an Emmy for his work but he never discussed it other than to say "I was just doing my job" if anyone asked about it.

Most people don't realize that the majority of media people are just doing their jobs.

By "money shot," do you mean the shots of the chopper dropping the C-4 and of the satchel exploding atop the MOVE bunker? If so, talk about being in the right place at the right time! Dude was being really modest.

I also have to give props to then-WCAU reporter Harvey Clark, who did grueling, yeoman's work on the scene, especially as the fire raged through the area.

And you're right, today people want to blame the media for just about everything. I see it a lot among black folk on social media - "Their job is to be detrimental to blacks." I think people give "the media" way too much credit.

These news organizations are just as functional, dysfunctional or what have you as any other organization. All they are are collections of humans trying to do intense, stressful jobs under the constraints of time and cost. Ultimately, the media is a business that sells advertising to audiences.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by propexpert

By "money shot," do you mean the shots of the chopper dropping the C-4 and of the satchel exploding atop the MOVE bunker? If so, talk about being in the right place at the right time! Dude was being really modest.

I also have to give props to then-WCAU reporter Harvey Clark, who did grueling, yeoman's work on the scene, especially as the fire raged through the area.

And you're right, today people want to blame the media for just about everything. I see it a lot among black folk on social media - "Their job is to be detrimental to blacks." I think people give "the media" way too much credit.

These news organizations are just as functional, dysfunctional or what have you as any other organization. All they are are collections of humans trying to do intense, stressful jobs under the constraints of time and cost. Ultimately, the media is a business that sells advertising to audiences.

I believe that that's the shot that he got. The other techs would refer to the money shot.I never asked him because he didn't want to talk about it & shut down the talk asap. Just for clarification, "the money shot" referred to being on the money, not receiving money.

Be glad that you didn't get sent back to witness the inferno.

[propexpert]

Originally Posted by southbound_295

I believe that that's the shot that he got. The other techs would refer to the money shot.I never asked him because he didn't want to talk about it & shut down the talk asap. Just for clarification, "the money shot" referred to being on the money, not receiving money.

Be glad that you didn't get sent back to witness the inferno.

The reporter in me felt guilt about not being sent back. The regular human in me was glad to be able to watch it on TV.

And yes, I understood what you meant by "money shot" in the context of compensation.

I wonder if the guy's reluctance to discuss the video he shot is evidence of some PTSD. If so, I could imagine what the cops and firefighters must have felt like when it was all over.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by propexpert

The reporter in me felt guilt about not being sent back. The regular human in me was glad to be able to watch it on TV.

And yes, I understood what you meant by "money shot" in the context of compensation.

I wonder if the guy's reluctance to discuss the video he shot is evidence of some PTSD. If so, I could imagine what the cops and firefighters must have felt like when it was all over.

I figured that you know what money shot meant but its amazing what people who aren't in the business & didn't ever know anyone in it can twist some things into. Since everything that we post is archived I thought it best to toss in a disclaimer.

I understand your feelings but I know several people who were there & one who was at the Powelton Village showdown. Thank your lucky stars that the fickle finger of fate pointed at someone else.