Action Philadelphia

Action Philadelphia

"Probably the most controversial project undertaken was the slogans on Billboards on the Schuylkill Expressway that Action Philadelphia put together. The idea was to empower Philadelphia residents with catching slogans to help promote the city.

"The first idea was reprinting the slogan developed with Elliott Curson, "Philadelphia isn't as bad as Philadelphians say it is". This slogan, was placed on a billboard on the Schuylkill Expressway near Conshohocken in January 1970 (shown at top). The Billboard had a dark blue background, and yellow letters. Billboards like these at the time were made by tracing out each individual letter, and then painting each. The reported cost of the first Billboard was $1000."

Reaction to the Billboard was mixed and mostly negative. Many people - both residents and business people were concerned with what was perceived as a negative tone or that the slogan implied Philadelphia was "bad". In an effort to convey a more positive tone, a later Schuylkill Expressway Billboard had the the Slogan "If you like Philadelphia, tell people. If you don't, do something about it" - using an empowerment theme."

Legalize Drugs!

I am a believer that all recreational drugs should be legalized and regulated by the government.๐Ÿป I don’t think drug prohibition makes much sense and is an incredible waste of both public and privateย  resources.

Most people who die from overdoses do so from unknown quantities of the poison they are ingesting. ๐ŸธMany studies have found most drug users are recreational, addicts are the exception rare than the norm. Moreover with many recreational drugs being prohibited, it encourages abuse rather than safe use.๐Ÿ‘ฉย Legal drug use means likely fewer addicts.

Nobody argues that many recreational drugs are detrimental to human health when abused and used for a long period of time. But so are tobacco and alcohol. To say nothing of junk food! ๐ŸฌBut used recreationally they can be a lot of fun, especially in a social situation. They should be taxed to mitigate many of the potential health downsides and to discourage over consumption.

People say things like heroin and opiods are dangerous and must be banned due to their addictive nature. But I don’t know. Addiction is not only chemical, its as much personality and mental well-being.๐Ÿ’Š I think incarceration and aggressive policing of minority communities does far more harm than people who choose to harm themselves.

I certainly support marijuana legalization but I realize there are concerns about the stinky herb when it’s burned.๐Ÿšฌ Intoxicated driving is another concern but I think most people would use it in moderation when they are not going to be motoring and the impact of stoned drivers is much lower than drunk drivers.

Rather than spending billions prosecuting drug users,๐Ÿ‘ฎ I would rather see money spent on our communities to make them nicer places to live. More street fairs and movie nights. More recreational opportunities and better parks.๐Ÿš Nicer bus stops and streets with better lighting. Not to mention more low cost and free drug treatment programs for those who are legitimately addicted and just not recreational users.๐Ÿ‘ธ๐Ÿ‘จ๐Ÿ‘ด๐Ÿ‘ต