Connor Barwin is Judging Your City on a Weekly Basis
If you’re familiar with Connor Barwin, you know two things: He’s a hipster and he has a weird (cool) haircut*. The hipster thing comes from his interest in music, the fact he often travels by bike, and his sense of civic responsibility. We’ve already heard the story. His dad, a city manager, spurred his interest in the local side of things, and it’s led Connor to give back to the city he now calls home.
As part of his de facto gig as the “civic conscious” local athlete (narrowly wrangling the title from Jahlil Okafor), Barwin has been writing a weekly column for the Philadelphia Citizen where he compares Philly’s to the city the Eagles are playing in that week. Each city gets seven points for the things they are better at, and Boson actually ended up beating Philadelphia by the same score the Eagles beat the Patriots, 35-28. But it’s not all gravy from Boston, if you know anything about Boston, as Barwin puts it:
But [Professor Richardson Dilworth of Drexel’s Center for Public Policy] points out that there’s one area where Boston hasn’t historically measured up: Race relations. “Ever since the city refused to accept the integration of schools after Brown v. Board of Ed, Boston has shown a history of racial intolerance far greater than in Philadelphia and unique among Northeastern cities,” he says.
Boston is full of racists, we know that, but they still beat Philly in poverty rate, violent crime, and a more youthful population. On the season, the Eagles actually fared worse in Barwin’s column then they did on the field. Philly has only three civic wins (against Miami, Tampa, and Detriot) [Editor’s note: Detroit!] and crushed crushed Miami 56-0. I think it’s time for a new motto. Philadelphia: Better than Miami, Tampa, and Detriot, three of the most garbage cities in the country! I feel the hometown pride growing already.
*I also just learned that he was born deaf and I had no idea, which would explain the hearing aid:
@CrossingBroad did you happen to catch the shot of @ConnorBarwin98 ear? Wtf pic.twitter.com/vgKL7YKoJO
— Steve Brown (@sbrown828) December 7, 2015