A Tale of One City

 

When it is said that "Philadelphia is a tale of two cities," the goal is not to divide but to point out the great disparity between rich and poor in this town. Here in 2022 can be found vast wealth and abject poverty, practically side by side. It is shameful.

What we really have, though, is a tale of one city. For our fortunes are truly tied together despite our efforts to separate. Crime is a growing and disturbing manifestation of this.

Crime is a fraught topic to wade into so I will tread carefully. Too much "pearl clutching" has classist and racist undertones. Conversely, when any sort of expressed concern about public safety is shouted down as ignorant and bigoted, that too is unhelpful. Then add to the mix the complicated feelings people have towards the police. You can see how, even if we all want the same thing, we struggle to feel like we're all on the same team.

What feels different, two years into a pandemic that has stretched this city to a breaking point, is that crime is truly becoming a citywide concern. Philadelphia is a big city, big enough that even as coverage of violence on the evening news can be unnerving, many of us can afford to stick to the safer parts. We privileged are the ones turning our town into the tale of two cities. Yet now we are seeing gun violence all over. 

My daily routines keep me in University City and Center City, neither of which has been unscathed of late. There was a shooting not far from my condo on the Delaware River waterfront last year, another area I would've otherwise considered safe. And, earlier this school year, a frightening scene captured on camera near the Olney Transportation Center, of people scattering in response to a drive-by spraying of gunfire - barely 30 minutes before thousands of teens, including my two, would've been in the area to come home from school.

And, of course, incidents like this are far more common in other parts of the city. It should matter to all of us that residents in those neighborhoods are endangered by such reckless gunfire. It is heartbreaking to think of so many, especially children and the elderly, who have to navigate such a treacherous existence. We are truly one city, and I hope we will come together in our concerns and work towards solutions that are proven, rehabilitative, and ultimately effective. May God help us all.