Flash Mobs, Violence, and The Media: So Really, Who's to Blame?

Flash Mob.

The terms has been thrown around Philadelphia periodically over the past year, starting back last summer when a large group of teenagers converged on South Street on what was one of the first nice Saturdays in a while. Back in March, they came back on, once again, the first nice Saturday in a long time. Both times they were called "Flash Mobs", a term used in this context to describe a large presence of people descending upon an area at once. This should not be confused with actual flash mobs that do fairly creative and fun things after organizing online.

Criticism has been leveled against the media for hyping the story, and fairly so. In bringing so much attention to this, it actually seems to be increasing the number of them and the number of people coming out to them.

The problem now, though, is that the criticism is getting worse and the real problem is being ignored.

Enter Philebrity, the biggest gossip and news blog in Philadelphia. While I can honestly say I respect them some of the time, I'm frustrated with it the rest of the time. Case in point: Their Racism-bating stories criticizing 6ABC . So what do I mean by the term "Racism-baiting"? They're saying 6ABC uses underlying racism to make the Flash Mobs look worse than it really is. The problem, though, is that they aren't.

Case in point?

Here’s what doesn’t: As Friday night’s lead story illustrated, “FLASH MOB FEAR BLACK TEENS VIOLENCE” has now entered the Action News (and all who sail in them) pantheon of non-stories they can sensationalize the fuck out of, spreading fear and dread to those who desire it most — the ignorant schlubs who actually think that what WPVI is “news.”

The actual video doesn't try to tell that story at all.

All the while, Philebrity ignores the actual issue: WHY kids are gathering like this, and why it is an actual issue.

On July 10th , an estimated 20,000 people descended on South Street around 1AM. The police, in response to these action, shut down 11 blocks. Again, this is 20,000 people in a 11-block area. That's a LOT of people, especially for 1AM on a Sunday Morning. No events, no concerts at that time... nothing. There was a concert earlier at The TLA, but that ended around 11PM. The cops had tried to subdue the crowd for the better part of the night since many kids were coming down because they mistakenly thought that the Greek Picnic Crowd would be there. The truth of the matter is that the picnic has not taken place in Philadelphia since 2007.

Philebrity's response? The cops are afraid of black people, thus the reaction was bad.

SEPTA buses were actually brought in to take the kids home that night, and considering the fact that since anyone under 18 who is out on the street past 12AM on a Saturday Night is breaking curfew, and thus the law... it actually does make sense to call in buses to take everyone home.

The problem with these gatherings isn't that black teenagers are there, or that it's a large group of black kids. No. The problem is that it's a large group of teenagers in general, and that can lead to problems. It's true that only a small number of kids are actually causing problems, but they can, and are, easily magnified when the numbers of actual kids increase and peer-pressure starts to give way to a mob mentality, no pun intended.

Philebrity seems to be ignoring the facts that, yes, violence is happening as part of these large groups of teenagers, the fact that these are mostly black kids does not mean its racist to point that out, and the fact that something needs to be done.

The problem doesn't lie in laying blame on someone, but in the attitude we give to the situation.

So, really, who's to blame? Blaming the media alone is pointless. So is simply blaming parents or even the kids. We really are all to blame in some way for this. The parents are to blame for not being there for their kids, for not being more proactive in some of these kids lives. Yes, parent's can't be there 24/7, and teenagers are still growing up and need things to do and will do things like this. Is the new hive-mind mentality part of the new world we live in?

In recent weeks, the Philadelphia Police have cracked down on large groups of teenagers because of the violence we've seen, and they have been getting better about preventing these gatherings before they get too big... well, sometimes.

The solution isn't simple, it's complicated. Parents getting involved is a start, so is the media not reporting about this is a fairly-glamorous fashion. I can actually say I agree that the biggest problem with 6ABC's coverage is that it puts it as a front-page story when, really, its more page 7, but then again, this was a case where the police dispersed the crowd before it was massive problem. If more stores and restaurants were open late across Center City in general, who knows, maybe that would help. Since South Street is basically the only area open later than 7PM on a Saturday Night, or the only one with a lot of attention.

The quasi-ironic thing, though, is that over the last 5 years South Street started to go downhill in terms of, well, being interesting and fun. Suddenly we're seeing it become at least one, if not the other, and there seems to be no one or any way to make this into a positive thing, or make it fun.

Do Neo-Nazi's Have Rights?

For a lot of reasons, this is a really weird thing for me to actually write about. Not so much because I'm discussing Nazi's, or the fact that I'm dealing with a really odd topic.

