The Observation Deck

I wrote, in a past article for The Lakewood Observer, how “No matter our differences, we always come together in the end as a community.” We need this more than ever right now. I go on social media, and I see people attacking others within our community for voicing their opinions. I sit in meetings and conversations with neighbors, friends and colleagues, and they’re attacking or dismissing other’s opinions. I go onto The Observation Deck, and there are people attacking others for opinions or things that are minute. This is all a scary sight. I’ve even heard of verbal and physical altercations over some of these posts and comments in these various places.

This isn’t just a local issue, this is national, as well. I’d rather nip this in the butt at the local level. We’ve been taught, and have proven, that grassroots efforts can snowball into national movements.

I’ve privately pled for this, and now I’m publicly pleading. We all have our viewpoints, we all have our facts. All of us. On both sides of the equation. I’m begging all of you, on this board, outside of this board, to keep it cordial. Personal attacks, hate messages, conspiracy theories; they all need to exit the conversation. Whether you’re competing media outlets, politicians running for election, business people, or a concerned and engaged citizen; leave it at the door.

The past few years have driven sharp divides and hatred between long-standing pillars of our community. People that once stood shoulder to shoulder to champion our city. These people all need to come together to help solve our community’s problems. We’re raising a new generation. Forget the next election, forget the next click on your headline, and forget trying to tear apart our city. Think about the next generation. We need to teach them respect & civility. Yes, we need greater transparency in our public entities. Yes, the community, twice, voted FOR the plan our city’s leaders negotiated, flawed or not. And, yes, we need to work together, once and for all.

We all have a right to voice our concerns, and I would NEVER EVER tell someone not to voice them. This is a matter of leadership, and bringing our community together. We need not put our local companies out of business. Instead, we need to support them all. Advertise, contribute, invite them all in for press conferences and interviews, shop and eat at them.

Words do matter. Actions matter even more. Instead of saying “we’re willing to work together, if they are,” let’s just do it. Invite each other in for a healthy conversation and really find common ground. Please.

Good idea Mike, but the government officials in Lakewood need to come clean and tell the truth and release all public records.
The first move belongs to the top 2 men at city hall. How can there be an excuse for giving away Lakewood Hospital?

Mike Bentley, Won't happen. Not here anyway. You call for leadership and I agree. But here on the deck there is no leadership. It's a "mosh pit of word jazz". That's the the way Jim likes it. One can only assume that he likes it because he has never done anything about it. He banned Corey and Kate E Parker for life. Yet Lori can play fast and loose with people's reputations and the integrity of local busines's. Remember when she insinuated that David Stein is a racist because he named his business's Plantation Home and the other Cotton. That is reprehensible and dangerous. Yet the deck allows it to stand. Has anybody ever been to low country, Georgia, Alabama? Anyone?

Did you know that Lori Allen is the number one content provider on the deck. That's a fact. Look it up. She posts 2.65 posts per day. That's more than JOB, Essi, All of them. She will take EVERY SINGLE POST and hijack it and turn it into a Lord Lakewood rant within 15 minutes.

Agree with James. But when City officials are spending my hard earned money on Solstice Steps and corporate welfare for luxury condo developers all while using the power of government to obstruct access to information while feigning concern for the"greater good" there will be direct exchanges.

james fitzgibbons wrote:Good idea Mike, but the government officials in Lakewood need to come clean and tell the truth and release all public records.The first move belongs to the top 2 men at city hall. How can there be an excuse for giving away Lakewood Hospital?

Well said.

Whether it's Lakewood City Hall or The White House, there is no compromise with corruption and bigotry.

I want everyone reading this to understand one thing, and only one thing...blaming the other side NEVER works. It just drives deeper divides.

Have breakfast together, get coffee, have conversations. It's not this board I'm only talking about. It's everywhere. If I have an issue with Jim (just an example), I pick up the phone and schedule some time to talk it out. That way it doesn't stew and stew and stew. That leads to volcanic explosion.

