"Philadelphia? That ain't Pennsylvania!" - Anonymous white manPeople from Philadelphia, when asked where they are from, will almost always tell you, "I'm from Philly." It doesn't matter whether they are in London, Paris, Berlin, or Hackensack, NJ. Very rarely will they say, "I'm from Pennsylvania." There is a reason for that which didn't become apparent to me until 1992 when I was on a bus in Austin, Texas.
Anyone who has ever been in the south for awhile knows that the accents down there are thick and any deviation from it brings stares. ("You ain't from 'round here are you?"). I was on this bus and a white guy was sitting next to me. We struck up a conversation and he immediately said, "You're not from around here are you?" I said, "No, I'm from up north." He didn't need to know anymore... after all, I didn't know him. He said, "Me too." I could tell from his lack of a southern drawl that he spoke the truth. He then said, "I'm from Pennsylvania." I said, "Yeah, so am I!" (It's always nice to meet someone, anyone from the same area as you when you are a long way from home.) He then said, "I'm from Wilkes Barre. Where are you from?" I said, "I'm from Philly." He smiled and then his face formed what my Grandmother, Rebecca Martin, would have called a "little shit eatin' grin" and said, "Philadelphia? That ain't Pennsylvania!" Of course, he was joking but, it was the kind of joke where you know that there is a little bit of truth underneath the joke. Needless to say, that ended the conversation for me right there and I was silent the rest of the bus ride.
In the state of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia is often viewed as "another country" by most of its other residents. It's the largest city in the state, it has the largest African-American population in the state and, as far as the rest of the state is concerned, Philadelphia might as well be Africa.
Last night, Hillary Clinton won Pennsylvania and Barrack Obama won Philadelphia. The pundits all say that it still doesn't make much of a difference. Obama still leads in the popular vote and has the most delegates... but, those Super Delegates who are undecided might just take another look at Hillary and decide that she is more "electable." Yeah, they might!
I don't take anything away from Hillary Clinton... she ran a good campaign here. She knew who her base was and she played to them. She had the governor of the state and the new mayor of Philadelphia, who is an African-American, in her purse... and they delivered her the state big time. There is no need for Obama supporters to be angry or upset, as Bodie from "The Wire" would say, "That's the game." To use another "Wire" reference, Omar would tell you, "Play or get played."
As for primary elections, Pennsylvania is now history and it's on to Indiana and North Carolina. And, Philadelphia? Maybe, just maybe we'll attain statehood one day. I really hope this doesn't make me sound like I'm bitter. I'm not. I'm "hopeful."
Anyone who has ever been in the south for awhile knows that the accents down there are thick and any deviation from it brings stares. ("You ain't from 'round here are you?"). I was on this bus and a white guy was sitting next to me. We struck up a conversation and he immediately said, "You're not from around here are you?" I said, "No, I'm from up north." He didn't need to know anymore... after all, I didn't know him. He said, "Me too." I could tell from his lack of a southern drawl that he spoke the truth. He then said, "I'm from Pennsylvania." I said, "Yeah, so am I!" (It's always nice to meet someone, anyone from the same area as you when you are a long way from home.) He then said, "I'm from Wilkes Barre. Where are you from?" I said, "I'm from Philly." He smiled and then his face formed what my Grandmother, Rebecca Martin, would have called a "little shit eatin' grin" and said, "Philadelphia? That ain't Pennsylvania!" Of course, he was joking but, it was the kind of joke where you know that there is a little bit of truth underneath the joke. Needless to say, that ended the conversation for me right there and I was silent the rest of the bus ride.
In the state of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia is often viewed as "another country" by most of its other residents. It's the largest city in the state, it has the largest African-American population in the state and, as far as the rest of the state is concerned, Philadelphia might as well be Africa.
Last night, Hillary Clinton won Pennsylvania and Barrack Obama won Philadelphia. The pundits all say that it still doesn't make much of a difference. Obama still leads in the popular vote and has the most delegates... but, those Super Delegates who are undecided might just take another look at Hillary and decide that she is more "electable." Yeah, they might!
I don't take anything away from Hillary Clinton... she ran a good campaign here. She knew who her base was and she played to them. She had the governor of the state and the new mayor of Philadelphia, who is an African-American, in her purse... and they delivered her the state big time. There is no need for Obama supporters to be angry or upset, as Bodie from "The Wire" would say, "That's the game." To use another "Wire" reference, Omar would tell you, "Play or get played."
As for primary elections, Pennsylvania is now history and it's on to Indiana and North Carolina. And, Philadelphia? Maybe, just maybe we'll attain statehood one day. I really hope this doesn't make me sound like I'm bitter. I'm not. I'm "hopeful."
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