I concur. While I think it played a role in the election, it was way overhyped and yes, most people have gotten over it.
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/7440447.htm

I agree. The day after the election I felt something I hadn't felt before, an us vs. them mentality, I wasn't very happy with myself because of it. And although I supported Sam Katz, my black friends didn't treat me any differently, but I felt differently about them because they mostly voted on color (even though most don't like JS) and not on the issues. Well even if I feel the wrong man won, he has and I sure am glad that the tension in Philly has died down. Unfortunately, I dont think this would have happened in Katz had won.

The newspapers in the City don't seem to be allowing Street to get away with very much these days anymore either, (for those who are boycotting the newspapers) everyday there's an article about the flaws and corruption in his administration. Someone's taking notice.

that someone seems to be the FBI. at least someone is. to me his position on kenney's bll attempting to delink city contracts form campaign donations is transparent. it's a state issue b/c he knows the state will not do anything. we are suffering economically and politically, why wait for the state to do something? let's take care of ourselves.

I respectfully disagree, El - here's what I was attempting to post on fivetonine's blog, but I believe that writing to it has been disabled. :::

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el, i don't think thinks are returning to "normal" in philly at all. in fact, i venture to bet that things are worse now than ever.

a friend of mine and i were talking at lunch the other day. i was telling her about the situation here on the blog, and some of the debate/conflict we have regarding the election & use of the race issue for street's sympathy vote.

apparently there was a local tv show where the correspondents seem to agree that the "racial tensions" have cooled down significantly after the election. i think on this show, they mentioned that things would probably be heated right now, had katz won and the blacks felt left out (that's a big IF). then they'd see blacks rallying to the side to defend their "race".

instead, they (the correspondents, who i believe were black) said that everything has quieted down, and that there are no problems. my friend disagreed, saying that there are more problems than ever now, however the whites that discriminate against the blacks are doing it more as an undercurrent - silently without a lot of waves--not as openly discriminating, but quietly discriminating. we may consciously leave the blacks, or try to sideline the blacks, in an indiscriminate manner. [lord knows if the whites rallied to their side crying discrimination, it would create a huge mantra of international press and bloom into a racial clash as it would piss off the blacks and they'd cry discrimination, so you know that wouldn't happen.]

and i agree with this, as she did, and we both came to the conclusion that we find ourselves acting in this manner more and more now. i have a disclaimer that i have a few close black friends, and i love them just the same as ever, but on the whole, perhaps the racial divide this mayor street strung upon us, is in fact deepening and happening.

honestly i'm so pissed off that he played the race card, that i have no inhibitions about getting more in touch with my feelings of discriminating more and more, but quietly as mentioned above. frankly, i feel that i'm following mayor street's lead by example. and if he can put this into practice, so can i and the citizens. don't hate me for saying that, i'm just being honest where others would lie to your face.

its a shame the television hosts were so blinded by their own race and utopia that they cannot see the bigger problem they have. to bring that out into the open, and build greater awareness to something that their race will have to deal with sooner or later. ignoring the problem will not make it go away.

it's all a shame, but that's how life is. and that's how the people of this city voted on november 4th, by emotion rather than intelligent decisions. and that is a whole other problem all together (out of the scope of this thread), and they are not at all unique to it, as its practiced everywhere.

can anyone relate, or have some concrete proof to disagree with this?

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[ PHILLYTIM.NET ]
ROCK AND ROLL HAS ARRIVED & THE STREET SHACKLES ON THIS CITY ARE GONE!

I thought this subject was tired and put to bed. Tim it's the holidays, can't you just fake your cheer until the New Year and then get back on your tired soap box?

And furthermore, I could care less about the race factor at this time (the election is over and he's back to his old games). The problem with this administration is not race, its contracts. Whites, blacks and latinos are all getting "pay for play" contracts.

excuse me, but race does not take a holiday; and race is by far not a dead topic, or because of an election.

because our mayor has set an example for claiming black superiority in this city for his past 4 years, and we'll be continually reminded that he's in office 4 more years, we're in the dead middle of this issue, and it is something that affects us and warrants discussion.

further, i'm merely bringing this up here now because it's been brought up in real life as a discussion between citizens; frankly it was brought to me. i'm sharing my viewpoint on what i see out there in the real world.

frankly the calls to calm down racial tensions actually fires them up. as the article shows, a month after the election, people are going to continually remind others and analyze the subject.

and finally racial tension will grow as philadelphia will shortly attain a majority populous that is black, because of antics like john racist street being our mayor. people called to leave in '99, and they're doing it. people again renewed that call in '03 and it probably will be done.

attempting to put down a valid discussion about how this all affects us, is not contribute to finding some kind of happy median in which we can all live together. to fix a problem means to get it out in the open. i'll continue this discussion as i see fit, as will others.

