PAtownhall.com
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
PAtownhall.com
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
by Chris Freind
I'm not very swift. I guess that's why I'm in the media.
But something came up this week which is an absolute no-brainer. It's one of those rare issue with no gray area, that even I can clearly understand.
Stay with me on this:
1. Bad guys do bad things (like murder, rape, robbery and child molestation)
2. Police issue arrest warrants
3. Bad Guys go on the lam, and continue to terrorize Philadelphians
4. The Mayor and Police Commissioner want to publicize photos of these Bad Guys
5. This newspaper alone has the guts to oblige the Mayor
6. Cries of racism will no doubt commence
Why the racism charge?
The vast majority of those on the Police Most Wanted List are black. It follows, then, that anyone who publishes these photos is "racist". Pay no attention to the fact that both Mayor Nutter and Police Commissioner Ramsey are black. Or that many of these thugs were placed on the Wanted List under the prior Administration, which also had a black Mayor and Police Commissioner. Logic has never played a part with those who scream "racist" the loudest.
One could even argue that, from a demographic perspective, since a majority of Philadelphia's citizens are black, the list is a relative reflection of the population.
But such arguments only serve the other side's agenda by getting off-track. This isn't about color. Never has been, never will be.
This is about good and bad, right and wrong. Plain and simple.
When I see the list, I don't see skin pigment. I see people (if you can call them that) who have taken life, liberty and dignity from innocent citizens. And they're cowards. How tough are you when you rob an elderly woman? How macho are you when you shoot little children in a school zone and speed away? And how gutsy are you when you force yourself on defenseless women and children?
Despite this, Philadelphia's other newspapers refuse to print the photos. But maybe they'll publish their names, which would be great, since that will net—and let's be generous---zero suspects. What happened to journalistic integrity? Where is the civic responsibility of The Fourth Estate? Isn't it inherent in the code of the media to be a partner in the community--- doing its part to keep citizens safe and working alongside government leaders in areas of public service?
The biggest hypocrisy is the editorializing about how bad Philadelphia's crime situation is (it has the highest rates of murder, violence and poverty in the nation), and how "something needs to be done". Well, now something can be done. Not useless blue-ribbon committees and study groups, but a concrete step to making Philadelphia a safer place to live and work. And it's not like publishing photos hasn't worked. When newspapers and television programs show the mug shots of the most wanted, the results are a smashing success. Equally important, citizens feel safer because they know they aren't alone in their fight.
Philadelphia's other papers were asked by our Mayor to step up to the plate. Instead, they struck out again. Shame on them.
I could talk all day long about how publishing photos is not racist. But since the majority of crime in the city is black-on-black, don't take my word. Ask the victims themselves, at least those who are still alive. Ask them if they think publishing the picture of the man who beat their grandmother or raped their daughter or killed their father is "racist".
You want to call me racist? Spitballs off a battleship. From the Don Imus debacle, to exposing the Al Sharptons and Jesse Jacksons as the true bigots, to telling the truth in the Jena Six case, Freindly Fire has always been out front on the issue of race.
But in this case, the only "race" is how far the bad guys can run before being caught.
Bravo, Mr. Mayor!