No, its because I'm asking if a group of American's actually do have rights.

Now, let me set something straight now: I'm not a fan of Neo-Nazi's. In my personal experience with them, they tend to be quiet. The last time I encountered one was at Ozzfest in 2008. One thing was clear; we both were there because of our love of the music, so personal hatreds and differences aside, that's all that mattered.

That being said, Neo-Nazi's still have rights... right?

On April 23rd, Murphy's Law played the Khyber here in Philly. On Tuesday the word was out around town that 3 men dressed in Nazi attire went to the show. Now, mind you, Murphy's Law has played around with Nazi imagery in the past, but they haven't touched it in a long time. They show up to the show, and the crowd largely ignored them, periodically making fun of them. They wound up leaving the show and going down 2nd Street.

A crowd of 50 people attacked the 3 men.

Straight from Philly.com:

He said the crowd kicked and punched the Nazi-wannabes and used weapons that included beer bottles and cue balls, although postings on other online- message boards describe the attack as more tame.

The only information police have on the incident is that they responded to a report of a disturbance on 2nd Street at 11:33 p.m. No arrests, hospitalizations or assaults were reported, a police spokeswoman said.

That's pretty interesting to hear. Post and comments on Philebrity say the guys basically got their asses kicked and left with bloody noses. The photos and police reports say otherwise, and the entire thing amounted to people stealing their hats.

But as you can see from the comments, the sentiment is that they deserved what they got.

Did they?

The reports indicated that the men didn't do anything during or after the show other than to wear what they wanted. One account says they wore "camouflaged combat pants; woolen, WWII-era coats adorned with SS emblems and authentic Third Reich hats with Nazi insignias emblazoned atop them." Other than that, they were basically just going to a concert to have a good time. Once they leave the place, they're attacked by 50 people.

So, lets go over this again: 3 men were attacked for no reason by a crowd of 50 people simply for standing at 2nd and Chestnut.

In this country, everyone has the right to do and say whatever they want as long as they don't interfere with your rights. To be clear, no, you do not have the right to not be offended. If anything, it's a right to be allowed to be offended. If these guys wanted to stand around and look like SS troopers, they have every right in the world to do so. If you want to stand across the street from them, give them the finger, and tell them to fuck off, you have every right in the world to do that, too. You don't have the right to physically harm someone, though, unless they're actively are trying to kill you.

Isn't going around and beating people who look, act, or think differently than you a Nazi-esq thing to do?

Again, I don't like Neo-Nazi's that much. I also hate racist pricks in general. There's a group of black men who stand on Market Street every Saturday preaching hatred and racism, about how "white people are evil". Yet I'm not allowed to hurt them, no matter how much I want to. These guys are actively preaching hate, but all I can do is fight back by yelling at them and flipping them off. And, in the end, sometimes that's all you can do to stay a little ahead morally.

Photo courtesy of The Fifth Column.

South Philadelphia High School: How The NAACP Got Involved (For the Wrong Reason)

The NAACP.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored Persons.

Periodically over they years, I've wondered why we need organizations like this. Not so much because I think racism is dead (I know its not, and I deal with it every single day from people you may not suspect), but because it seems there isn't a ton of need for them in this day and age. Sometimes I see why we need them, and I think to myself, "You know, for every time it seems they go after something stupid or dumb, they tend to get it right as well."

For the past few months, if not years, South Philadelphia High School has had a serious problem where Asian-American students have been getting bullied by black students simply because they're Asian. It's horrible, its disgusting, and the very fact that this level of racism still exists disgusts me! Hurting someone over the color of their skin? Where they come from? Who they are?! I'm simply appalled!

The problem has gotten so large, so intense, a group of Asian-American students marched to School District headquarters demanding action. Sadly, it still goes on to this day.



So when I heard the NAACP was going to take action, I was a little excited, and reminded why these organizations need to exist. The fact that one group of people was oppressing another, the fact that racism was an issue and that there was a serious problem that needed to be taken care of... I was proud.

And then I found out why. They were offended by this cartoon:

At first, I agreed with them. "Oh, they must be mad because the principal has been virtually asleep at the wheel about what's going on at her school. OK, that make sense. I mean, she's most likely is doing her best, but things have been pretty bad there for a while."

Not even close.

Mondesire, head of the city's NAACP, denounced the cartoon, called it disgusting and called on the School Reform Commission to condemn it.

