Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia was true to his word when he took to the pulpit at Mount Carmel Baptist Church and prefaced his remarks: “I’m going to say some things this morning that I know from time to time many of you think, but may not say. They will not be PC.”
He proceeded to unloose a 25-minute speech that must rank among the most brutally forthright calls for personal responsibility and adult authority that an elected official has ever delivered in these United States.
Philadelphia has been beset by “flash mobs,” roving bands of teenagers who descend on innocent bystanders to beat and rob them in a miniature version of the senseless destruction that has engulfed London. Urban violence always occasions tawdry excuse-making under the guise of a search for “root causes.” With a pungent plainspokenness, Nutter zeroed in on the true root causes — irresponsible parents and their ignorant, slovenly, and undisciplined kids.
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“Parents,” Nutter said, “get your act together. Get it together, right now!” On the cusp of officially announcing a new curfew for teenagers that will bring potential sanctions for the parents of violators, Nutter warned neglectful parents: “You’re going to find yourself spending some quality time with your kids in jail, together.”
And that was practically the warm-and-fuzzy portion of his presentation. He had scorching words for absent fathers in a city with an astronomical black illegitimacy rate: “You’re not a father just because you have a kid, or two, or three.” If you’re not providing moral instruction to your children and instead are sending child-support payments, “you’re just a human ATM.” If you’re doing neither, “you’re just a sperm donor.”
“That’s part of the problem in our community,” he continued. “Let me speak plain: That’s part of the problem in the black community.”
“We have too many men, making too many babies that they don’t want to take care of, and then we end up dealing with your children,” he said. “We’re not running a big baby-sitting service. . . . You were around for the sex — now, be around for the parenting.”
Nutter harkened back to his days as a teen in West Philadelphia 40 years ago, when he lived under the “Basil and Catalina code, the code of my parents.” They set out simple rules — respect others, keep your hands to yourself, mind your manners — and made it clear that as long as he “lived in their house, that was it.”
At the end of his talk, he directly addressed today’s teenagers in a volcano of indignation that brought parishioners to their feet. “If you want us to respect you,” he thundered, “take those doggone hoodies down, especially in summer,” “pull your pants up and buy a belt,” “comb your hair,” “learn some manners,” “keep your butt in school,” and “extend your English vocabulary beyond the few curse words that you know.”
“If you go to look for a job,” he continued, “don’t go and blame it on the white folks or anyone else if you walk in to somebody’s office with your hair uncombed and your shoes untied or your pants half down, tattoos up and down your arms, on your face, on your neck. And you wonder why somebody won’t hire you? They don’t hire you because you look like you’re crazy!”
The third African-American mayor in Philadelphia’s history, Nutter is a reformer who took over from an incompetent predecessor who blithely presided over murder-plagued “Killadelphia.” He inveighs against vast social trends. The unraveling of the two-parent family and the diminution of adult authority go back decades. Nutter may be able to beat back the flash mobs, but the larger social disaster that is the context of such mayhem will endure.
At least he is willing to speak about the desperate need for a return to basic standards. That Nutter’s speech is refreshing and brave is itself a disturbing sign of the times.
Has anyone noticed that Rich never stated whether the Mayor was a Democrat or a Republican? These problems are above that level: these are symptoms of a much larger, more frightening set of trends that threaten to engulf our entire civilization. Kudos to the Mayor!! Check out the Political Haiku of the Day: External Link
Nutter rightly recognizes that the political gains made from embracing victimhood are being outweighed by the consequences of such ideology. We need more calls for personal responsibility and accountability.
Thanks Rich for giving this speech a spotlight. Wow, what a great speech. And, obviously, the mayor's family can take a lot of credit for the fact that their sense of responsibility gave them what they have today: a mayor of the great city of Philadelphia. Republicans need to march up and support guys like this. Thanks again.
Thanks for sharing this story, Rich. As a graduate student, I've begun directing my studies toward the interaction between politics and black-urban culture (by which I mean the hip-hop culture, the thug culture, etc.). I'm sure Mayor Nutter and I would disagree with each other on other matters, but I'll stand with him in his resistance to an absolutely ridiculous way of life that *prides* itself on being uneducated and that worships the life of the violent gangster.
This problem is not specific to only Philadelphia but a nationwide epidemic. Bill Cosby was lambasted by many for making similar comments. I am sure the usual suspects will creep out of the woodwork to criticize Mayor Nutter and his remarks. Kids need order no matter what race or religion. Pretty much any reputable academic study will show that boys need fathers in the house as do girls to enforce discipline, love and guidance. All these words are synonymous.