I see both sides of the equation here. I have views that agree with each side.

I agree there should have been greater transparency in this whole issue. I also understand that there may have been pets of the process that needed to be in executive sessions. The plus side is that the administration has now started releasing more than ever before on the website.

I also agree that Lori takes over this board and turns it into a "Lord Lakewood" rant. That's why I've called on her to post something positive every once in a while. I may see a family of unicorns running down Detroit first.

The whole point is let's refocus our efforts. I have kids I'm raising in this town. Many of you do, too. I just don't want to have to explain why Johnny's dad won't talk to Susie's dad even though they were each other's best man.

We need to have healthy, open debates. This can & should be a forum. We should have public, in person forums, also. That helps our democracy. Just keep it civil. Otherwise, your Congressman will sell all of your posts to your enemies

Mike Bentley, if you want civil discourse - how about you tell Rick Uldricks to shut up on all electronic media and social media of every type.

Mike

See, the Deck works every time.

People frame and expose themselves, every time.

.

When the city government fails to prosecute a former criminal hired by the city to send harassing post cards... I'm not interested in breakfast or coffee. It's time for accountability & time to restore integrity to our City government.

bentleymike wrote:I want everyone reading this to understand one thing, and only one thing...blaming the other side NEVER works. It just drives deeper divides.

Have breakfast together, get coffee, have conversations. It's not this board I'm only talking about. It's everywhere. If I have an issue with Jim (just an example), I pick up the phone and schedule some time to talk it out. That way it doesn't stew and stew and stew. That leads to volcanic explosion.

I see both sides of the equation here. I have views that agree with each side.

I agree there should have been greater transparency in this whole issue. I also understand that there may have been pets of the process that needed to be in executive sessions. The plus side is that the administration has now started releasing more than ever before on the website.

I also agree that Lori takes over this board and turns it into a "Lord Lakewood" rant. That's why I've called on her to post something positive every once in a while. I may see a family of unicorns runni

The whole point is let's refocus our efforts. I have kids I'm raising in this town. Many of you do, too. I just don't want to have to explain why Johnny's dad won't talk to Susie's dad even though they were each other's best man.

We need to have healthy, open debates.

Blaming is what you see in a Jerry Springer episode. There is a difference between he said/she said banter and genuine factual fault. What I see is a majority of constituents going along to get along. It's a tight knit community with multiple generations working for the schools, for the city, for the former LHA, for local businesses, the chamber of commerce, etc. They won't speak against it because it could affect their livelihood.

Something is very wrong here. It is not the Lakewood I moved to almost 9 years ago. An overhaul in city leadership is necessary to heal the divide. It is unconscionable for our city government to have given away Lakewood Hospital. You can't just look away and pretend it didn't happen. I don't mind Lori's extensive research. Aside from her comments about a judge whom I highly respect, her research has been invaluable.

What we need is a good banjo sing-a-long.

Back to the banjo...

T Peppard wrote: Blaming is what you see in a Jerry Springer episode. There is a difference between he said/she said banter and genuine factual fault. What I see is a majority of constituents going along to get along. It's a tight knit community with multiple generations working for the schools, for the city, for LHA, for a local buisness, the chamber of commerce, etc. They won't speak against it because it could affect their livelihood.

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/ ... istemology

I heard an interview with the author and have yet to read the article but the concept of "tribal epistemology" seems to characterize which I see as a huge problem in Lakewood. Group-think and peer pressure create a climate where one does not want facts to get in the way.

Remember, much of this started with a group stating that the proposed ccf facility was a "hospital." Until we can agree on facts and clear the air, it is hard for the healing to begin. I applaud the sentiment of this post, but also strongly feel that only the truth will set us free.

bentleymike wrote:Yes, the community, twice, voted FOR the plan our city’s leaders negotiated, flawed or not.

As respectfully as possible, I am obliged to question this.

