# They Don’t Want You To Save: How the Philadelphia Police Won Jonas

- Link: https://chatterblast.com/blog/they-dont-want-you-to-save-how-the-philadelphia-police-won-jonas/
- Published: 2016-02-02T17:27:31-05:00
- Author: chatterblastteam

**Winter Storm Jonas **has finally come and gone.

In its wake it left a debate full of lawn chairs, traffic cones, angry signs and
memes that is likely not to end until we thaw in April. The push and pull between
the legality of saving a street parking spot and the unspoken rule of doing it anyway
has always been a problem in Philadelphia, but Jonas marks the first notable time
the debate took to social media.

It all began Monday, January 18th, almost a week before Jonas was set to hit. In
what was surely a prophetic tweet, the [**Philadelphia Police**](https://phillypolice.com/)
published this gem:

> .[@michael_soileau](https://twitter.com/michael_soileau) [@KnowGreenCT](https://twitter.com/KnowGreenCT)
> We have avoided [#NoSavesies](https://twitter.com/hashtag/NoSavesies?src=hash)
> so far this year, but alas, we are prepared. Winter Is Coming.
> — Philadelphia Police (@PhillyPolice) [January 18, 2016](https://twitter.com/PhillyPolice/status/689197734264463364)

What really started the social media firestorm, however, was when the Philadelphia
Police decided to enlist human meme **Drake** as a spokesperson for their #NoSavesies
crusade.

>  Looks like a big [#snowstorm](https://twitter.com/hashtag/snowstorm?src=hash)
> is coming. If u see folks saving spots, call us on your cellphone to report [#NoSavesies](https://twitter.com/hashtag/NoSavesies?src=hash)
> [pic.twitter.com/9NzUBNVcey](https://t.co/9NzUBNVcey)
> — Philadelphia Police (@PhillyPolice) [January 20, 2016](https://twitter.com/PhillyPolice/status/689864654043086848)

#NoSavesies truly awoken. With roughly **1,500** tweets and retweets over the course
of the weekend, #NoSavesies quickly became Philadelphia’s hottest trending topic.
Some of the fan favorites going around exhibited some rather colorful language, 
including a handwritten sign that is now gaining [**nationwide recognition**](http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/01/25/the-difference-between-washington-d-c-and-philadelphia-in-two-blizzard-dibs-signs/)
after being compared to a parallel found in Washington D.C. Despite the fact that
D.C. got more snow than Philly, people down there seem to be a little more understanding.

My personal favorite, however, comes from Instagram user coliver_twist, who posted
this image of their dad acting as a human traffic cone. Classic. Though, I do wonder
how long he actually stood out there.

> [My father: the human cone.](https://www.instagram.com/p/BA7eSO5zJiD/)
> A photo posted by Christine Oliver (@coliver_twist) on Jan 24, 2016 at 8:56am 
> PST

And here are some runner-ups, including the Philadelphia Police using (or even abusing,
perhaps) the good name of Rocky Balboa to make their point.

> We don’t need any more sequels in this series. Shovel and share – it’s not worth
> fighting over. [#NoSavesies](https://twitter.com/hashtag/NoSavesies?src=hash) 
> [pic.twitter.com/XhL94ZRJdW](https://t.co/XhL94ZRJdW)
> — Philadelphia Police (@PhillyPolice) [January 26, 2016](https://twitter.com/PhillyPolice/status/692035637059395584)

And this post from Instagram that does raise a very good question. What **about**
the baby?!

> [So, I’m learning all about “#NoSavesies” today at work, and then I start seeing it everywhere: chairs, trash cans, recycling bins or whatever would “save” the spot. I get it. But when I spotted the car seat off Frankford, I was blown away! What about the baby?](https://www.instagram.com/p/BBBCbxGC-qV/)
> A photo posted by Lauren Dawn Johnson (@laurendawnfox29) on Jan 26, 2016 at 12:
> 48pm PST

By far one of the best things to happen on Twitter throughout this whole debate 
was the resurgence of [**AwarenessCone**](https://twitter.com/awarenesscone); a 
brilliant and, some would say, sublime Twitter account based in Philly that only
posts images of dejected and forlorn-looking traffic cones. There was certainly 
a surplus of sad traffic cones over the course of Jonas and AwarenessCone wasted
no time springing into action.

> Cold cone [#winterstormjonas](https://twitter.com/hashtag/winterstormjonas?src=hash)
> [pic.twitter.com/8D7jLSxOUg](https://t.co/8D7jLSxOUg)
> — AwarenessCone (@AwarenessCone) [January 23, 2016](https://twitter.com/AwarenessCone/status/690970790263549952)

>  [@AwarenessCone](https://twitter.com/AwarenessCone) waits to be assigned a [#NoSavesies](https://twitter.com/hashtag/NoSavesies?src=hash)
> spot. [pic.twitter.com/4XWoWPuMI7](https://t.co/4XWoWPuMI7)
> — Phila. Bikes (@philabikes) [January 25, 2016](https://twitter.com/philabikes/status/691721211156566016)

It wasn’t long before local celebrities were pitching their two cents in, including**
Action News** meteorologist **Cecily Tynan**. In a bold move, Tynan sided with the
people, saying she “would be irate” if someone took her spot after she’d cleared
it out. Though normally I always suggest steering clear of comment sections to avoid
rants and trolls, some of the comments on this thread are hysterical.

> Is [#NoSavesies](https://twitter.com/hashtag/NoSavesies?src=hash) fair? If you
> dig out a spot, does someone else have a right to take it? Big debate on my FB
> page now: [https://t.co/EY6qa7ATG4](https://t.co/EY6qa7ATG4)
> — Cecily Tynan (@CecilyTynan) [January 27, 2016](https://twitter.com/CecilyTynan/status/692426829056053249)

If there is anything Jonas has taught us, it’s that:

 1.  Whoever manages the Philadelphia Police’s social media is in serious need of a
    pay raise, and
 2.  When people are cooped up indoors, social media wars seem like a great use of 
    time.

Though it looks like we won’t see another **major **snowstorm this season (fingers
crossed), #NoSavesies is sure to rear its controversial head for many winters to
come. In the meantime though, with snow drifts still reaching three or four feet
and some back roads still needing to be plowed, there is plenty of time to get in
on the #NoSavesies craze.
