'Murderdelphia' - - UNACCEPTABLE!

‘Murderdelphia’ - - UNACCEPTABLE!

by Rev. Michael Robinson, M.S.

In Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, a city that I cherish, the ball has been dropped! Murder, mayhem, and dysfunction has notoriously become the new normal. And it seems, no one is safe!

April 4, 2022, in a span of just 6 hours, a 14year old was shot in the head and a 15year old was shot and killed walking home from his middle school! If such violence, chaos, and murder doesn't faze you, then you’re a cold-hearted creep and you're part of the problem!

As of April 5, 2022, the Philadelphia Police Department reported 126 homicides in the city, up 1% from last year same time. In 2021, 3 CBS Philly news reported that Philadelphia had the highest murder rate per capita among America’s top 10 largest cities! In the streets, Philly is notoriously referred to in some circles as ‘Murderdelphia’ - - not a good look for the city.  

This violence and mayhem that’s plaguing our city can ruin the city’s reputation as a popular world tourist spot for national and international visitors. The economic loss from tourism could be catastrophic. “Visitors to Philadelphia spent $4.4 billion inside the city limits in 2018, which accounted for 58% of the total $7.6 billion in visitor spending in the Greater Philadelphia region. This spending translated into an economic impact of $7.1 billion for the Philadelphia economy.” -reports Visit Philly, a marketing organization that promotes Greater Philadelphia as a leisure tourism destination.

Throwing money at the problem has some benefits if the resources are applied where needed the most. According to The Appeal, a blog on policing in Philadelphia, “Between 2013 and 2020, the Philadelphia Police Department budget rose by nearly a quarter. At the same time, murders doubled, but police only solved half of all murders in the city.” For murderers, this means 50% of the time they walk away free from killing innocent children, parents, grandparents, and other loved ones we care about. 

For the hardened trigger men and stick-up kids, committing murder in this town means you have great odds of getting away with it, “killers who committed 60 percent of the homicides examined in 2018 remain on the loose.” -Bobby Allyn, WHYY. Excuse me, but that’s a damn shame, and totally unacceptable!

How safe do you feel at night? How safe do you feel on the public transit system? How safe do you feel sending your kids to school? How safe do you feel going out on a date at night in the city? How safe do you feel going to your car at night? How safe do you feel shopping downtown? You probably don’t feel safe in any of these scenarios, I don’t!  I’m a former 3rd degree Black Belt competitive martial-arts tournament fighter and a licensed concealed-carry gun owner, and I still don’t feel safe in Philadelphia. But most of all, I worry about the safety of my church members, family, friends. co-workers and the law-abiding citizens in this great city.

“Philadelphia’s 2021 murder rate easily surpassed our all-time record of 503 people murdered in 1990 and has passed the 499 homicides that happened in 2020. This is not a record any city leader or Philadelphia resident should be proud of. Reducing gun violence in Philadelphia should be the number one priority for all city leaders in 2022.” – Councilman Kenyatta Johnson

In Philly (Year-to-Date/April 3, 2022), here are some other disturbing crime stats...

• 774 Robberies with a Gun! (up 46% from last year, same time)
• 835 Aggravated Assaults with a Gun! (down 13% from last year, same time)
• 1,143 Aggravated Assaults/Other (up 1.78% from last year, same time)
• 3,261 Thefts (up 15% from last year, same time)

Philly is criminal minded!

Apathy, silence from the community, dysfunctional households producing dysfunctional youth/adults, poverty, drugs, the criminal minded, many unsolved police investigations, and a wheelbarrow full of other problems are DESTROYING this city!

Parents, young adults, adults, police, community residents, educators, business leaders, court officials, city officials, clergy, and civic agency leaders - - WE ALL HAVE TO STEP UP AND DO BETTER!

Things will get worse if we allow apathy and the criminals to have their way. Harsh times are here! We can't tap dance, pussyfoot, soft pedal, and twiddle our thumbs any longer. It cannot be business as usual. Stronger leadership, stronger response, stronger resources, stronger collaboration and cooperation, and stronger enforcement are necessary! What’s currently in place IS NOT WORKING! And that means, when you walk out the house, when you send your kids to school, when your grandmother needs to do her shopping, when your wife goes to work, they are literally risking their safety and life living in Murderdelphia. God help us.

###

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Rev. Michael Robinson, M.S. Counseling

• Award winning corporate leader
• Award winning community leader
• Award winning university executive
• Member of the Pennsylvania News Media Association