Mayor Mumia?

On the way back from Quizno's this afternoon, I stopped to gawk at the Free Mumia protest that was blocking the intersection at 15th and JFK in front of City Hall. I'm guessing there were about 150 people crowding around with signs, t-shirts, banners, and megaphones. I'm always game to sit and watch the drama that always unfolds when people decide this to be their preferred method of expressing opinions, so I found a bench and ate my delicious toasted sub right there. It was one of my more memorable lunch hours since I started working in Center City many months ago.

The thought occurred to me on the way back to my cubicle, then, that Chaka Fattah organizers had tried to block that same intersection with a protest on Monday afternoon and, from what I heard, had failed miserably. Back in March, Milton Street held a rally there with probably the same intentions, as he had said that he would not run for mayor unless 5,000 people showed up -- and that failed spectacularly as well. WHICH MEANS: if Mumia Abu Jamal were in a race against either Chaka Fattah or Milton Street for mayor, MUMIA would probably win.

I know it's a joke and most likely untrue (I certainly hope that more people would come out and vote for a guy convicted of unpaid parking tickets before they vote for a guy convicted of shooting a cop) but the thought itself is entertaining. Also entertaining: the "Welcome to Philadelphia" t-shirts that display a silhouette of a Philadelphia P.D. chopper firebombing the MOVE group on Osage Ave.

This fuckin' city.