um.
could we have a more focused discussion here? this isn't about "stop and frisk" anymore- and it is most certainly not about drugs. it may be about wider, national issues.

but mostly its about the philadelphia police being so out of line about critisism and petition drives- both rights in our country that people from all sides of the political spectrum use to get things done- that they raided a house without a warrant, seized the homeowners' belongings, and threw them in jail without charges for the night. and thats just the completely illegal part. Next they screwed them from here 'til sunday the LEGAL way by calling in L&I to throw the book at them.

What will police come and take YOUR home away for critisising? the Fraternal Order of Police is completely, utterly, horrifyingly OUT OF CONTROL. I have lived in and visited many cities in the United States and I have never, ever seen anything like the horrifying situation we have here in Philadelphia. Its completely out of hand. I've heard terrible, terrible things about the police force in this city that- as many critisisms of police and the structuree they are apart of as i may have- i would never DREAM of happening in any other place i have lived in or seen.

this situation is such a scenario.

What is the community that reads this blog going to do about this completely horrifying situation? We might consider:

- publisizing the event to the public ourselves, without the Daily News' schlock-like slant(GOD did anyone see that insanity?!).

- protesting in the streets

- meeting with city officials in constant and angry groups to demand change(which- in recent history- should have happened as soon as the "Blue by Day, White by Night" KKK stuckers were discovered in police lockers- or as soon as all the officers who beat teh living shit out of those three unarmed men a little whiel back wasn't FIRED outright).

- continuing whatever work these people got screwed over for the sake of - petitions, critisiss of police brutality- tenfold and en masse, so that next time they have to raid twenty or a hundred houses instead of one

- getting a fund or benefit set up for the people who got evicted, and for the undoubtedly mindboggling repairs L&I will now demand from the homeowners

what is being DONE about this situation? god its f-ed up.