Killadelphia's Mayor John Street had to have his I-Phone, despite more pressing issues in a city that has already seen 200 murders this year. He waited in line for 15 hours (on the taxpayers dime), arriving at around 3:30am.
Should he have spent his whole day in line or could he have made better use of his time by planning to deal with more pressing concerns for his city?
I personally would have paid a friend or relative to take care of something like this for me if I were a mayor of a major city.... or I would have simply pulled the strings necessary to have the store hold one for me...or have a salesperson deliver it later. How hard would that have been? I would have avoided this and had someone else do it just for the sake of not presenting the wrong image, especially considering the situation in that city at the moment regarding the rampant violence.
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10 comments:
This is my home town and the murder rate in Philly is one issue that I have kept my eye on for a long time.
Last year the Black community, having been upset at the latest insane act of violence in which a little Black girl was shot dead decided to leave their communities and go 107 miles west to Harriburg PA to convince the state legislators to keep guns out of the hands of THE BLACK MALES in their community by enforcing a state wide ban on all handguns.....even for people who own them but who are not killing each other.
It seems that these community activists were able to craft a "message" for these external legislators but have thus far not been able to find the appropriate message nor MANAGEMENT PLAN to allow the Black Males who they have raised with their own hands to stop killing each other and terrorizing the community. (Hey BrotherPeaceMaker.......these White folks sure are slaughtering us Black folks are they? Something must be done about the White folks.)
Prior to the recent mayoral elections in Philadelphia a poll of African Americans stated that most were not happy with the direction of the city and they thought that change was necessary within the city. Unfortunately due to the high rate of "voter ideological nullification" the Progressive Milton Street was replaced by another Progressive Democrat, Michael Nutter. Where as in the general national electorate their frustrations with the current administration on a variety of different subject will afford the opposing ideology/party to take over and thus lead to this "new direction" that has been clamored for........in the city of Philadelphia which has an 80% Democrat voting base "change" in their mind was to install a new Progressive Democrat.
But again - Whereas US Representative John Lewis is proposing to spend millions of dollars chasing down "unsolved Civil Rights Era murders" stretching back to 1946.......in his district TODAY there is a run rate of 32% closures for homicides of Black people (in the Vine City section of Atlanta). Clearly he realizes that the injustice that was delivered upon our community 40 years ago by the White man is still more powerful than the terrorism that is going on TODAY by the Black thug though the end results are the same - another dead Black man who blood trickles down the street - a life squandered.
You should not express your frustration with Mayor Street.....he and John Lewis are simply doing what the BLACK COMMUNITY allows them to do. No the answer is not to "vote Republican". The answer is to accept the fact that whatever the majority has supported thus far is not working and that we must strive to find apolitical methods to solve problems that partisan political methods have thus far failed to address.
I just don't get it. How do you comment on things without getting the entire story. Being the mayor is not just about REACTING to murders. (By the way, the murders last year are LESS than the highest years of murders under the White mayors Rizzo and Rendell. That is a statistical FACT.)
More importantly, Street has led the country with his Wireless Philadelphia Initiative. Now that's being PROACTIVE. Because the digital divide is a part of what keeps African-Americans from catching up with our White counterparts. Mayor Street is trying to close that gap by making Internet access available, within the reach of everybody.
The iPhone was a part of that attempt to bring attention to the Wireless Philadelphia Initiative (the iPhone is WiFi enabled).
You're entitled to your opinion. But don't be so judgmental before getting your facts. NPR.org has the interview with Mayor Street (who gets up every morning at 4 am anyway and does more work before the crack of dawn WHEN NOBODY IS WATCHING than most bloggers who write without doing their research do any day of the week).
Disapproving of your uninformed opinion.
This was not a research paper... and was not intended as such.
The NPR story, which I linked to, was what I commented on. I was not attempting to write a bio on the life of Mayor Street... He's not important enough for me to spend that much of my time on.
I played devils advocate by asking if a mayor of a major city should spend his whole day standing in line waiting for a store to begin selling a gadget...when he is supposed to be on duty....as mayor? (particularly for a city with more important issues). No more, no less.
