There are big pro-Mumia protests elsewhere but not in Philadelphia. So many claim we are scared of the police or Rednecks wanting blood against someone whose alleged circumstances of arrest wouldn't lead to execution even in Saudi Arabia.
The simple truth is that most Philadelphians want to avoid dealing with tense racially sensitive issues.
Philadelphia Misunderstood When it Comes to Mumia
The Mumia abu Jamal controversy gives Philadelphia a bum wrap around the world and here at home.
Some say Philadelphians must be either terrified of the police or else must think he is guilty and want him punished since big Mumia demonstrations in Paris, NY and LA don’t occur here unless New Yorkers come down for a day of protest.
If you visit Philadelphia or are under 35, and live in Philadelphia, please casually strike a conversation with an older Philadelphian. Then bring up Move or Mumia. Chances are you will hear "Let’s not discuss racially tense and polarizing subjects."
Mumia found a new niche condemning Obama’s Presidential campaign, claiming that since the US empire is finished, a black President at this point will mean that Blacks will be blamed the way a black mayors allowed to take office when the treasury is bare and the tax base gone, get blamed for a city’s plight. Many white radicals don’t like Obama’s bring us all together rhetoric, fearing it means not standing up to conservatives or oppression. But feel queasy about saying so, until a black man such as Mumia who can’t be accused of being an Uncle Tom gives them permission to say so. Some think Mumia being articulate under the worse possible working conditions makes his views all but the gospel truth, while others think he should be dead and thus have no right to an opinion and thus won’t challenge his opinions besides insult.
Philadelphians overwhelmingly don’t want to discuss the subject of race. Are Philadelphians Rednecks out for Mumia’s blood? A place where tourists and conventions avoid visiting? Of course not. But only if Philadelphians who want to avoid race as an issue would clearly say so, not let Mumia diehards or the Capital Punishment lobby talk for Philadelphia.
Another thing that cools many old timers in Philadelphia, is that many Philadelphians believe that no one is telling the truth.
Billy, Mumia’s brother several affidavits claimed that Tony Jackson, (who by the way was my lawyer too) spent hours talking to him and his mother at his mother’s high rise public housing apartment, without asking him to testify, and strangely never visits his brother in prison.
If Billy could have testified that Officer Faulkner was cursing about his brother while banging on Billy and his partner Kenneth Freeman, the prosecutor would fear the jury would have sympathized for his plight. I remember a news story of the police storming Mumia’s mother’s apartment and in front of her neighbors urging her to stop Mumia’s stories about the police.
Mumia claims he was in his cab all but ignoring the police stop in his real view mirror until he heard a shot, look back and saw his brother stagger, rushing to the scene he heard his brother scream, then a cop pointed a gun at him, and shot him. Collapsed into unconscious then waking up to cops beating on him. Then spent his entire trial, when not gagged, claiming a massive conspiracy where a police officer was sacrificed to stop Mumia’s writings on oppression and police abuse. Mumia if you really had no idea what happened finally say so. He screwed up his trial and all his gung-ho supporters and opponents are screwing up our justice system and our country’s image.
Come on Mumia you can mention your brother now without him getting arrested for what the prosecutor already knew 28 year ago.
Now back to Mumia’s two articles or radio talks on Obama and one praising Hillary after she dropped out instead of before she dropped out like Philadelphia’s mayor and several other Black leaders did.
Yes Mumia the US empire is declining and between 2008 and 2012 will probably be when it becomes crystal clear. However the British Empire has been declining for generations yet Brits still eat, when Ancient Rome collapsed, crime, chaos and starvation was rampant. Maybe there will be a depression despite Obama’s best efforts to stop it, and not only he but to a certain extent Blacks in general will be blamed. But McCain claim that America will stand by its friends around the world could make the depression far worse, even if Venezuela, Cuba and Iran start slowly backing down rather than fighting with the US. During the last depression Mexicans were sent back to Mexico their legal American children sent back along with them. The love affair between McCain and Hispanics seems to be warning. But if only a slight majority support Obama, right-wing Cubans cheering McCain’s victory and expecting to be going home in style, like the Iraqi Congress in Exile expected, could lead to massive blame on Hispanics for an oncoming depression, far worse then the blame on Blacks if Obama won. And a depression far worse than with Obama’s intelligent efforts to stop it. Only if Hispanics don’t vote for McCain, and he wins anyway, might we have a united working class revolution, people like you Mumia dream of.
