A Sincere Thank-You To Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter

Finally, a community leader not afraid to tell the truth at the expense of appearing politically incorrect!

If you’ve been keeping up on current events recently, you know that there have been a string of mob attacks in the city of Philadelphia.  Using text messages and Twitter, these mobs have assaulted tourists and looted departments stores in Center City, an upscale shopping district in Philadelphia.  The “flash mobs”, as they are being referred to as, have been common, with the unruly packs of African-American juveniles targeting individuals in the heart of the City of Brotherly Love.  

The Mayor of Philadelphia Michael Nutter, dished out a dose of tough love earlier this week.  Mr. Nutter, who is an African-American himself, made his points loud and clear from the pulpit at his local Baptist church on Sunday:

“Take those doggone hoodies down, especially in the summer.  Pull your pants up and buy a belt ‘cause no one wants to see your underwear or the crack of your butt.

If you walk into somebody’s office with your hair uncombed and a pick in the back, and your shoes untied, and your pants half down, tattoos up and down your arms and on your neck, and you wonder why somebody won’t hire you?  They don’t hire you ‘cause you look like you’re crazy.  You have damaged your race.”

Mr. Nutter correctly asserted that the problem starts with the parents.  He admonished parents for sending checks and giving money without spending time with their kids, calling them “human ATMs”.  He then called men who don’t even provide financial support “sperm donors”.  

Not only is Mr. Nutter calling out these gang members and parents for their actions, he is also introduced measures to deal with the disturbances:

-He’s beefing up the police in certain neighborhoods and enlisting volunteers to help.

-He’s imposed a 9 PM curfew for anyone under the age of 18, unless out with a parent or guardian, to be continued until the start of school.

-He’s introduced a series of escalating fines for parents of children caught on the street after the curfew.

-He’s extended the hours of 20 city recreation centers.

There have been some questions about the costs incurred to implement these initiatives.  The city of Philadelphia has been able to minimize the costs of these measures due to an outpouring of support from community leaders and other individuals getting actively involved against the mobs.  “This is not just a police department issue or problem, and it will not be solved just by the police department. This is a community issue.”

My thoughts on the concerns of increased costs in a tough economy--the monetary costs of the preventative steps are far less than the impact to Philadelphia’s reputation (and medical expenses) when an innocent pedestrian gets his skull fractured by a disruptive teenage mob.