I think what you are referring to could properly be called playing the Uncle Tom card. It has been played since the 60s by black opportunists and their culturally elite white enablers. Whites should applaud Mayor Nutter and join with him in addressing the issues of responsibilty. It is not only blacks who are failing.
Bravo, Mayor. As Rich says, it's pathetic that this type of speech is big news...but it is. The worthless human trash he is referring to are used to being coddled by black politicians and getting cover from watching the likes of Hillary Clinton kissing Al Sharpton's pinky ring.
This attack on their sickening culture will come as something of a shock.
Wow.
This was given Aug. 7 and this is the first I've heard of it on the 12th?
I've seen numerous trivial stories on the news this week. I've even seen the new Miss America interviewed on Fox stating how she wants to be President and sit on the SCOTUS, but no one could find time to share this City's plight or a Mayor's stance to try to resolve it?
Has it truly come down to "We don't report, so you can't decide"?
Too little too late. The odds that the culture that produced these mobs will heed these words are nil.
Time to face facts. These communities have been paid by federal and state governments to produce violent young men and women.
A serious attempt to do something about this violence would be to triple the number of police on the streets, prevent young people from gathering in groups larger than 5, and swiftly jail and prosecute violent offenders and then sentence them to the maximum penalty allowed so that society is protected from these feral humans.
The mobsters may be motivated by race but the response must be motivated by a desire to protect civilization and the rule of law.
A speech that tells violent mobsters to pull their pants up seems impotent.
Your idea to limit groups to a maximum of 5 is blatantly anti-first amendment. The first amendment guarantees the freedom to assemble, and until they do something that merits the police, there is nobody wise enough on this entire planet that can second guess their motivations.
The follow up ideas will just lead to prison cities, because it's treating the symptom rather than the cause.
The answer is sterilization of citizens that engage in sex then don't marry or give the child up for adoption to willing parents, and to automatically enroll the child into adoption if the mother is less than 18 and isn't receiving parental assistance.
Illegitimacy is the single most determinate factor in whether that child will become a criminal, with the likelihood being on the high end, so it stands to reason if you prevent those foolish enough to engage in sex without thinking from having a child or give the children up to 2 loving parents you won't have these problems
I'm a conservative, and the idea of sterilization sounds Orwellian in general, but not if used to prevent the trickling of criminality between generations. When it's used to stop malefactors from reproducing it prevents the cause of crime dramatically.
Those under the age of 18 do not have the same obligations or privileges. Simply citing the constitution is simplistic. I do not think that anyone would question that the right to bear arms does not apply to a 12 year old. While I am not in favor of blanket curfews and none for those over 18 , society should be able to take reasonable measures to protect its citizens from such violence and protect minors.
It's the same speech they always give. The rip roarin' preachin' sweatin' speech that tells it like it is--that says things that whitey's known all along but is terrified to say for fear of being called racist.
And nothing else will really happen. There might be some more speechifying, and some 'community solidarity'(the city might shake loose a bit of cash for some handouts to make it look like people want to do something about this--rather than talk about doing something about this).
If the speech gets any media play it will be seen as Nutter having actually DONE something about this.
I know a young couple from a city with a big representation from the baby mama / sperm donor anti-culture. They have experienced aspects of it themselves and are struggling despite having moved to get away from it.
Their teen-aged brothers talk openly about making babies, buying drugs, "respect," killings, etc. on their Facebooks. They are completely unaware that their attitude consists of mental, spiritual and actual death.
I'm all for extending a voluntary and personal hand to those trying and I am doing that. My own experience also proves that those who are fully "invested" in that anti-culture will not be helped and cannot even comprehend real help or how it could possibly be help.
Mayor Nutter will be scorned by the anti-culture and the left who can organize its anti-community. Good on him, anyway. The truth can't hurt.
What the mayor said, without quite coming out and saying it, is that multiculturalism is an abject failure and that it must be replaced by the recrudescence, and ascendance of Western culture. The rise of multi-culti invalidated and toppled Western culture and encouraged minorities (particularly blacks) to pursue their own "culture" as an act of liberation. Well the culture that blacks created for themselves--and was probably nascent all along--is one of complete and utter dysfunction. And dare I say it? Left unchecked it has the potential to instigate a domestic race war.
Nutter spoke the truth. Now will Romney, Bachmann and Perry? Of course not. And that's why I fear the worst is a near certainty.
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