I'm assuming you are another Philly native.... and I figured I would get a few defending the Black hero mayor. Normal and expected.
Surely you will have more background on the history of the man... but that was not necessary for my question IMHO.
It's good that he is working to increase access to the internet for everyone in his city. But there are more pressing issues for those in (or near) poverty. How many of those working poor can afford the computers and the $500 I-phones in the first place? What good is internet access to those who can't afford the infrastructure (computer hardware, software, gadgets, etc) to even use it?????
Families (esp. Black families) are worried about their healthcare, job security, childcare, how they are going to take care of themselves... maintaining food/clothing/shelter, having safe neighborhoods, education, etc. If you were to poll Philly residents about what the most important issues are for their city, I don't think many would list the I-phone or wifi as their most pressing concerns. I think safety, the economy and education would more than likely be at or near the top of their list.
I would have spent my day working on other initiatives (and i'm sure they exist in Philly) that would bring fundamental changes to the economic and social conditions in the urban areas that are most in need.... to create a situation where more people would be able to afford the computers and other gadgets needed to become a part of the wired world.
I would have sent someone else to wait in line.
I'm entitled to my opinion (and I am certainly entitled to it on my own blog), and you are entitled to yours.
I can do without the smart aleck comments. They won't work here.
"I would have sent someone else to wait in line." AI
I second that.
Angie
Nuvision for a Nuday
"You should not express your frustration with Mayor Street.....he and John Lewis are simply doing what the BLACK COMMUNITY allows them to do."
Constructive Feedback. Blogger Angry Independent is doing exactly what he is suppose to do "express frustration." We should all communicate our frustration with what is going on within our communities. I do agree with your overall comments.
The Mayor buying a cell phone was not the issue, the issue was the Mayor's priorities. His self indulgence. This has nothing to do with the digital divide, this has all to do with a mayor of any major city sitting in line to buy a cell phone, while black children die. Priorities. Yes, one has to salute a mayor who is working to close the digital gap between the rich and poor, we also have to talk candidly about what need to be fixed.
The mayor's decision to stand (sit) in line to get a IPod phone was PR stupidity.
Ain't no way an I-Phone purchase was worth the bad press unless there's other arrangement pending in exchange for this free publicity.
If not, then perhaps he's just one of those SELF-DESTRUCTIVE types who thrives on pulling stunts that keep his people stressed out and frazzled.
Not a good look, Mayor. Not at all.
I agree with AAPP. The mayor's decision to stand in line to get that phone was PR stupidity. (Good one AAPP!)
Should he have spent his whole day in line or could he have made better use of his time by planning to deal with more pressing concerns for his city?
Ya think?
This is one of thos stories that just makes you say ' he has lost his natural mind.'
I personally would have paid a friend or relative to take care of something like this for me if I were a mayor of a major city.... or I would have simply pulled the strings necessary to have the store hold
WHat does it say about him that he didn't think of either of those options. He's the MAYOR and couldn't get someone to deliver it or hold it? There's all kind of pathetic in that.
[quote](By the way, the murders last year are LESS than the highest years of murders under the White mayors Rizzo and Rendell. That is a statistical FACT.)
More importantly, Street has led the country with his Wireless Philadelphia Initiative. [/quote]
In the world of Anonymous .....
Mayor Street should for the remainder of his term personally attempt to make it to all of the funerals of the street crime victims in Philly (last year more than 80% of them were Black - I will pull the actual numbers later). He should grieve with the family and offer his condolences. Then just before leaving the funeral BAM! He should pull out an iPhone and check the quality of the WiFi signal in the church and then in the community that still has the blood stain on the sidewalk where their loved one has been murdered. The closing line of the mayor will be
"Ma'm, I am sorry for your loss, unfortunately your son will never come back. This is such a tragedy...but at least you have a helleva strong 802.11 signal in the community thanks to my efforts, so cheer up and go surf the web!!".
Constructive Feedback, Now those comments were unfortunately...on point.
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