What Stinks About Philadelphia...? Is it the Economy or Attitudes?

Smiling is infectious. You can catch it like the flu.
When someone smiled at me today...I started smiling too!

I always loved that poem. Makes you wanna smile, and it is so true. Yet I find, in Philadelphia, this does not seem to hold the same truth. The streets are talking and Philadelphia is not the city that loves you back...

The City of Brotherly love has been named one of the most bloodiest cities, with murder rates and job-loss on the rise, no wonder everyone is on edge. I wonder, is or will Philadelphia ever be a great American city? Are our attitudes towards one another keeping us stagnant, and segregated? Or is it the challenges of the preceding economical conditions and we are stuck in a perpetual cycle?

With all the news about the library and pool closings and Chinatown’s fight against a Center City slots barn, one thread ties these struggles together – the love of community. These struggles aren’t so much against something as much as they are a powerful statement of the sanctity of sacred spaces in our neighborhoods, of the rare places where the fabric of community is built, where our relationships with one another are fostered and cherished, and where lessons and values are passed onto new generations. Our communities are the heart of civil society.

Recently, Philadelphian Debbie Wei wrote just about the best piece I’ve ever seen on the notion of community and struggle in an essay "A Question of Place" published in Asian Week. Here's an excerpt:

As Philadelphia’s Chinatown fights a proposed casino mere feet from its doorstep, I’ve been thinking a lot these days about why saving Chinatown means so much to me.

Several years ago my youngest son, who studied kung fu and Beijing Opera in Chinatown, told me: "My favorite place to be is Chinatown. I know everyone there. I can walk around and hang out. The guy in the laundromat always gives me candy and everyone knows I’m a lion dancer and the old people all smile at me."

Chinatowns around the country represent an increasingly rare phenomenon. They are communities in the deepest sense: places not only defined by geography but also by memory and relationships. It is why my son would rather buy his candy in Chinatown even though he could get it cheaper at Walmart. When he buys his candy in Chinatown, he knows the clerks, he feels happy to see them and they are happy to see him.

The responsibility that comes with relationships and knowing that there is something bigger than yourself is part of what makes a community live — it is part of what makes us fundamentally human. It isn’t just about a geographic area. It is about emotion, about connection to a place.

It is a deeply moving and personal piece, especially at a time when our struggles seem greatest. As she writes:

"True progress has to do with the human heart and the relationships we build and sustain over time. Our future as a city is not about me and mine, not about rugged individualism, but about collective
responsibility. It’s about what is ours — all of ours.

When you see us in the streets protesting, this is why we fight.

Daily News columnist Ronnie Polaneczy wrote a nice Friday column about this as well. Ronnie was kind enough to reprint Debbie's essay on her blog post. And of course, you can find it at Asian Americans United’s website as well.

The proposal to build the Foxwoods Casino at the Gallery is a clear indication of the lack of accountability on the part of our elected officials to the citizens of Philadelphia. In fact, the casino-siting process has been undeniably undemocratic from the beginning. From South Philly to Fishtown to Chinatown, backdoor deals have created these siting proposals with little to no input from neighborhood residents or community groups.

Simply put- Casinos do not belong in any city neighborhood. When casinos come into neighborhoods, crime rises and property values fall. They should not be in places where our residents live, work, learn and worship.

According to a 2007 poll, 79% of Philadelphia residents support the 1500 foot neighborhood buffer that is being proposed by community groups like Casino-Free Philadelphia and Asian Americans United.

As I stood and watched the press conference for the up coming A Call To Action : 10,000 men event, I was a little proud to see all the elected officials who attended the event. Some wanted to make the news, some really wanted to make a difference. But as I stood by a proud Charlie Mack standing high near Kenny Gamble, a yell "It's A New Day" filled the room. Even though the crowd wasn't that big , the message was echoed from the Liacouras Center down Broad Street, its time for A New Day. But how long will this last and will 10,000 men be enough to save our streets from the crime and violence that have made Phila home?