"It is a lie. It is offensive. The Inquirer should be ashamed of what it did to Mrs. Brown," Mondesire said.

Source: NBC Philadelphia.

Which is really, really sad. Here they have a chance to advance colored people in Philadelphia, to come to the aid of people in need who are be discriminated against and having a tough time because of their skin color. Instead, they spend their time and effort saying that the cartoon is offensive and disgusting. This, from the same organization that wanted to have a pro-Michael Vick rally.

Is this why we have an NAACP in Philadelphia? To attack people who make valid points and arguments, and use satire to bring them to light? To defend ineffective people? To claim racism or take offense to things when you don't always agree with them?

To the Principal of South Philadelphia High School, I simply say this: If you find this cartoon so offensive, if you're so upset over it, prove him wrong. Show him, show us, but most importantly, show your STUDENTS wrong. Show them that you are doing something about this. Show them that you do care. Show them that hatred and racism in your school with NOT be tolerated! Expel students commiting hate crimes, report them to the police... do something to show you care.

Otherwise, madam, you are asleep at your desk, even if not literally.

Westoboro Baptist Church in Philadelphia: Feel Free to Share the Love

• 2:20 PM - 2:50 PM -
  527 Lombard St
  
  
• 3:00 PM - 3:30 PM -
  2100 Arch St
  
  
• 3:45 PM - 4:30 PM -
  420 Walnut St

They're hear to "protest the Jews". Make them feel at home.

WBC in Philly

FIGHT HATE! - We Need To Fight Back Against These Racist Bastards!

Over the past week, we've seen two acts of terrorism in America. the first was the assassination of George Tiller, a doctor who preformed late-term abortions on women who needed them. His murder was a pro-life believer who is not sorry for what he has done and is rallying others to support him. He is making calls from prison.

Today, we saw an 85-year-old White Supremacist walk into the Holocaust Museum. A man who stormed the building on the same day a play was to open about Anne Frank. A man who was in jail for 11 years because of his hate.

We have seen the face of hate, and today I am telling you that we need to fight back.

In Philadelphia, there seems to be a feeling that racist groups do not exist, nor could, in this city. Those who think that are wrong. Very, very wrong.

For the past few years, a group of men have gathered on the street corners of Philadelphia spewing hatred in every bitter sense of it. They have stood on soap boxes and platforms. They have taken Market Street as a method to preach hatred and racism to any and all who walk by. I have been appalled time and time again to see them attract minds of like-minded people who those that they speak out against do not decry their actions, lest they seem like racists themselves. They spew hatred, taking the Christian Holy Bible and twisting it into their own form.

I speak of a group of Black Supremacists that are called The Israelite School of U.P.K. The group is also known as "The Twelve Tribes of Israel".

The group is no different in terms of objectives than the Ku Klux Klan or the Creativity Movement, formerly the "World Church of the Creator".

It is nothing short of amazing to me that people give these bastards the dignity of respect. In this country, if we like it or not, we are allowed to let others speak and say what they want. To that end, to the means, I will forever hold that close to my heart. But there are lines, there are limits, and even more importantly, there is the right to protest and decry what you hate.

Seeing many black men stand around and listen, as if these idiots are speaking the truth, scares me. It scares me to think that these men are gullible enough to fall for the lies and discrimination these men put forth.

To that end, we as a society need to make a decision. To simply stand idly by why they spew hatred and grow their numbers, to simply stand by and let their hatred breed. If, for nothing else, than to stand back and watch them possibly create domestic terrorists who are inspired by their hatred of non-blacks.... We are saying, as a society, that we are permitting hatred to go forth and rise unopposed.


Two months ago, a memo was released by the department of Homeland Security that stated that there was a "rise in right-wing radical extremists that could be potentially dangerous." That their rhetoric would fall short of telling people to commit acts of violence. It is up to us, right now, to stand up and shout "ENOUGH!"

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Racism is, to me, the biggest evil a society can ignore in this day and age. We ignore it, only to hope that it goes away, hoping that by not giving it negative attention, the type of attention we know it craves, it will simply burnout and die. As a so-called "Attention whore", I can tell you for a fact that that is never the case. Ignoring them makes them try harder and once they find an audience, they will not let go. They will continue to grow if they are not opposed.

In the end, not opposing hatred racists simply lets them breed and grow like mildew.

To that end, I am asking you to do something. These men tend to arrive on Market Street on Saturday's . The spots are in front of the Pennsylvania Convention Center around 12th and Market, The Gallery at 9th and Market, and the CVS at 11th and Market around 2PM to 6PM. I want anyone and everyone who reads this to do one simple thing: Protest.

