“We are going to stop the violence. You with these guns — we’re coming!” – Francis Gibbs in PHA Housing Residents Demand End to Gun Violence in Their Community [at cbslocal.com]

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

66 COMMENTS

  3. I was born in Philly. I haven’t lived there since The Nixon years, but I try to keep tabs on the city where I was born. Sadly, the cradle of American independence and liberty is now a corrupt and crime-ridden shithole. And just like Chicago, it’s been that way since way before our lifetimes.

    • It’s the city of brotherly love, much Los Angeles is the city of angels. At any rate, it’s a blight on an otherwise decent State, but not nearly as bad as Chicago. Yes, the city is run by crooks, but to say it’s like Chicago is like comparing the city landfill to a toxic waste dump. Or maybe a road apple to a fresh, steaming dog turd. Not that either is particularly appetizing.

      As others say, Philly won’t do anything to solve their problems (legalize drugs, break the teacher’s unions so we can clean up the schools or offer some choice, arm decent citizens so they chase off the thugs, get the police to enforce the law in dangerous areas instead of running an excessive mob of meter maids). But to do all that, they would have to vote libertarian, or at least GOP to do some of it. Won’t happen. So, they can suck it and stew in the filth they have created just like people in other deep blue cities.

    • I disagree. It’s perfectly possible to live a prosperous and entertaining life in Philadelphia, meaning the civilized parts from the Delaware to Rittenhouse square, east to the art museum, and in the western suburbs. Those are the areas where things get done. The SW and NW ghettos reproduce themselves, and are wholly avoidable. The crime is almost entirely within the ghetto areas. Since they won’t testify against their neighbors, they can go rot. It’s that simple. The PHA cited in the post, is, incidentally, utterly corrupt and largely a creature of federal tax money, which it spends in the worst crony way. It is under federal investigation as we speak. More cops on the street is helping, but if the neighbors won’t testify, it doesn’t do much good.

    • When “good” Mayor Goode was mayor? The one who IMMOLATED the Children of Africa… or whatever their name was?

  4. C’mon over, I’ll leave a light on for ya’.

    Disclosure: The light may only be there to disrupt your night vision before you come up the stairs, but it’ll be on, I promise!

  5. We have no gun problem, we have a social problem. No law or set of laws will fix broken families, broken spirits and failed progressive social experiments. Philly is no different than Chiraq or Detroit in this respect and the same goes for many other urban centers.

    There are no jobs, unless it is working as part of some street gang. The education system often sucks. These people are dragging the bottom and so this is what happens. The policies suck and nobody cares. But, they have created a culture of dependency willing to take any crumbs they can take versus fighting to get out of the situation.

    And to be fair, the Representative Curtis Thomas is asking for more police presence, neighborhood watches and actively going after these people. Nothing was said about gun grabbing at least in the article and follow-up
    video. The ONLY issue, they will sweep the streets and clean it up for maybe a few weeks or months, but then is will all start again because the core of the problems are never ever fixed, these are only Band-Aid solutions for fundamental problems.

    And while the uptown limousine liberals like to talk a good game, I don’t see them actually going into these neighborhoods to “fix” anything.

      • There have been programs where people with misdemeanor drug convictions have been given a chance to work. There is also a segment of society that is forever lost, but you can break the cycle to keep it from perpetuating. You need jobs to keep it from becoming a continued generational problem.

        Some people will forever be lost, the idea is to keep the pool from getting bigger. You cannot save everyone.

      • You are both 100% correct. It’s a social problem, not a gun problem. And laws won’t fix it; people will. But lordy, it’s going be hard work.

        But isn’t America about hard work and perseverance?

        “Endeavor to persevere”, as Chief Dan George said in THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES. Although that was said as an ironic joke.

    • Why is it that people say that laws against guns won’t help reduce any inner city violent crime problems, but that laws against drugs will help reduce inner city drug crime problems?

