Johnny Goodtimes Schools Yuppies About Crime (Philly Confidential)

Johnny Goodtimes Schools Yuppies About Crime

Center City yuppies, buppies, and hipsters are known for a lot of things... but giving a hoot about Philadelphia's crime crisis sure isn't on their list of coolness. Of course, we are not talking about the Nerds for Nutter crowd or the avid readers of Philadelphia Weekly/City Paper. The girl-half of Philly Confidential is pointing her finger at the other 90 percent of her Downtown peers.

So imagine our shock and awe Thursday night, when we sat down for a good ole' game of Quizzo at Bards on Walnut Street and heard a speech about denting the city's violence problem.

No, it wasn't some weird drunk guy who lectured the crowd, rather it was Johnny Goodtimes—the self-described Philadelphia Quizzo Master. Johnny implored his male listeners to mentor boys via Big Brothers Big Sisters and handed out colorful flyers from the non-profit to all of us sitting inside the dark bar. Johnny already knows that many Quizzo fans will ignore his public service announcement opting to simply stare at their Quizzo score sheet while he speaks. But being the savvy Quizzo Master that he is, Johnny has a paragraph at the bottom of each sheet dedicated to teaching patrons about Philly's thug problem.

Jeez. This guy is good.

Of course, no one seemed excited about Johnny's unique style of humanism other than PC. She ran up to him during the game for a quick interview and learned that he is from Virginia; is a proud little league coach; and is genuinely concerned about the grotesque amount of murders in Philadelphia.

Next time you see Johnny at one of his various haunts, please run up to him and learn why a bike ride up to Lower Frankford or New Kensington doesn't make you a contributing member of this city.

Instead, sign up to mentor a kid stuck in the chaos of the ghetto, or gather a group of friends to raise money for one the many struggling youth recreational programs. If you need some ideas on how to help, email either half of Philly Confidential and bug us for recommendations. Neighborhood leaders are always contacting the Crime Team asking how they can track down a few good volunteers.

And for those of you who think: "crime is not my problem," start reading the local news. During the past few weeks, there have been rapes around Rittenhouse, and suspected armed robberies on Walnut Street. Fatal muggings aren't too far away in Center City.

Hoodlums had no problem slaying the tourist in Washington D.C., or the actress in the Lower East Side, what makes you think we are so safe Ritzy Philly?

Think about it Generation Y, we aren't exactly a bunch of protesting 20-something political rebels like our parents were in the 60's and 70's. Baby Boomers managed to change the course of this country's mindset by banding together to vocalize frustration over American's race relations, military policies, and gender inequalities.

What are we doing?

Posted on June 17, 2007 1:55 PM | Permalink

Comments (14)

Nicole:

Hi there

I know that JGT has been specifically trying to recruit men to be big brothers since he is aware of the ample supply of bigsisters. As a matter of fact, I volunteered to be a bigsister and for some time was told that I was going to have to wait!

Great post!

Posted by Nicole | June 18, 2007 10:20 AM

Posted on June 18, 2007 10:20

Anonymous:

Boo-hoo, wah-wah, African-American men in Philly aren't up to shouldering their responsibility for all the fatherless black boys in this city. Not exactly breaking news.
How about African American journalists start calling these men to task for the state they have put the city in...it might offend some and that's too damn bad. But no, let everyone else step up to backfill their disgraceful behavior.
That's what Generation Y should be doing. As always you are full of recommendations for what WE all should be doing, while you play Quizzo. Typical self pampered, do it all for me, Gen Y phony.

Posted by Anonymous | June 18, 2007 2:10 PM

Posted on June 18, 2007 14:10

Holla back:

Is JGT a Big Brother?

Posted by Holla back | June 18, 2007 5:43 PM

Posted on June 18, 2007 17:43

random:

I thought i was the only one who noticed all of nutters fans are white yuppis,Ya know the kind that move into southwest philly and try to make it hip and grungy!! There such complete asses!!

Posted by random | June 20, 2007 7:36 PM

Posted on June 20, 2007 19:36

iheartwieners:

hey im gonna hit it hit it like i can"t miss

Posted by iheartwieners | May 7, 2008 10:01 AM

Posted on May 7, 2008 10:01

NikkyBlond:

Excellent time. And nice site. Keep up a good work! :-))

Posted by NikkyBlond | November 2, 2008 11:07 AM

Posted on November 2, 2008 11:07

NikkyBlond:

Excellent time. And nice site. Keep up a good work! :-))