Commentary: EC, we are infinitely more than the worst about us.

by M. LaVora Perry, Publisher, ecnarrator.org

I wrote this to a non-East-Clevelander who, once again, posted a photo of a pile of trash that someone who — in all likelihood is not from EC — dumped in our city. When I posted this alternative photo as a comment, he said “What does that have to do with [his photo of trash].” These are my multiple replies combined into one and his initial reply to it.

ME: Social media is our lives in miniature on a screen. Our life force can be used to build up and bring light or tear down and bring despair. The choice we make shows who we are. We can light up our little corner of the Internet or be a dark cloud that overshadows the light. Our online patterns reveal what’s inside us.

PH: What we bring to social media carries consequences beyond the screen. Behind every post is a person, a family, a community. Our words can affirm someone’s humanity, preserve our history and encourage action — or deepen wounds and circulate humiliation. We are responsible for what we contribute and what we choose to pass along.But bringing light also means having the courage to expose what is wrong. Naming injustice, questioning leadership and demanding accountability can be acts of care for our people. The question is whether our words serve truth and collective well-being, and whether we extend the dignity we demand for ourselves.

ME (This is when I took off my earrings and put down my purse): I don’t read everything you post, so it’s possible that I’ve missed something positive you’ve posted about East Cleveland. But what shows up in my feed from you regarding East Cleveland is always negative. One hundred percent of the time. I’m not saying you only post negativity about East Cleveland. I’m saying those are the only kind of East Cleveland posts I see from you.

I am a proud East Clevelander. I’m not blind to our flaws. They are obvious. But we are more than the worst about us. And in a predominantly Black city that’s already down and kicked, we don’t need to be kicked once again — let alone by a Black man who should, in my opinion, be about uplifting us.

And we’re behind but we’re progressing. That’s something to highlight rather than continue to bash us as if we aren’t getting better despite our problems, which plenty of people join you in being quick to point out.

(I said the following after he replied, “[Your photo is] Cleveland Heights side of Forest Hill Park. This area is known as grand pappy hill. Use by athletes for hill work training.”)

You don’t live in EC. You don’t know all of EC — as demonstrated by you not knowing that one of our beloved and most well-known landmarks, the Forest Hill hill, is OUR landmark, not Cleveland Heights’, that the most lush and nature-filled side of the park (despite the litter in some areas), is OUR side, not Cleveland Heights’. A landmark about which, in your ignorance, you tried to subtract from us — yet another way you attempted to dim our light.

You don’t live in EC, but our city lives rent-free on your Facebook page on which you post random posts and drive-by photos that serve no purpose other than to disparage us. When it comes to East Cleveland, you’re like a voyeur who gleefully peeks through our curtains to get a glimpse of another way to put us down.

To expand on what I’ve said: Instead of using your platform to lift up a Black city, instead of using your Black man’s body and intellect to come into our city and do something helpful with us, you use Facebook to smear us and bring your body into our city to take photos to help you do that. I’m sick and tired of it.

There is a term in psychology called projection. We project onto others how we view ourselves. Our words are our self’view out loud. When a Black man sees it has his duty to relentlessly denigrate a city filled with mostly Black people, that speaks volumes about how he views himself.