I am always interested in getting feedback for my work, even when I might not like it, or it stems from a misunderstanding. Since I have just been sent such a criticism, I may as well take it on.
This blog is not designed, first of all, to reach an audience of billions. Or even millions. Nor is it meant to be exclusively political. I think I remember writing that it is about LIFE AND politics here in the Bethlehem area. I want to feel free--indeed, I DO feel free--to write about horse racing in old Bethlehem; or charitable agencies in the city today; or sports, or music and the arts. In general, about whatever happened, is happening, or is likely to happen in Bethlehem. For its size, I regard it as one of the most interesting places I can imagine--and it gets more interesting all the time. I believe that in every place there is the essence of the universal, and I'd like to express that about Bethlehem--even though achieving that will take much time.
When I DO talk about politics, am I guilty of "innuendo?" No, I think I am pretty straightforward about politics. I remind you of my rather forthright denunciation of a primary candidate for the legislature who was heavily "into" scurrilous ads.
Why don't I mention more people by name? (As, in fact, I did in the case I have just mentioned.) Two reasons: I may despise what individuals are doing in certain cases; but in a lot of cases I have respect for them as human beings. I'd like to see them reform, but I don't want to demean them personally. And there is another, less high-minded reason why I often talk of their behavior without mentioning them by name. Given the temperament of the times, I don't really want to run the risk of getting sued.
What do I know about anti-South Side prejudice? Plenty, both from founding and refounding the South Bethlehem Historical Society, from things that were said to me, and from my friends' experiences. If you have a chance, listen to some old-line Southsider talk of the way he/she was treated at Liberty High School.
This brings to mind an oldish book I've never had a chance to read, but one that I'll bet contains some record of the uncomfortable times South Side students had in what was then the city's only public high school. It is called "At Liberty," and the public library most likely can help you find and borrow it.
In my view, very little has changed about those old bigotries against the South Side--although, of course, the tenor is changing now that the neighborhood is appearing under the guise of a place where a lot of money can be made and one can live richly even if that means driving out the old, poor residents. (This is beyond my wildest dreams--indeed, my worst nightmares--for the place. I dreamed of a place where rich and poor could live side by side, a place which was a school for Americans, because it accepted people of all colors, nationalities, and religions and taught them how to work together in reasonable social harmony. Instead, it looks more and more like a temporary roost for the upscale rootless.)
To return to what generated this post, I intend always to have The Bethlehem Blog Times feature more ideas than personalities. And I guess that anyone who does not like this should simply stay away. If no one at all were reading, I would still be writing this blog to clarify my own thoughts.
Happy Holidays.