More private conversations also seem to be turning to the upcoming papal visit, which will follow the World Meeting of Families to be held in Philadelphia. Anecdotal evidence suggests that many people take a decidedly negative view of what lies ahead. If you knew only that "the Pope" was coming to Philadelphia, and heard some of this talk, you'd think that "the Pope" was either the leader of an invading army or a nickname for the Ebola virus.
But the source of most of the negativity seems to have little to do with the Holy Father himself. Instead, Mayor Michael Nutter and his administration are to blame. They've decided to turn Center City and its surroundings into a mini-dictatorship while the Pope is in town.
Nutter's administration has prepared a "daily progression of street closures" barring access by vehicle to Center City and its surroundings. At a news conference on August 13, the mayor marveled at "just how complicated vehicle traffic will be," as though his decision to block access to Center City was a major achievement.
Having judged it unsafe for people to drive into town, the mayor and his advisers have also decided that arriving by public transit is too risky to allow more than a few people to use. Thus, they contrived to make it impossible for more than a small percentage of the people expected in Philadelphia for the Pope's visit to ride in on SEPTA and other public transit systems. SEPTA and other agencies are running on unprecedented limited schedules, bypassing all but a few stops, and charging especially high fares for tickets that must be purchased in advance through a lottery. When parking lots at the few stops that will be serviced fill up, some lottery winners may find themselves to be losers after all.
Without cars or trains, what are people supposed to do? A Mayor's Office press release of August 10 tells them simply to "be prepared to walk to your destination... up to a couple of miles." If they can't do that, presumably they can't come downtown. Too bad for the injured, the aged, and the disabled-- not to mention the people who are physically able to go through this unnecessary hassle.
To add to the welcoming spirit, Nutter has also ordered the closure of the public streets throughout an area encompassing Center City and areas bordering it to cars and pedestrians who do not submit to searches. This will be accomplished with massive police overtime, the rental or purchase of screening equipment, and the construction of temporary walls. Visitors to our city will get a taste of pre-1989 East Berlin. How retro!
Another Communist Bloc throwback will be empty shelves and shops with nothing to sell. The cordoned-off area where masses of visitors are expected will be largely unable to receive deliveries while Center City is under Nutter's lockdown. Assuming employees of shops and restaurants manage to make it to work through the mayor's walls, they will have nothing more to sell once the crowds exhaust their supplies. Nutter hasn't yet explained what crowds of hungry and thirsty people should do if this happens. Based on his earlier comments, he'd probably tell them to keep walking until they found sustenance.
I wish I were the well-compensated consultant who came up with the name "Traffic Box" for the area barred to vehicles, and "Secure Perimeter" for the area where police will arrest anyone walking down the street who's unwilling to submit to searches. But if I were the well-compensated consultant, I would likely have been fired for questioning Mayor Nutter's decision to declare war on all residents and visitors. I would have pointed to other cities around the world, in both rich and poor countries, that have hosted the Pope. Do those places go to the extremes Nutter is contemplating? Certainly not. Even many cities in developing countries are better managed than Philadelphia is. Their leaders have taken a more reasonable approach to ensuring security than Nutter, and haven't wasted resources and caused disruption to nearly the extent that his plans entail.
The effect that Nutter's mini-dictatorship will have on turnout is becoming clear in the results of the ticket lotteries being held by the public transit authorities. The lotteries were supposed to offer a limited number of tickets so that SEPTA and the other authorities wouldn't have to turn people away. But so many people feel deterred by Nutter's unreasonable preparations that there are many more places available in the lottery than people who want them. The hassle and dangers being created by City officials are simply too great.
The Mayor's Office has repeatedly made piecemeal additions to its elaborate security preparations, some maps of which are still labeled "draft." This suggests that Nutter and his advisers are basing their preparations not on any objective measure of need, but on changing political assessments of what they can get away with. Why would they want to do this?
I think the administration wants to set a precedent that will be used repeatedly in the future. All the talk about how extraordinary the Pope's visit is will be forgotten then, and city residents will be asked to endure similar restrictions on their freedom and their commerce every time a major convention is in town.
The "Traffic Box" and "Secure Perimeter" will become part of a package that the City tries to sell to organizations to try to attract them to hold events here. Philadelphia has not attracted as many conventions or major events as it should. Rather than fix problems with the City that have kept conventions away, such as inadequate and overly expensive parking, the high cost of holding conventions here, or the widely held perception that Philadelphia is a dirty and dangerous place, City officials intend to add this new feature to the deal they offer to convention organizers. The Pope's visit is the first demonstration of the mini-dictatorship as a feature of events in Philadelphia; the Democratic convention next year will be another.
The idea is to show that Philadelphia can function like Davos or Bilderberg. Those places simply order the closure of large public spaces so that rich people who've paid for the privilege can use them exclusively, without having to deal with any undesirable people they don't wish to see in their midst.
City officials haven't consulted the public about this, but in all likelihood, they don't feel they have to. They view voters here as docile and ignorant, and city residents as mere objects to be moved out of the way to accomplish their goals, however foolish and unattainable they are. Smell Center City in the summer, look at the trash in the streets, or get your car broken into if you manage to park it, and you'll understand why no one will mistake Philly for Davos.
It's a shame that the visit of the Pope is being exploited by Nutter and City officials in furtherance of their scheme. If I were the Pope's advisers, I'd consider telling him to cancel the visit. The City's misguided preparations will keep so many people away that it will appear as though people don't want to see the Pope, or don't care enough to turn out. Why risk that embarrassment?
The "Traffic Box" and "Secure Perimeter" will become part of a package that the City tries to sell to organizations to try to attract them to hold events here. Philadelphia has not attracted as many conventions or major events as it should. Rather than fix problems with the City that have kept conventions away, such as inadequate and overly expensive parking, the high cost of holding conventions here, or the widely held perception that Philadelphia is a dirty and dangerous place, City officials intend to add this new feature to the deal they offer to convention organizers. The Pope's visit is the first demonstration of the mini-dictatorship as a feature of events in Philadelphia; the Democratic convention next year will be another.
The idea is to show that Philadelphia can function like Davos or Bilderberg. Those places simply order the closure of large public spaces so that rich people who've paid for the privilege can use them exclusively, without having to deal with any undesirable people they don't wish to see in their midst.
City officials haven't consulted the public about this, but in all likelihood, they don't feel they have to. They view voters here as docile and ignorant, and city residents as mere objects to be moved out of the way to accomplish their goals, however foolish and unattainable they are. Smell Center City in the summer, look at the trash in the streets, or get your car broken into if you manage to park it, and you'll understand why no one will mistake Philly for Davos.
It's a shame that the visit of the Pope is being exploited by Nutter and City officials in furtherance of their scheme. If I were the Pope's advisers, I'd consider telling him to cancel the visit. The City's misguided preparations will keep so many people away that it will appear as though people don't want to see the Pope, or don't care enough to turn out. Why risk that embarrassment?