      • I think many are actually saying to get rid of the war on drugs. I used to think “We can’t possibly make drugs legal…that would be wrong!” and have since been changing my mind.

        • prohibition did nothing for alcohol demand. if anything, when you ban something people want to run out and try it. all it does is create a culture of scofflaws. the USA has twice the marijuana and five times the herion use as Europe, and obliterates them in incarceration. people can already buy whatever they want, laws have not stopped that. legalize it, tax it, fund treatment.

    • Aye. The liberals basically created the problem in the first place. Welfare + no-fault-divorce/single motherhood + war on drugs has turned a class of poor folks into a class of crime-ridden, government-dependent, unemployable poor, with no end in sight. A crackdown might clean up one neighborhood, but the problem will just spread to another, and until the federal roots of this problem are thoroughly reformed, it’s just going to continue.

    • The liberals don’t truly want to “fix” anything. They’ve always wanted the issue, not solutions. If anything actually works, they fight it.

    • Pascal, if the neighbors won’t bear witness and the Gun Court judge won’t convict if the perp hires a crony criminal defense attorney, the additional policing helps, but not much. What would help is if, by some miracle, people would change their culture and reward each other, respect each other, for studying in their free time, working hard, and “ratting out” the gangs, punishing vandalism, testifying in court to what they see. I recently took the mandatory course for Municipal Court appointments (I wont be doing that!), and what did I learn? The Mayor and DA just cut the two most innovative court programs to help people break from prostitution and drug dealing. I was stunned. “Got to pay our cronies first in these tough times.”

      • I agree, it is a social/cultural problem. Culture is very hard to change. At the political level it is all about getting your buddy a specific special break, at the street level, it is a culture of defeat and dependency.

        It all starts with breaking the cycle which is very hard to do.

  7. Homicides are down 42% in Philly. Luckly if you read the article, they aren’t going for more laws, they are actually trying to be effective and come up with better policing stratigies. Other than the poor choice of words I think this will actually be good for Philly. For now…..

      • Actually pretty safe as blue cities go, as long as you stay away from certain areas and certain activities. I’ve looked at crime stats for the few blocks where I work. Many assaults, a good few aggravated assaults, very few homicides in the last 10 years.

        • “Actually pretty safe as blue cities go, as long as you stay away from certain areas and certain activities.”

          Like going “outside” & “pursuing happiness”?

        • Absolutely. Avoid the NW and SW ghettos. No problem to “go outside or to pursue happiness.” Just do it in the large swath of center city from river to river, not in the ghettos. Or live in the western suburbs. The city can function forever and well without the ghettos, and the sooner the ghettos realize it the sooner they’ll realize they actually really do have to change themselves, their culture. The opportunity is there. They just have to get the message.

    • “Luckly if you read the article, they aren’t going for more laws, they are actually trying to be effective and come up with better policing stratigies.”

      Wait, so you’re saying TTAG took a quote out of context, such that it became inflammatory? I don’t believe it! Say it ain’t so!

      • They, PHA and the politician who was speaking, are generally not out for more laws except those that say “give us more money.” The policing will only work when the very people whining about guns become willing to testify. I know the area well and the problems in the courts. There is, for example, one man charged 24 times for aggravated assault, armed robbery, and similar behavior. No convictions. No one in SW Philly is willing to testify. They call the cops, yes. But they won’t testify.

        • Damn it, accidentally published. It represents a focus on the guns that misses the point. If these had been stabbed, would that have been better? Obviously not.

          The problem is the violence, not the guns, and you can take the word “gun” out of most sentences in the article and you’d have better, more sensible statements. This one wouldn’t even be grammatical.

  8. Reading the CBS report linked…these Citizens are “demanding” more Police Presence, not proposing to do anything themselves (except demand more Police Presence)…see? They are just typical brainwashed sheep…too scared and lazy to do anything but demand the Government take care of them. Pathetic is too kind a description for them. Relax guys, these folks are only “coming for” their welfare checks and then more drugs from the very people who are murdering them.