The word is on a worldwide race to the bottom as one country after another cuts wages and working conditions to compete better. Roosevelt and Johnson fought against it. And to a certain extent Kennedy, Carter, and perhaps Eisenhower and Ford resisted as well. Reagan cut wages, safety conditions and environmental concern to give the US a temporary economic squirt. There was no union organizing under Clinton giving wages a downward pull and the economy a temporary squirt as well.
If the downward spiral of lower wages and working conditions continue endlessly on eventually on, thieves will be robbing vegetables from window gardens until only cannibals could survive. Cuba and Venezuela offer a glimmer of hope against this endless downward spiral. McCain’s polices are fixated on Hispanics and challenging Castro and Chavez If the only thing Obama accomplishes is to allow Cuba and Venezuela some breathing room, there is hope that the endless spiral of lower and lower wages and working conditions won’t continue endlessly on.
Richard Kane Prefer as a slant editorial with email included. RichardKanePA@aol.com
Links Follow:
"Is Obama's Victory Ours" 6/5/08 by Mumia,
http://www.phillyimc.org/...
Rejecting the Church Pew" 6/1/08 by Mumia,
http://www.phillyimc.org/...
In the primaries some Black leaders praised Hillary, now that she drops out Mumia does,
http://www.phillyimc.org/...
Hint for those trying to type in not paste in links, if you get the first phillyimc link, you can then change 68867 to 68915 to get the second link.
Mumia's statement,
http://www.chicagofreemumia.org/...
Arnold Beverly may have not told the truth about killing Faulkner but clearly had inside information,
http://www.pagesincolor.com/...
Corruption in charge back then,
http://www-unix.oit.umass.edu/...
Arnold Howard's drivers license in Faulkner's pocket,
http://www.villagevoice.com/...
Mumia hater had doubts that Mumia did it,
http://antimove.blogspot.com/...
Chuck (Charles Sims) Africa part of the Move 9 that Mumia upset the police with by his vigorous exposes of police and court abuse, is up for parole, possible consideration starting in August ‘08,
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/... http://www.phillyimc.org/...
More detail,
file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/user/My%20Documents/htmlcode.html
Richard Kane is a retired Philadelphian. Lived once on Winter Street near the first Move back-to-nature commune. Later on 45th Street near their later Kingsessing Av. address. Janitorial work at Gar Properties and Weisethethal Properties gave frequent contact as well. Always wanted to be a writer and found Mumia very inspiring when he volunteered to help Community underground Newspaper. A recovering Luddite, Richard found John Africa’s vision of returning to the natural way and loving all life to be somewhat inspirational. And actually tired to follow it, but unlike the first Move commune allowed the exterminator in.
Richard was outside the barricades at the first Philadelphia Move confrontation. Received a 6 to 23 month sentence for supposedly obstructing justice during that confrontation. After turning down a suspended sentence because he felt he deserved a medal for stopping a race riot. In hindsight, I made the little kids with their bicycles who were screaming baby killers at the police laugh when after they demanded the Black cop come across the street with his people then demanded that I cross the street to be with mine. Officer Magazzo who later claimed I blocked the arrest of the firecracker thrower, was menacing his club at me warning me not to cross. And I successfully hammed things up to the kids cooled down. However I had nothing to do with the removal of all the kid’s bicycles and some of the kids before police on horseback charged after Officer Ramp was killed.
The real heroes were Wallis Mahammad and a group of followers who came together and yelled "get your woman and kids off the street." This stopped Philadelphia and in other incidents, other cities as well where the Black Muslim’s dragged and carried the kids off the street from resembling former South Africa, and current Israel-Palestine. Dead children were a huge source of anger over there.
I make Pam and Mario Africa nervous but Romoma Africa appreciates me a lot, but thanking supporters may just be a blur in her life rather than distinguishing between them. Contact with Move’s new generation has only been brief. The Delaware County Times had two very similar articles by me the Center City Weekly allowed one. 20 years ago. I had an extended article in the Friends Journal.
Someone who isn’t part of a major choir or entrenched lobby group like myself, has real trouble being heard.
by Richard Kane, prefer my email be published with article. RichardKanePA@aol.com,