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MURDERS CONTINUE
Effort in Philly to deploy 10,000 men will likely have a short-term effect
Philadelphia is about to be part of an extraordinary experiment. Ten thousand men have volunteered to patrol the city's streets to quell the violence that has been killing its young men and destroying its neighborhoods.
It will be an extraordinary achievement if it works.
The organizational and logistical challenges to such a venture are formidable. The project's leaders must train, deploy and control 10,000 volunteers as they walk down streets that witnessed 406 murders last year and 321 so far this one.
Most of the murder victims and the murderers have been young black men. The 10,000-man response is mostly an effort by Philadelphia's black leaders to end the violence.
It's a commendable effort. But it will likely have a short-term effect.
The organizers and volunteers have the right idea. Older males do need to be on the streets to control younger males. Most of those involved in the killings were boys or young men from fatherless homes. Any concentration of fatherless males eventually means trouble. For one thing, fatherless teen-age boys are ultra sensitive to slights and violence often follows any perceived signs of disrespect. Many of the shootings have been prompted by what most people would regard as casual offenses.
The stabilizing presence of older males can temper street-corner encounters.
The organizers and volunteers should look beyond the street patrols. They should find ways to be in the lives of these young men for more than a chance meeting on patrol. They should be seen and heard on the street corners and front steps as a regular part of the community's everyday life.
It is not heroic. It is not the kind of action that attracts TV cameras. But it's the surest way to stop the killings.
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Commentators and always talking about communities taking responsibility for their neighborhoods and these volunteers should be commended for their effort. I hope their effort translates into some real results.
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