We have met the pigs and they are us

Don’t get me wrong — I am very happy Mayor Cherelle Parker has vowed, and has just begun, a street-by-street cleanup of Philadelphia.

I just think it is a massive waste of time and money.

Why?

Too many Philadelphians are pigs.

There’s too much trash in the streets.

How did it get there?

It was dropped or thrown there by Philadelphians.

Am I being too harsh? Or am I dating myself?

Are you old enough to remember when — often in ethnic neighborhoods — old ladies would scrub the front steps and sweep — at least —  the sidewalk in front of their homes?

The same urge to protect “my” property extended to the winter, where homeowners would shovel their own sidewalk after a snow, but often would clear their neighbors’ sidewalk as well, if they were friendly with the neighbor.

Trash doesn’t throw itself on the street. Cars don’t abandon themselves. Short dumping is a human (lack of) value. Household trash doesn’t throw itself into receptacles in parks designed to collect trash from picnickers and ball players.

Quick aside: The first time I met Frank DiCicco, who would later become a South Philadelphia City Councilman, was as he was going through trash in a park receptacle.

Is it against the law to throw household trash in a park receptacle, but some neighbors were doing it anyway.

Then a neighborhood activist, DiCicco would dig through the trash and return it to the neighbor, with a pleasant lecture on doing the right thing “because you could get a ticket for dumping.” He would say it all helpful, like.

How did he know to whom to return the trash?

He would know if the homeowner was stupid enough to leave something with their address on it, like a piece of mail.

Well, at least these dopes used a receptacle, rather than just tossing it on the street, as is not uncommon in low-income neighborhoods. (Trying to be polite and not say “slum,” but that’s one way neighborhoods become slums — the actions of residents who don’t give a crap.)

Now, to me it seems even some middle-class neighbors don’t give a crap. Does the city still write tickets for trash-filled lawns with uncut grass and trees? I know it used to.

Bridget Greenwald, Commissioner of L&I’s Quality of Life Department, says, well, maybe.

“The process is not usually to ticket, but to write a Notice of Violation to the owner and give the owner 10 days to comply and if they do not comply, CLIP performs the abatement and bills the owner.  

“The City can issue a [ticket] if the notice fails and it’s a locked gate or something we can’t abate. They carry a $300 fine.”

Believe it or not, littering is against the law.

You ever see anyone get ticketed for littering?

Of course not. No enforcement, no obedience.

Many decades ago, the out-of-towner brought in as editor of the Daily News, name of Rolfe Neill, would write occasional editorials — he called them letters to readers — about the severe littering in Philadelphia. (You think it’s bad now? Center City is almost operating theater-clean, thanks to the Center City District.) 

The Center City District was yin and yang. 

It did a great job — funded mainly by city businesses — in keeping the city clean, but was an admission our citizens were such disgusting pigs they would not keep their city clean on their own.

Neill made a habit of picking up litter dropped on the sidewalk by pigs and nicely suggesting to them they might use litter baskets.

I’m amazed (and disappointed) he didn’t get killed because litterers tend to be lowlifes.

Wait.

I may be wrong. They are mainly uncivic citizens with bad upbringing and no sense of pride.

And since they are still here, I fear a week after the streets are cleaned, they will be filthy again.

Am I being unreasonably pessimistic?

Or realistic?

Maybe the Inquirer will bother to check the streets a week after they are cleaned.