Middle-Aged Mob Causes Havoc In South Philly

Yesterday, a group of residents from Pennsport (as well as a few other neighboring communities) took to the streets of South Philly to protest the possible Foxwoods casino at Columbus Boulevard and Reed Street.

The mob — we’re calling it what it is, people — even tried to overturn an “abandoned” car, as shown in the Daily News photo by David Maialetti. I’m not quite sure how it’s an abandoned car, since there’s an anti-casino banner apparently taped to the inside of the rear window, but I am fairly sure that the car wasn’t tipped over, so it’s perhaps a moot point.

(Note: Could you imagine the news media’s reaction if a group of non-white, non-middle aged people tried to tip over a car at a protest? Something tells me it wouldn’t just be documented with a photo that wasn’t even put online.)

The residents appeared to put most of the blame on the Foxwoods site on Ed Rendell, who, as we all know, owns Foxwoods:

Signs were abundant, including “Think traffic is bad now? Just wait… ” and “Don’t betray us Ed Rendell.”

“There is no good place for gambling, except this is the worst site. It’s in the heart of a thriving community,” said protest spokeswoman Rene Goodwin. “We don’t need their alleged economic development. It’s a solid residential community.”

One of the rally’s organizers, Ed Kirlin, spoke to the crowd in front of a silver hearse - its presence apparently a symbol of the death that a slots casino would bring to South Philadelphia.

“Ed Rendell said this was the best neighborhood in the city. The son-of-a-bitch ought to remember what he said,” Kirlin said, prompting cheers from the crowd.

But it wasn’t just car tipping, cursing out the governor and NIMBYism (okay, justified NIMBYism) that dominated the protest. No, there was also a bit of old-fashioned satire from 59-year-old David Charlton:

But one lone voice spoke out - satirically - in favor of the Foxwoods-backed project - a man named David Charlton, who donned a silky leopard-print top, with black skirt, thigh-high black hosiery and a gray, slightly puffy wig.

Charlton, 59, said he represented “Sluts for Slots” and hoped the new casino would “generate prostitution, which is a very nice profession” in the area.

“We can get a better rate [at the new casino site]. We get $20 an hour now on Broad Street, but we can get double here,” Charlton said, talking across the street from the 16-acre site where the proposed casino would be built.

Oh la la! Only $20 an hour, eh? That’s a deal! Are you a GFE?

S. Philly casino is a gamble they don’t want to take [Daily News]
GFE [Answers.com]