posted by Mike Madison at 9:44 AM /
If you search the archives of Blog-Lebo comments, among several regular themes you'll find this one: Stop whining. If you don't like the way that things are in Mt. Lebanon, then move away. Sometimes the theme is expressed by long-time residents of Mt. Lebanon who are skeptical of any effort to (change) (improve) the town (take your pick of those two words!). Sometimes the theme is expressed by new arrivals who picked Lebo because it's a special place, and they see little reason to upset their new apple cart.
You won't find that theme among the posts, because I (speaking only for myself) find that attitude just bizarre. Yes, Mt. Lebanon is a terrific little town. As I've written myself here over and over again, it's a great choice for families and even young professionals moving into the Pittsburgh region or moving out of the City. Yes, I know that there are a lot of long-time residents in Mt. Lebanon, and many families that have been here for multiple generations, and I know that they care passionately about Lebo and its history and its traditions. Yes, some folks get over-invested in personal melodramas that don't affect the town's quality of life (or schools, or business, etc.).
Like any suburb, Mt. Lebanon is far from perfect, and some of its flaws have gotten a lot of public attention in recent years. But complaining about complaining -- telling people to move away if they don't like something about the town -- is mean-spirited. It's bad for Mt. Lebanon. Very few people are able to pick up and move easily and quickly, and very few people want to. My sense is that most people in Mt. Lebanon like the town a great deal, and that many people -- including many of those who comment critically on this blog -- are working as hard as they can to make it the best place they think it can be. Mt. Lebanon is very nice, but it is *not* the best of all possible worlds.
The "move away" comment is not usually meant seriously. It's meant metaphorically, to discourage the criticism. That's backward. Encourage the critics! (Though don't encourage their melodramas.) Don't send them away. You want to sell those unsold houses? Attract newcomers? Don't turn Mt. Lebanon into Stepford. Show the world that Mt. Lebanon has the self-confidence and intelligence to discuss its future publicly.
You won't find that theme among the posts, because I (speaking only for myself) find that attitude just bizarre. Yes, Mt. Lebanon is a terrific little town. As I've written myself here over and over again, it's a great choice for families and even young professionals moving into the Pittsburgh region or moving out of the City. Yes, I know that there are a lot of long-time residents in Mt. Lebanon, and many families that have been here for multiple generations, and I know that they care passionately about Lebo and its history and its traditions. Yes, some folks get over-invested in personal melodramas that don't affect the town's quality of life (or schools, or business, etc.).
Like any suburb, Mt. Lebanon is far from perfect, and some of its flaws have gotten a lot of public attention in recent years. But complaining about complaining -- telling people to move away if they don't like something about the town -- is mean-spirited. It's bad for Mt. Lebanon. Very few people are able to pick up and move easily and quickly, and very few people want to. My sense is that most people in Mt. Lebanon like the town a great deal, and that many people -- including many of those who comment critically on this blog -- are working as hard as they can to make it the best place they think it can be. Mt. Lebanon is very nice, but it is *not* the best of all possible worlds.
The "move away" comment is not usually meant seriously. It's meant metaphorically, to discourage the criticism. That's backward. Encourage the critics! (Though don't encourage their melodramas.) Don't send them away. You want to sell those unsold houses? Attract newcomers? Don't turn Mt. Lebanon into Stepford. Show the world that Mt. Lebanon has the self-confidence and intelligence to discuss its future publicly.
Labels: stand and fight
5 Comments:
A few weeks ago I offered to Steve Feller, to speak at the city managers conference in town - he respectfully turned me down. But when I told him the title of my talk "It is not about getting my way - - - It is about being part of the process" he reconsidered for a nano-second and then respectfully turned me down. There are lots of ways to be a part of the process, including Blogging (and commenting). Keep it up Mike and Joe! Our best Community leaders recognize - our Community will only be as strong as the breadth and depth of our constructive and critical discourse. "Information-specific satiety" will ruin a great place.