    • Oh and adding the 5-10 yrs for drive by… more useless consequences. Not doing anything to eliminate the underlying issues.

      I wonder how many of those people kids or even relatives are gang bangers? Are they doing anything about that? Nope jus5 more government spending on ineffective strategies.

      • Bingo on the “how many are…” The people in the photo are getting free housing, Medicaid, and other benefits. And they want more police. But they don’t want to rat out junior or Uncle Wayne.

  9. Looks like she’s planned ahead. Rested up, and on the ‘stamps, well fed too. Plenty of energy to begin her life’s work.

    Oh wait…

  11. Write something on site that reported this and other sites. It helps get the message across. Instead of just writing on this site.

  12. Anybody else notice that where there’s a massive “gun” problem there is also a majority black population? That’s not a “racist” observation, it’s just a fact. If anyone cares to note a major city – with white majority population – that has this so called “gun violence” problem, I’m sure we’d all like to hear which ones they are.

    • Anybody else notice that where there’s a massive “gun” problem there is also a large male population? That’s not a “sexist” observation, it’s just a fact. Almost all violent criminal action in the world is because of men. If anyone cares to note a major city – with female majority population – that has this so called “gun violence” problem, I’m sure we’d all like to hear which ones they are.

      • DC, Ralph. Majority women. Plenty of guns. Only pointing that out to be irritating. Your point stands. But imagine if women started to reject violent men. You’ve seen it. You know what I mean. Yes, it would be difficult, but it happens in some other American cultures.

  13. 85% of the men in prison, convicted of their 2nd violent offense, where all raised by single mothers. We must regulate who can have a child. We can call it Child Control.

  15. All bark and no bite, come and get em’. You want them so bad, well, put your d@mn money where your mouth is and come and get them.

  16. “Housing resident,” so their homes are taxpayer funded I guess? “Gun” violence in their community? Sounds like it might be frequent… perhaps GANG violence? Maybe they aught to raise their kids better

  17. They can have my guns if I can stop paying taxes that fund their public assistance and welfare.

  19. It is worth noting that the only part of the inner city of Philadelphia that went from crime-ridden to safe is that area (roughly Society Hill, the area from the Delaware west toward City Hall), that was converted by the detested urban renewal strategies of the sixties: They made the renewed area too expensive for poor Philadelphia. The opposite strategy, leveling the projects and poor housing but subsidizing the former residents to live wherever they can find a rental, is exactly what devastated Southside and Southwest Chicago (ask Jarrett and Obama…they did it) and, ah, Sanford, FL.: Sanford began clearing and demolishing ca. 480 low income housing units in that part of Sanford which was formerly Goldsboro. Residents were given Section 8 vouchers to go find a new place. Many found the Retreat at Twin Lakes, where a bad economy encouraged owners to rent out and move. Residents of the Retreat at Twin Lakes suddenly received lots of poor residents (read ‘black’) in 2010-11. There was no negative reaction, people say. Then, however, the burglary rate skyrocketed. Big negative reaction. People started to move out. Someone has noted how many of the witnesses in the current Zimmerman trial don’t live there anymore. Surprise. But god forbid the witnesses ever say why they don’t live there anymore. So much for the gated community idyll. Striving moderate income people hate crime. It ruins the one part of their life they control, their homes. It cheapens the one asset they own, their condo or house.

  20. If you read the article, they’re actually addressing the criminals in this statement. Their proposed solutions aren’t gun control either. They want a higher police presence and long sentences for people doing drive-by’s.

  21. The previous homicides in my county were some low level narcos setteling a score in a single wide a decade back, no other homicides. low population of armed citizens seems to keep the lid on serious crime.

  23. This was a funny statement:

    Other recommendations Thomas has include an increase in police bike patrols, surveillance cameras, and a mandatory 5-10 year sentence for drive-by shootings.

    5 to 10 years for a drive by shooting? WTF. There is your problem right there.

Comments are closed.