Let’s Put Slots Parlors in Tom Ferrick’s Neighborhood
In a highly dishonest and self-satisfied article, Tom Ferrick Jr. tells Philadelphia residents opposed to having slots parlors jammed down their throats to suck it up, and get used to the higher crime rates. The problem is, Ferrick’s thinking is so muddled and confused, he literally undermines his own case.
First he says:
To summarize their remarks (Which isn’t easy. They do run on): Casinos are evil. They will cause a crime wave. The city will get no economic gain from them. They will result in job losses. They will ruin adjacent neighborhoods. They were created as part of a corrupt deal among casino operators, legislators and Gov. Rendell. And the rights of the people – the everyday, hardworking citizens of Philadelphia – were trampled on in the process.
To which I reply, I disagree. But none of those arguments prompted me to write the piece I did.
What prompted me was the threat by some casino opponents to block construction of SugarHouse, the one casino that appears closest to a construction start.
The argument made by folks from Casino-Free Philadelphia is that because the process was corrupt, they have a moral right – perhaps a moral imperative – to break the law. To lay down in front of the bulldozers and stop construction.
Now, that part is nuts. And it is wrong.
But he ends the piece saying:
That’s not to say there aren’t minuses. Gambling can be an addiction, and this will make it easier for local addicts to get a fix. Traffic around them will be mucked up. There will be an increase in crime around the casinos. The casinos themselves are Grade B designs, in my view. I am not at all sure they picked the best locations on the waterfront for them.
Get it? Ferrick disagrees that “They will cause a crime wave”, but claims that “There will be an increase in crime around the casinos.” Ferrick disagrees that “They will ruin adjacent neighborhoods” but at the same time believes that “Traffic around them will be mucked up. There will be an increase in crime around the casinos. The casinos themselves are Grade B designs, in my view. I am not at all sure they picked the best locations on the waterfront for them.” Unless “mucked up” traffic, increased crime, and Grade B designs are seen as neighborhood improvements, I’d say Tom Ferrick has just undermined his entire case.
Ferrick is also a little confused about the concept of “civil disobedience,” which some might argue was essential to establishing our great United States.
So now they say they have the right to block the casinos with their bodies? I think not.
The casinos – like them or hate them – were created by a law that was passed by the legislature, signed by the governor, and upheld by the courts.
It is the law of the land. And in this country we don’t get to follow the laws we like and ignore the ones we don’t. We live by the rule of law.
Interestingly, segregation was “created by a law that was passed by the legislature, signed by the governor, and upheld by the courts”. And so was Prohibition. And the Fugitive Slave Act, which countless Philadelphians refused to obey. Perhaps the Abolitionists should have sent the slaves back. Harriet Tubman should be listed as a national disgrace for not submitting to bondage. So, in its way, were the Stamp Acts. The colonists should have paid their taxes to the King. The Boston Tea Party was an outrage. The law is the law, and there is no such thing as a bad law or legislative shenanigans or voter disenfranchisement, and those statements are doubly true in Philadelphia. Ferrick dishonors and disrespects our ancestors and our national history with his spiteful and craven apology for government malfeasance and greed.
Interestingly, you can find Mr. Ferrick’s address on 411.com. It is no surprise to this writer that Ferrick doesn’t live anywhere near either proposed site: Mr. Ferrick lives a few blocks from the Broad Street Line, which takes him directly to his office at the Inky. Mr. Ferrick’s neighborhood will not be affected by exponentially greater traffic. Mr. Ferrick will not have prostitutes and criminals (the ones he says won’t-but-will come) in his neighborhood.
I say that Palumbo Park, which seems to be right in the middle of Mr. Ferrick’s neighborhood, is an eyesore that attracts litter and criminals. It’s disgraceful: the site should be improved, and a slots parlor should be erected on the grounds, where it can bring income and tourism to the neighborhood. Gamblers can spend their winnings at Pat’s and Geno’s and shop at the Italian Market. It would be a boon for Ferrick’s neighborhood.
Put the slots parlor there, and I guarantee Ferrick would howl in protest. It’s different when it’s YOUR backyard: the people of the river wards have been through enough.