My comment to J.P. was not meant seriously nor metaphorically. I should have been more specific, however. If this gentleman, whom I don't know, is complaining that streets just around the corner from him receive superior service from the borough, he should move to ONE OF THOSE STREETS.
Not away from Mt. Lebanon. (Even though we I think we have more than our fair share of martial arts studios.)
Sorry for the confusion.
I've seen and heard two examples of this very thing recently.
First, a mom dared to express her concern at a local PTA function concerning the lack of gates/complete fencing at one of the elementary play grounds. The response by a "leader" of the PTA? First, the PTA leader took the tact of artifically escalating the concern by equating the mom's points to a call for nothing less than a "police state" in dear old Mt. Lebanon. Only to be followed by the lame we've always been like this, we like our walking community and our unfenced playgrounds and if you want it different move to the city! As if telling the mom in public to move away from Mt. Lebanon wasn't immature and oh so unneighborly enough, the PTA "leader" then took it upon herself to face-to-face approach the mom after the public discussion to question her alleged over protective parenting. (A whole other blog topic on nasty PTA politics but the "fence mom" was subsequently and mysteriously removed from a PTA committee position and despite being suggested for a board position that was not to be either. Nasty mommy politics aside, this all points to the mentality....either you are like us or you are not one of us).
A recent letter to the editor of the Almanac concerning the deer culling issue had a resident telling folks they needed to realize they have to share the planet with all species. If they didn't like sharing their world with the deer move to the city or better yet New York City!
I almost wrote a rebuttal to that in relation to both above described situations and the "move if you don't like it" attitude some seem to think they have the authority to spew on behalf of the rest of us. My conclusion was simple: we all must realize we have to share this Mt. Lebanon with all species, even those who disagree with your own points of view...dead deer and safely fenced playgrounds and all.
Individually and collectively, we are Mt. Lebanon. We value the dignity and well-being of our neighbors, the education of our children, the vitality of our family and friends, the character and prosperity of our community, our natural resources, recreation and leisure.
I am glad that I am not the only one has dealt with a very polarizing response from fellow Mt. Lebo residents when you point areas for improvement. I got a crash course in local politics (and this attitude) when I had to deal with the Board and School Board over their unilateral decision to appeal property taxes on recent home owners. It was a very "eye opening experience" in a bad way. Allot of oddities that I was witnessing around town became clearer after watching the players and processes....ugh
I am the first to sing the praises of Lebo having moved here as a single person from Detroit ten years ago and now married with several small children but believe it or not Mt. Lebanon can be improved. The days of "Mt. Lebanon has the best school and athletics" is pretty tough to defend given the improvements made by surrounding communities while Mt. Lebo politicians seem to want to read the press clippings from 10 years ago.
Some random (and I stress random) things that I would love to see Mt. Lebo improve:
1. Make us the area's first wireless community or at least around the schools, or even just Beverly and Washington Hospital. If downtown can do it…I have to believe we could do it in limited areas.
2. Create a destination playground; worthy cause aside, the new playground at the Rec Center was a big step backwards.
3. Clean up the field around Mellon..it is embarrassing
4. Create incentives for young families to move to Mt. Lebo...what are doing to actively attract young families?
5. I think we might need to move beyond “it has always been that way” when we question why the grade schools don’t have meals onsite (rather than kids going on Beverly and Washington Road for daily lunches consisting of Pizza, candy and ice cream). There are no costs for school buses, limited costs for providing meals….so yeah I guess we have a competitive advantage and should be able to translate the lower expenses into #1 schools year in and year out. This might be a shocker but the highest paid teachers doesn’t always=best schools.
6. I am often left scratching my head at the lack of fields (never mind the poor condition) given the huge numbers in youth sports. I will lump this one in here as well…why I earth did Mt. Lebo ever buy astro turf instead of “Pro turf” several years ago…penny wise, pound foolish..turf toe, ACL’s, etc etc
I wasn't kidding about random. The point is Mt. Lebo is great but we should welcome constructive criticism to make our community better.
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