for BigTrial.net
Philadelphia has serious problems; if only it had serious leaders.
Despite the ongoing pandemic, the city's biggest public health crisis remains its out-of-control murder rate. The city racked up 499 murders last year; the highest total in 30 years. By comparison, New York City, with 4 1/2 times the population, had only 462 murders.
And things here are only getting worse. In January, Philadelphia recorded 50 murders, an all-time record for that month. And so far over the first eight days in February, the city recorded a dozen more murders, a 55% increase over last year's record pace.
Yesterday, in Philadelphia, there were 11 shootings and seven murders, including a couple of double homicides, as well as a 15 year-old boy executed by a trio of gunmen brandishing semiautomatics. And on such a deadly day, what were Philadelphia's top officials concerned about?
Mayor Jim Kenney was busy signing an executive order that deep-sixed Columbus Day as a city holiday, in favor of "Indigenous Peoples Day."
Police Commissioner Outlaw was encouraging all officers to share on social media "what you, or your district, is doing to observe Black History Month."
And District Attorney Larry Krasner was tweeting about "confronting racism within the justice system."
At a time when people are being shot and murdered at record rates, the city's top officials were busy pandering, to cover up the glaring reality that they don't have a clue about how to stop the bloodshed.
Yesterday at around 7 p.m., a trio of suspects opened fire on a 15-year-old boy near the intersection of 29th and Morris Streets. Chief Inspector Scott Small told 6ABC that at least 16 shots were fired from three semiautomatic weapons. The victim was pronounced dead.
Earlier in the day, two men were found shot to death inside a home on the 2900 block of Rosehill Street.
Around 2 p.m., a 25 year-old woman and a 29 year-old man were both shot inside a vehicle parked on the 200 block of Rubicam Street. The female died; the man was expected to recover. Chief Inspector Small told 6ABC that a female infant in the back seat miraculously survived the attack, and was not struck by gunfire.
Also yesterday, a 24 year-old man and a 21 year-old woman were shot and killed in the 500 block of West Hill Creek Drive. And finally, a 54 year-old woman was shot to death at a drug rehab facility on the 4200 block of Ridge Avenue.
As all those bullets were flying, what were the city's top officials up to?
Yesterday at City Hall, Mayor Kenney courageously signed Executive Order 2-21 that not only dumped Columbus Day in favor of Indigenous Peoples Day, but also recognized Juneteeth as an official city holiday to celebrate the emancipation of slaves in America.
“While changes to city holidays may seem largely symbolic, we recognize that symbols carry power,” wrote Kenney, who has been noticeably silent about the gun violence and murders plaguing the city.
Instead, Kenney, whom Philadelphia Weekly has called upon to resign, would rather deal with symbols. After all, it's been working for him for a while now, especially when he's attacking Italian-American symbols.
He's already gotten rid of the bronze Frank Rizzo statue, and put the marble statue of Christopher Columbus in a plywood box.
Columbus Day was a natural next target for Kenney, who continues to pit one race against another.
"We hope that for our employees and residents of color, this change is viewed as an acknowledgment of the centuries of institutional racism and marginalization that have been forced upon Black Americans, Indigenous people, and other communities of color," Kenney wrote. "At the same time, we are clear-eyed about the fact that there is still an urgent need for further substantive systemic change in all areas of local government.”
"The old double standard is alive and well as ever," wrote Jenice Armstrong in the Inquirer, as she defended Outlaw against calls for her resignation, one of which came from the Inquirer's own editorial board.
"It is really hard to come in as an outsider, much less as a Black female, and run a predominantly white male-dominated police force," Armstrong wrote. "And like the many males who preceded her as the city’s top cop, Outlaw deserves a chance to continue growing in the role. After all, she took on the position during one of our worst years in modern history."
"We hope that for our employees and residents of color, this change is viewed as an acknowledgment of the centuries of institutional racism and marginalization that have been forced upon Black Americans, Indigenous people, and other communities of color," Kenney wrote. "At the same time, we are clear-eyed about the fact that there is still an urgent need for further substantive systemic change in all areas of local government.”
Perhaps Kenney was trying to distract residents from the blatant incompetence of his administration, as most recently demonstrated with the botched rollout of a COVID vaccine, which the city entrusted to a start-up fronted by a 22-year-old Drexel student with no health care experience.
Or perhaps Kenney was trying to hide the fact that neither he nor his personally recruited police commissioner has the courage to call out D.A. Krasner over his progressive policies that turn far too many armed and dangerous criminals loose on the streets, so they can continue to shoot and kill more victims.
As for Commissioner Outlaw, she was busy telling fellow officers that the Philadelphia Police Department is "committed to highlighting and expanding our inclusive environment where we invite and encourage diverse perspectives, ideas and peoples."
"This month, I encourage you to share what you, or your district, is doing to observe Black History Month," Outlaw wrote. "Please join us on social media and utilize your official PPD accounts so we can highlight how you are celebrating."
In her public interviews, Outlaw has successfully played the race card and the gender card to dodge questions about her competence to lead the nation's fourth largest police department.
"I didn't feel like an outsider when I got here," Outlaw told NBC's Erin Coleman. "Yeah, I was treated like an outsider and yeah, I'm still treated like an outsider."
"When we talking about being a first, being a first, along with that comes you don't get the benefit of the doubt," Outlaw told Coleman. "I have to walk in the door, even before I get here, having to prove and prove some more."
Over at the The Philadelphia Inquirer, the city's paper of record, two columnists of color continue to buy that act.
"It is really hard to come in as an outsider, much less as a Black female, and run a predominantly white male-dominated police force," Armstrong wrote. "And like the many males who preceded her as the city’s top cop, Outlaw deserves a chance to continue growing in the role. After all, she took on the position during one of our worst years in modern history."
"We have to be twice as good to get half as much," agreed Solomon Jones.
Whatever happened to holding public officials accountable for their failures?
In Philadelphia, that's out of style as the press and public continue to subsist on a steady diet of pandering, all of the P.C. variety.
While people are dying every day out in the streets.