Protest.

PROTEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Go out there and TELL THEM they are hateful! TELL THEM they are racits! If you see them, tell them that you don't want their brand of hatred in Philadelphia, in your community! TELL THEM! Yell at them, scream at them, hold up signs, chant, sing protests songs... DON'T do anything violent, but just use your First Amendment Right to go out there and PEACEFULLY PROTEST THEM!

Saturday at 3PM, I'll be there at 12th and Market . I'll have a sign that says "Fight Hate". I'll scream at them, call them the slimy racist bastards they are, and I'll stand until they leave! I'll protest the other racists I see! I'll scream until I lose my voice!

And I'll do it again and again and AGAIN! I WILL NOT let them stand and preach their racism unopposed! I WILL NOT stand idly by why they simply brainwash others to their side!

I have chosen to stay and fight. I hope you will, too.

Anti-Stimulus Cartoon "Offends" People

When Obama was running I told all my friends the same thing; "I'm afraid of him winning if for nothing else than we may not get to make fun of him. Too many people will be afraid that they'll be labeled racists or offensive or whatever!" My friends... well, they tended to look at me with glazed eyes because they didn't care.

So when the Obama Sock-Puppet Monkey came out and I laughed because I thought it was cute, you can imagine why I wasn't shocked that a lot of people found it offensive. "Your comparing him to a monkey! RACIST!" Well... yes and no. In the past, yeah, comparing black people to monkeys was racist. At the same time, we have a tradition of comparing politicans to chimps, orangutans... simians of all shapes and sizes. We've never cared about the race of poltiican, just the fact that they were an inept chimp.

And then this.

Seriously, outrage over this? “OH MY GOD! It’s two WHITE cops shooting a CHIMP! RACISM!” What are you, 5? If it was two black cops, would it be racist, or just a really interesting political statement no one would care about it? What if it wasn't a chimp at all, but a snake. "Oh no, they killed a snake!" No one cares about snakes! Everyone fucking HATES snakes! Chimps? We like them!

The only people offended by this are people who want to see some sort of racism in and of itself. How many cartoons have there been over the last 8 years comparing Bush to a chimp? Seriously, how many? I lost count after the first 1,000,000.

Apes, monkeys, chimps… people compare politicians to primates all the time! I didn’t see it as a racist; I saw it as them saying only a idiotic chimp would write a stimulus bill like that, that the bill was stupid and seemed to be written by a chimp.

I'm 99% sure that the guy who drew this said, "You know, some people might get offended by this, but I'm sure that it's just going to be a few people and that'll be it. No one is going to care about what a few idiots think. I'm certain that the audience of The New Post have enough of a brain to realize it's not racist but basic social commentary using ideology and imagery we've used for years." He vastly underestimated the basic level of intelligence the average New York Post reader has.

How many people “outraged” laughed at the Bush-Monkey comparison? How many people “outraged” love Obama and voted for him and would shout outrage at any bad press about it, screaming “conservative bias”? How many of these “offended” people think black people have had it so hard they need to be protected? How many people “offended” realize that Al Sharpton is a idiotic douche bag who has said and done horribly racist things himself?

At the same time, how many people laughed at this:

You remember this, right? Mohammed with a bomb on his head. People laughed and chuckled at it but we all said, "you know, that might be offensive to some people, but at the same time, the guy is basically saying that religion can be used as a weapon. He isn't saying 'All Muslims are crazy, just some of them.'" We all used our brains and made a rational decision and moved on. We laughed at the crazy bastards over the ocean who protested and thought it was so horribly bad.

Well... your turn. It's your turn to realize that your an adult and you need to be treated as such, to be challenged, to be offended! You don't have a right to not be offended, you have a right and a privileged TO be offended! To question! To be treated as thinking, rational, mature human beings!

This cartoon isn’t racist unless you want to be. If you think it is, please cancel your subscription to the New York Post, boycott it, whatever... meanwhile, I'll be over hear laughing at how silly you look.

With Councilman Goode, Let's Tackle the REAL Issue Here!

Has anyone out there realize that the problem with Corrupt Councilman Goode ISN'T racism?

It's irritating seeing everyone who paid a little attention to this focus on the race factor. It's great that the entire "reverse racism" argument is being thrown out the window, awesome even, but it's only a SMALL part of the larger problem.