__________________
[ PHILLYTIM.NET ]
ROCK AND ROLL HAS ARRIVED & THE STREET SHACKLES ON THIS CITY ARE GONE!

Why do you think the white race is superior? Everyday I am subjected to the superiority of the white race, even Time magazine put the white guy in the front and the black guy in the back row. What's wrong if for once if the Mayor says "yes, we are running the City" We have made some strides and we're finally getting somewhere.

Do you still think that there is a division or have things subsided since the election?

Hello everyone. Long time lurker, first time poster. I’ve enjoyed reading the many discussions throughout the forums and hope to become an active participant. This city has always been my home, and warts and all, I love it. Once a jewel of the east coast, I still believe there’s much potential here if the city is willing to grow and evolve.

Anyway, I just felt compelled to respond, partly to get some clarification on Tim’s post.

Not that I have to mention this, but since I have nothing to hide (so far) and as a point of reference, I'm male, black, a registered Democrat, and I voted for Katz.

Personally, I don't feel as though there are any overt racial problems or effects from the election, if there ever truly were any. To be sure, there were a number of unfortunate incidents, altercations and accusations on Election Day, but I don’t believe that race was a primary factor in any of them. I wouldn’t be as naïve to say that it wasn’t a factor at all, but I don’t think it was the main one. Yes, there’s the Molotov cocktail through Katz’s window? Intimidation? Certainly. Racially motivated? Perhaps in part, but it’s hard to say. If it wasn’t, it certainly heightened that distinction in many people’s minds.

As for any covert discrimination towards myself or other black people (or dark-skinned folks), I can’t say I’ve seen or sensed anything out of the ordinary. Then again, if people are actively trying to hide it, I probably wouldn’t see it, unless someone was going out of their way to try making me feel uncomfortable in subtle ways. As cliched as it may sound, I prefer to deal with people one person at a time, giving them the benefit of the doubt that they’ll treat me as they would treat themselves. Generally, these are the people who I interact with most of the time.

Tim, what kinds of problems does your friend believe there are more of than ever? Are these everyday, interpersonal interactions between blacks and whites or some form of discrimination that is larger, widespread and more organized? What, if anything, do you find yourself doing that you believe constitutes quiet discrimination or sidelining blacks? Now that the election is over, what would have to occur for these inflamed racial tensions to make local or even international press? How would one begin to measure this?

I’m heartened to hear that you continue to love your black friends more than ever. If Katz had won and I hadn’t voted for him, I’d like to think that I would continue loving my white friends as much as before. And of course I would. I don’t mean to sound as though I’m teasing you, Tim, but I just wanted to highlight that to say that I found it an unnecessary disclaimer to make, assuming that the other discussants are reasonable people. Obviously, you are entitled to make it, if you so choose.

As for following Street’s example, we all have ownership for our own behavior. Bush (unfortunately) is my president, yet I don’t find myself espousing his views, nor do I act or treat people in ways that mimic his. Street (unfortunately) is my mayor, yet I don’t find myself espousing all of his views, nor do I act or treat people in ways that mimic his. Perhaps it may be because I feel I have a few contrarian bones in my body; however, I think it’s primarily because I disagree.

Street, whether we like it or not, is an intelligent man, but not very wise. I find that he lacks qualities that I want in a mayor. Some of the things he did that made him a powerhouse in City Council are not qualities that carry over well to the mayor’s office. Even if a mayor is not charismatic, and Street certainly is not charismatic IMHO, a good mayor understands the power of the press and public relations, for example. Instead of handcuffing his PR people as he did in the early part of his administration, he should have given them free reign to trumpet the successes of his administration. When he finally did, it was almost too little too late, and those successes were mostly from the first few months of his administration. The whole abandoned car thing, for example. While removing those cars was a success and a necessity, I would be embarrassed to trumpet that as a highlight of my first term.

He is a tread-water mayor in my opinion, not a visionary. A visionary is what I wanted when I voted for Katz. Would I have gotten that had Katz been elected? Who knows? But I liked his willingness to dare and to dream. Whether he would have accomplished or tried to do the things he promised during the campaign is something we’ll never know. But at least he said those things. I didn’t hear any of that from Street. Given that I love Philly and that I want it to grow for all people, I was willing to give Katz a chance.