Since you don't actually specify, in your post, I cannot assume what you mean by "the plan our city’s leaders negotiated." Perhaps you mean something with which I'm unfamiliar, in which case I invite and encourage you to explain.

If, however, you refer to a plan or indeed all plans to close Lakewood Hospital, I must correct the assertion that "the community, twice, voted FOR" such a plan.

Lakewood's participation in the Master Agreement which was unveiled December 7, 2017 (34 days after the 2015 election) has been presented to voters once, on November 8, 2016. About 45% of voters marked their ballot for it.

The Board of Elections' practice is to count this as a majority affirmative vote, and take no account of voters who abstained. That practice and the raw numbers are facts; the extent to which this represents the community voting for something is grounds for entirely reasonable debate.

But the suggestion that any form of vote for closing Lakewood Hospital occurred twice—a suggestion which has been made in various quarters whether or not it was your intent here—is indisputably false. There was no plan to close Lakewood Hospital on the 2015 ballot. There was, by most measures, not even an active plan to close Lakewood Hospital in existence as of the 2015 election; the Cleveland Clinic's "Letter of Intent" expired on May 31, 2015, and as noted the successor plan only became public after the 2015 election.

If your statement was made in relation to these plans, I hope that you will acknowledge the error, and that everyone will show understanding. People correct me, as well, and so I certainly understand how everyone can err or simply misstate. If I have, meanwhile, simply misinterpreted your statement, I do apologize and, again, welcome clarification.

bentleymike wrote:I wrote, in a past article for The Lakewood Observer, how “No matter our differences, we always come together in the end as a community.” We need this more than ever right now. I go on social media, and I see people attacking others within our community for voicing their opinions. I sit in meetings and conversations with neighbors, friends and colleagues, and they’re attacking or dismissing other’s opinions. I go onto The Observation Deck, and there are people attacking others for opinions or things that are minute. This is all a scary sight. I’ve even heard of verbal and physical altercations over some of these posts and comments in these various places.

This isn’t just a local issue, this is national, as well. I’d rather nip this in the butt at the local level. We’ve been taught, and have proven, that grassroots efforts can snowball into national movements.

I’ve privately pled for this, and now I’m publicly pleading. We all have our viewpoints, we all have our facts. All of us. On both sides of the equation. I’m begging all of you, on this board, outside of this board, to keep it cordial. Personal attacks, hate messages, conspiracy theories; they all need to exit the conversation. Whether you’re competing media outlets, politicians running for election, business people, or a concerned and engaged citizen; leave it at the door.

The past few years have driven sharp divides and hatred between long-standing pillars of our community. People that once stood shoulder to shoulder to champion our city. These people all need to come together to help solve our community’s problems. We’re raising a new generation. Forget the next election, forget the next click on your headline, and forget trying to tear apart our city. Think about the next generation. We need to teach them respect & civility. Yes, we need greater transparency in our public entities. Yes, the community, twice, voted FOR the plan our city’s leaders negotiated, flawed or not. And, yes, we need to work together, once and for all.

We all have a right to voice our concerns, and I would NEVER EVER tell someone not to voice them. This is a matter of leadership, and bringing our community together. We need not put our local companies out of business. Instead, we need to support them all. Advertise, contribute, invite them all in for press conferences and interviews, shop and eat at them.

Words do matter. Actions matter even more. Instead of saying “we’re willing to work together, if they are,” let’s just do it. Invite each other in for a healthy conversation and really find common ground. Please.

MIKE, it's cute that you had your Jerry McGuire moment. Good for you. Sorry it didn't work out. It will never work out on this site. The posts above prove my point

Courious what Grace Condent thinks about these posts. BTW, bridget(grace O'Malley) if you're an O'Malley that means you are related to Dan and I. Slainte. Welcome to the family Grace O'Malley.

I should add one thing for whatever it's worth:

Mike Bentley is a sincere friend of the Lakewood Observer, as one of its consistent advertisers.

I don't know that this will transform anything, but it seems like this is a good time to serve some credit alongside the criticism.