The LuLac Edition #3215, May 22nd, 2016

SCRANTON AND THE LAC'S ATTEMPT AT RE BRANDING

I didn’t get a chance to write about this because it’s been a busy week but I can’t let the opportunity pass without making a comment. It appears that there is a group in Scranton who are trying to come up with ways to promote The Electric City. There are focus groups and sessions that suggest Scranton should be a more welcoming place to outsiders. Also the branding experts want Scrantonions to have pride in where they come from.
Obviously this is a new group of eager beavers who think this is a brilliant idea. But these groups and idea factories have been going on for years in LuLac land. There is nothing new here that a few things like good jobs wouldn’t cure.
It is an insult to residents who work here, residents who helped build these communities that we should feel good about why we’re here. For the most part residents here do their best. But with Chambers of Commerce who do very little to make wages grow and residents who are constantly beaten down by the political class, what can you expect?
I used to have a very vulgar girlfriend who was fond of saying “You can’t shine shit”. I don’t think this is a crappy area and believe that most people are caring, compassionate and want the best for their future. But it is a struggle.
There are slobs who don’t care where they dump their garbage, college imports who destroy properties and drink themselves senseless in our neighborhoods and out of town baby daddies who flop with women with pretty low expectations cause problems. These people aren’t going to get, heed or listen to any Marketing Feel Good message.
We need to start cleaning up the messes that would never be tolerated anywhere else.
The Scranton group will do their thing and most likely make a cottage industry out of it where someone will get a job out of it.
But let me just point out one thing. Economically strong areas like Allentown and the entire Lehigh Valley don’t have to tell people how great they are, or how great the residents think their home area is.
By having to say it to someone else over and over again that this is a great place and we are proud, by saying the same thing for decades and generations, you are admitting it is not, nor was it ever true.

LAUREEN’S EDUCATION

Despite our political differences that are vast, I really like Laureen Cummings. As a matter of fact Cummings was a LuLac Woman We Love in 2014. I championed her bid to become the Minority Lackawanna County Commissioner. All that said it is distressing that she took to Social Media to go after transgender people who want to use a bathroom labeled with the sex they identify with. This issue is just another Southern Right wing diversion that is set on dividing this country further.
A few facts.
Transgender folks aren’t pedophiles.
Transgender people can’t be changed with an injection.
The medical community (and increasingly, employers, schools and courts) now recognize that it is essential to the health and well-being of transgender people for them to be able to live in accordance with their internal gender identity in all aspects of life—restroom usage is a necessary part of that experience.
Right to restrooms that match one’s gender identity have also been recognized in the workplace and are actively being asserted in public accommodations. In Iowa, for example, discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity has been prohibited by law since 2007 through the Iowa Civil Rights Act..
The details about whether or not someone has had genital reconstructive surgery, also called sex reassignment surgery (SRS), don’t tell you anything about gender identity or someone’s right to use a certain bathroom—and asking about it is a major invasion of privacy, as it involves personal medical information. It could also be illegal. For instance, if employers were to impose such a “genital standard” for bathroom use, they would need to inquire about the genitals of everyone in that workplace. Imagine the privacy concerns that would raise!
Finally there’s this about possible harassment by a transgender person. There is no evidence that gender-segregated bathrooms are “safer” for cisgender women than unisex bathrooms. And besides, there are laws protecting people from criminal conduct in public restrooms. If anything, a concern for safety weighs in favor of bathroom accessibility. Transgender people face a uniquely high degree of harassment—53% of 6,450 transgender people reported being harassed or disrespected in a place of public accommodation in a recent survey conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. (Source: Lamboda Legal)
I know Laureen and her staff reads our blog. I hope this helps.
Meanwhile bathrooms are used to for thing and one thing only. There should be no debate about who looks like what and why.
Get in, clean up, get out and move on with your life.