As was reported days ago, the guy fucked a staffer while having beer with her on City Time! COME ON! HE FUCKED HIS STAFFER! Isn't that more interesting than the stupid hand-scrawled signs? Isn't that the BIGGER issue? Or the fact that he's basically used $13,000 in raises for Latrice Bryant to keep his, ahem, "policies in line"? The guy is drinking on tax payer time, has a corrupt office, and instead of cries to fire him, what do we get?

"Well, he shouldn't use the race card and should fire her."

No. Not quite. Fire HIM at the same time. He needs to go! 

Czar Clarke Target of Hate Crime: Irony In Play!

I've written a few posts about 5th District Councilman Darrell Clarke a few times. He's written bills that would have tracked everything from beer, to cigarettes, to spray paint and even Sharpie markers. He's even tried to pass zoning laws that would classify restaurants the same way as STRIP CLUBS!

And people wonder why I don't trust City Council. YEESH!

But all of this hate started when I found out last fall that he wanted to basically do away with the First Amendment and ban displaying swastika's, nooses, and burning crosses in public. If you don't agree with the symbols, fine, but just wearing these images on a shirt, putting it on an album cover, etc, isn't exactly wrong. I went into detail on this before, and you can read that blog post here.

So when I found out Czar Clarke was the target of a hate crime, the irony... well, poetic justice, of the situation wasn't lost on me.

City Councilman Darrell L. Clarke was the victim of an apparent hate crime, police and Clarke just told Philly Confidential.

Clarke said he walked outside his house this morning and found Nazi symbols and the letters "KKK" spray-painted on his car, a vehicle belonging to a relative of one of his staffers and another local resident's car. Crime Scene Unit investigators are currently dusting his car for prints while detectives try to determine what motivated the incident.

"Some idiot decided for whatever reason they needed to paint a swastika and 'KKK' all over my car," Clarke said. "I couldn't believe it."

Police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore said investigators "are treating this as a hate crime. It's disgusting and we're trying to get to the bottom of who is behind it."

SOURCE: Philadelphia Inquirer

Oh the sweet poetic justice of it all!

Well, it may be a hate crime, Czar Clarke, but was it because of your race or because of your idiotic bills? ....OK, it's most likely is race. Eh. You still suck.

Jesse Jackson: Hypocrite, Bastard, and Needs To RESIGN! NOW!

Anyone who knows me, anyone who has met me, knows I believe the following: Jesse Jackson is an outdated self-righteous asshole who thinks he is the "king of all black people". He is not. In fact, he is so removed from modern black thinking, he's the same type of racist asshole who he rallied against even up to when he ran for president. He's pushed his own biased, narrow-minded agenda non-stop and down the throats of America for years. He is, in short, why blacks have such a bad name in America.

And now, the man who has rallied and condemned many a white public figure, from Don Imus to my hero Michael Richards, has just used the word Nigger to describe... wait for it... Barack Obama!

CHICAGO - Fox News says the Rev. Jesse Jackson used the N-word during a break in a TV interview where he criticized presidential candidate Barack Obama.

The longtime civil rights leader already came under fire this month for crude off-air comments he made against Obama in what he thought was a private conversation during a taping of a "Fox & Friends" news show.

Now a Fox spokesman says Jackson used the N-word to refer to black people during that taping as he said Obama was talking down to them. Those comments were not aired.

Jackson — who is traveling in Spain — apologized in a statement Wednesday for "hurtful words" but didn't offer specifics.

The N-word comment was first reported by blog TVNewser. Fox declined to release the transcript.

SOURCE: Yahoo! News

Well, well, well... I'm not sure if this is irony or poetic justice, but whatever it is, I want this little nightmare for him to go on and on until he's destroyed. So let's get started, shall we!

Jesse Jackson should now do the following:

• 1. Apologize to Obama again.
• 2. Apologize to the NAACP.
• 3. Resign from the Rainbow/PUSH coalition.
• 4. Admit he has been self-owned and had this coming for being a non-stop asshole.
• 5. Never speak in public again.

IN THAT ORDER.

In fact, Number 3 is the most important. For someone so passionate about helping black people and not tearing them down, for someone who has had countless times gone after public faces, groups, or individuals for whatever small thing he finds offensive and called for them to resign, Jesse Jackson, IT'S YOUR TURN!

I think everyone should contact the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and ask them to either make Jesse Jackson to resign or that he is fired:



Rainbow/PUSH Coalition
930 East 50th Street
Chicago, IL 60615-2702

ph: 773-373-3366
fx: 773-373-3571
info@rainbowpush.org