Philly Shows How to Handle Protesters

Hey NYC, Sacramento and other cities harassing Occupy protesters: are you gonna let Philly make you look stupid?

Susie Madrak at Crooks and Liars:

So far, the City of Philadelphia is supportive of the protesters. (Mayor Nutter has informed them that tonight he will host a showing of Game 5 tonight of the Phillies-Cards series.) I even talked to a cop who shrugged and said, "These people are no threat to anyone. They have a point of view and they're expressing it." (He said he was more worried about the crowd they might get if the Phillies win tonight.)

Police Chief Charles Ramsey is having the First Amendment read regularly over the police radio, and reminds his officers that citizens have the right to record or take pictures of police activity.

And the city even blocks traffic for them and lets them march around City Hall during rush hour. So far, so good. We'll see.

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Cleveland Johnson, 64, ("Cleveland, like the city") lives in Pennsauken NJ but grew up in Philadelphia. He said in the Sixties, he walked picket lines in Philadelphia for the integration of Girard College. "I was here when Rev. Martin Luther King came through," he said.

Then he pointed to the diverse group of young people.

"That was our time, and this is their time. They're standing up for what's right."

Whether the goal is maintaining order or deflating the publicity balloon, smart mayors and smart police officials know that cooperation works better than confrontation.