A Blog Recommendation:
A few posts ago I recommended two
websites and a specific post from another site.
I now add another site to my “recommended reading” list.
Elena Santangelo, a lifelong resident
of Norristown and a prolific author, publishes the blog Norristown Diary, in which she make incisive comments about her
home town, what’s wrong, and what is needed to make it right. She pays attention to what’s happening, does
her homework, and is a passionate voice for Norristown. I have carried a link to Norristown Diary on my blog site for some time (if you are viewing this on a Patch site, you
won’t see it), and long ago meant to mention her work. I highly recommend it. Check it out, frequently.
A Growing Facebook Alliance
The Internet has been put to work for
many causes. It is capable of uniting
people by enabling communication among those of like mind, regardless of the
distance or obstacles between them. One
of the most exciting developments is its use by individuals and organizations
that are dedicated to reviving their local communities. For too long these people have struggled in
isolation, their numbers and their passion largely negated by the combination
of political and business interests that possess local power. They too often buy into the belief—spread by
those very same interests—that their cause is theirs alone, and that
“outsiders” cannot contribute and are not welcome.
That is simply not so; such an attitude
is merely a parochial view of one’s existence that seems to be a component of
the human condition. There is nothing so
special about any community that a properly-informed outsider cannot grasp, and
those who are properly informed grasp the fact that the afflictions of
America’s urban areas are shared. Those
who share a common affliction have many reasons to band together, the best
being that it increases their power.
There should be a network of websites
and blogs that focus on individual urban communities, each with an awareness of
each other. A specific geographic area could be the nucleus of such a network, but there is no reason that the
alliance of groups could not eventually spread across state boundaries. The local area networks should, in turn, be
aware and supportive of similar groups, regardless of how far away they might
be.
Facebook is an ideal location for such
a movement to take root, and it looks like that is beginning to happen. Major kudos here to Golden Cockroach from Pottstown, a primer mover in this effort. They have begun to use Facebook to both
promote improvement of their own community and to network with those from other
communities. I have recommended their
website before, and now want to make people aware of their Facebook page
also. They take direct aim at the real
causes of decay in Pottstown. They mince
no words, take no prisoners and accept no excuses. Like them, join them and make people aware of
them.
Another Facebook page that deserves
major kudos: Tenant Association of Allentown
This Facebook page also takes aim at
the same causes of decay, the ones that exist in far too many urban
areas. Allentown is a city, not a
borough, and much larger than the urban communities between it and
Philadelphia. Still, the problems of
cities tend to be the problems of boroughs, writ large. The people behind the Tenant Association are
trying to organize the powerless victims of urban blight and expose the legal
travesties of slumlords. They also pull
no punches, and do not cower when attacked.
They fight back, with the truth.
Like them, join them and make people aware of them.
What I like most about both these
sites/pages is that they focus on the true culprits for the condition of our
boroughs: slumlords and the municipal officials and administrators who allow
them to avoid the law and profit by doing so.
It’s long past time we stopped talking about “the people who live in
places like that,” and focus on the people who own places like that. When
you are looking for the real causes of events, always follow the money.
(Spoiler Alert: I will have more
to say on this subject in future posts)
As evidence that distance in this day
of the Internet means nothing, let me also recommend Liberty of Bellevue, Pa., which operates both a website and a
Facebook page. Bellevue may lie west of
Pittsburgh, but it is a borough on a river that dates from the mid-1800s. Does that sound familiar, residents of
boroughs along the Schuylkill? Check it
out; you might have more in common than you think. You can find both its website and Facebook page in my “Links” section.
I’m Less Certain About This One:
I recently discovered a Facebook page
entitled “Morethanthecurb–Conshy Voice.”
It is locally oriented, seeking posts about Conshohocken. I was pleased to see it, Liked it and attempted
to post on it asking Conshohocken residents to help me understand what is
happening to their town. Unfortunately,
my posts were deleted immediately.
I’m going to recommend it anyway. There is need for discussion about
Conshohocken, where much is happening.
That’s why I previously recommended and still link to Conshy.org, and
why I now recommend this page. Concern
about speeders on Fayette Street is a good start toward community awareness,
and contributors can build on that, without taking away anything from the
page’s purpose. It’s new, and appears so
far to be largely a solo effort. When I
last checked, it had only two Facebook friends and I was one of them. You may not see anything from me on it, but I
will continue to view it and learn from it.
You could too.
These websites and Facebook pages
promise to be the beginning of a supportive inter-community network, an
alliance of many determined to advance the common cause of all. If any of you know of other such Facebook
pages or websites, tell me about them, and I will help to spread the word.