My apologies from diverting from the topic.

Kusner, are you certain your friends voted for Street based on color and not on party loyalty? I’m sure that there will always be people that vote solely on color, black, white or otherwise, but I’m curious to know if they actually said that they were voting for Street simply because he is black. I can’t say that I’d be surprised one way or another, but I just wanted to know. Hopefully it's of less importance today, but it wasn't so long ago that a black person voting for someone who was black did so because they believed that person would protect their interests, and I was curious if your friends were taking that tack. I'm sure if a black person ran for office and proposed to do things that a number of black people found disadvantangeous to them, that they would do their best not to vote for that person, black or not.

Not to oversimplify any argument made by Kusner or Tim, but I think some of what one might see as voting with emotions is voting intelligently to another. Or at least, voting with their best interests in mind. Safe Streets and NTI, though they arguably have flaws, have altered the landscape in tangible ways. A person with children who lives near a known drug corner sees police officers one day instead of drug dealers and finds out that it’s because of Safe Streets. Is this effective policing and the most efficient use of officers? Perhaps, perhaps not. But to that person, it is real and quantifiable. A person has been living across the street from an abandoned, dilapidated house where addicts, dealers and prostitutes do whatever they do. NTI comes along and tears it down. Is this the best way to repair the urban fabric? Perhaps, perhaps not. But it’s a relief to that person. Especially if in both of those cases, their complaints went unheeded for years. That someone—anyone—cared enough to do something (whether or not the concern is sincere), even if the plan is not perfect, it may warrant a thumbs-up in their book. Of course, a person on the flip side of this might see less police in their own neighborhood or believe that NTI is misguided and give both of them a thumbs-down.

My point is not to argue Safe Streets or NTI here, but only to question the logic of equating intelligent voting as a vote for Katz and emotional voting as a vote for Street. I believe that it was possible to vote intelligently for Street. I believe that I voted intelligently for Katz.

As far as Street’s claim of black superiority, whether or not he believes that, I don’t fully believe that he meant it as such. Granted, he said, “The brothers and sisters are running this city.” He has a penchant for putting his foot in his mouth and not being a great communicator. While I agree it was a dumb thing to say, my interpretation was that it was meant to be taken along the lines of something like, “We can be proud that more African-Americans in our city are making great strides and assuming more leadership positions, where they can touch not just their own community, but each and every one, making Philadelphia a great city for all.” I know that’s a stretch, and while it was a dumb thing to say, at the very least, I think he wanted to say that he was happy to see more and more African-Americans were in positions of authority and leadership. Perhaps some of you may find that something that is better left unsaid, or don’t believe or understand why that might be important to someone, but I don’t see anything wrong with it, especially if one makes it known that you are still committed to a city for people of all backgrounds.

I agree with Tim that race is not a dead topic, but—and I’m not accusing you of this, Tim—we ought to be clear what the topic at hand is. What and where are these racial tensions? How do we isolate them and define them? Where are they on a day-to-day basis? Once we can isolate them, what can we do to quell them?

And are people leaving Philadelphia solely because of John Street? Partially because of Street? The pay-to-play system? The wage tax? Other taxes? Lack of well-paying jobs? The poor relationship between government and business? The educational system? Crime? Lack of city services?

Don’t get me wrong. I feel down on Street as much or more than a lot of people. And race has been and still is a part of politics, for better or for worse (I say, for worse). But I don’t believe that race was a primary factor in blacks voting for Street, though I can’t say that it was completely removed from anyone’s decision. Would this have been an issue had Katz been elected? Would people be pointing fingers at whites?

People vote for the person who they believe will either act in their best interests, or for whom they believe it is in their best interest to vote. This time around, Philadelphians voted for Street again, but I’m not sure I’d say that they chose him. I think some people voted for the Democratic party, some people voted for the tangible work that Street’s programs did in their neighborhoods, and of course, some voted for both.

Sorry for the long post. If it came across as a diatribe at all, it was not intended to. And I apologize if I'm rehashing any points or ideas that were covered in other threads. I’m interested in good discussion and I’ll try to be more succinct in the feature.

Cheers,
Anam

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I can dream of schemes when I'm sitting in my seat
I don't see any flaws 'til I get to my feet
-- The Police

thank you anam