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Readers Write: Even A Stopped Clock Is Right Twice A Day

A concerned reader writes in regarding Philebrity alum Jonathan Valania‘s modest proposal that the Made In America concert this weekend be made free of charge:

I know Philebs usually has its guns set on “ignore” where Valania is concerned, but this is… I mean… Jesus Fucking Christ. If real life is not like Fugazi, then a concert sponsored by Budweiser featuring Jay-Z, Pearl Jam, and Skrillex is sure as fuck not.

Well, hold up a second, buddy. While we will concur with you on most of this, let us also take a wider view: Valania’s argument that Made In America should be set free, maaaaaaan, does have a compelling point in that this is all happening in some of the City’s most public space, which we should all have the right to tread upon whenever we wish. That much is certainly true. He’s also right when he says the whole deal is kind of insulting to Philadelphia’s poor. Hard to get around that.

What is ignored here, though, and what we cannot believe anyone has brought up in this entire debate thus far is this: To presume that a high-ticket, high-profile concert such as this can go off without a hitch is to ignore Philadelphia’s recent history and the purchase with which our own poor youth have us, as a populace, pretty much over a barrel. The degree to which everyone has been talking about Made In America while ignoring how truly Generation Flash Mob holds the City at ransom is kind of baffling to us. And it is for this pragmatic reason alone that Made In America should not be a $95 ticket: To have Jay-Z perform on the Parkway — again, that most public of spaces here — and to do it in such a way that the haves are literally walled off from the have-nots is to basically ask for a riot. It also harks back to something we voiced during the whole flash mob crisis a while back, only to have everyone look at us like we were crazy — the notion that the City says to our young and poor at every chance we get, Center City isn’t for you. Made In America is going one further by saying Center City isn’t for you, even when it is.

Previously: Made In America Will Be Fenced Off, Have Comprehensive Police Presence, Be Filmed By Ron Howard

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 28th, 2012 at 11:01 am.

  • Amarikah

    I will take the risk of a riot at a ticketed Made in America over the guarantee of a riot at a free Made in America.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000089956523 Allen Crawford

    “…the notion that the City says to our young and poor at every chance we get, Center City isn’t for you.”

    And yet you kids balk when folks compare Philly to Paris…at this rate the ATV wolfpacks in North Philly will be speaking Verlan by Christmas.

  • tsarstruck

    C’mon. The city’s getting paid to host a high profile concert, that’ll bring all sorts of moneyspenders in. The only message that it sends is “we’re having a concert here for two days so walk two blocks to get around me (and don’t worry, I suck to walk on anyway, you’er not missing anything)”. Let’s not pretend that this is in the same ballpark as the curfews.

  • http://www.facebook.com/sagnew Sean Agnew

    As opposed to the recent free concert on The Parkway (July 4th) which saw 3 people get shot

  • imstillhere

    there was no discussion that I am aware of and once again no consideration for the people that live around these events. i knew moving into the neighborhood that there were events like the 4th of july concert, the charity du jour every weekend on MLK Jr. Drive, the marathon and half-marathon but this shit-show-to-be and the expanded terror behind the walls is getting too much to bear. the residents are now prisoners in our own neighborhood and the philly factor will keep many of us hunkered down this weekend.

  • PeteQuince

    “Hunkered down” this Labor Day weekend he said, sixty miles from the Atlantic Ocean.

  • PeteQuince

    I agree: anything that a flash mob wants for itself should just be given out, free of charge. We can’t have them throwing a mass tantrum over it. The Wendy’s at 15th and Chestnut should also stop charging money for the food that its “teen” customers want, since this is probably upsetting to them. Come to think of it, Del Frisco’s shouldn’t take any chances then: they should stop walling off the have-nots with their discriminatory prices. It’s only the “pragmatic” thing to do.

  • imstillhere

    the dirty atlantic ocean isn’t any better during labor day weekend. why people think the shore is the end-all-be-all place to be is beyond me. summer in the city is the best when the douche bags leave for the shore and sales of shots and lite beer plummet.