January 2017 Behind The Bubble

Behind The Bubble

January 2017: The Sounds of Silence

By Jason Margolis

As when I moved to Mt. Lebanon in July 2011, I began my quest to get “behind the bubble” with high hopes. But things, as they often do, did not go as planned.

I wanted to begin by writing a profile of a Mt. Lebanon individual, because it is people that make up communities. The intention was to look deeper into the essence of a person in our community of some stature, and to have them reflect on life in Mt. Lebanon past, present, and future.

I first approached Dave Brumfield. I thought this would be a good person to start with, as he was incoming Commission President and beginning what would likely be his last year as Commissioner. Additionally, he and I always have had a relatively affable relationship. I emailed Dave both before and after the holidays regarding a potential interview. I never heard back. Silence.

Then, I emailed Mt. Lebanon Public Information Officer Susan Morgans. I thought that this high-profile, in-the-know local public figure would be an excellent individual to launch this monthly series, in an attempt to raise new understandings and build new bridges in Mt. Lebanon. To her credit, she did respond with a short email that declined the interview, while copying Municipal Manager Keith McGill. I then followed up with a ‘reply to all’ asking for any suggestions regarding who they might suggest I talk to, in the spirit of this new column, and never heard back. Silence.

Finally, I decided to approach an individual who a couple of years back was very active in Mt. Lebanon politics. In fact, this individual (who I will not name as they are not a public figure) had previously emailed me for an endorsement of their planned candidacy for Commissioner. I quickly responded to that email two years ago. They did not, however, do likewise in January 2017.

So, why all the silence?

There are three main reasons people bring silence into the world:

1) As a means of power and control, as men often use silence over women in abusive relationships.

2) Out of fear, as a child who somehow did not get caught with his hand in the cookie jar chooses not to tell his parents that his hand was indeed the cookie jar to avoid the consequences of the truth.

3) Because of a disability, as someone who was born, or has become, mute.

It is not clear which of the above apply in this case. Perhaps these individuals feared I would twist their words, although they certainly could have sued me for libel if I did. In fact, as a private citizen I have been threatened with being sued in the past for things I have written about controversial issues in Mt. Lebanon.

Perhaps, looking around the bubble’s edge, it is because one of the most divisive issues in Mt. Lebanon is its silence. As someone who has had to request basic public information and documents from the municipality through “Right To Knows” – and having watched numerous escalating legal battles over releasing the locations of where government-funded deer “management” is taking place – silence does seem to be the common default in Mt. Lebanon. And if this is not a policy borne of fear or disability, it must be one of power and control.

But silence by the powerful comes with costs. In a 60 Minutes interview in 1966, Martin Luther King Jr. warned America, “A riot is the language of the unheard.” Silence infers disengagement and dismissal. It is carried out by those wishing to hold on to something, and not share it, with those who have less. And when people with less feel they are not being listened to, and that this silence is hurting their well-being, sooner or later there will be consequences.

Thus far, the bubble’s walls have been thicker than I thought. But every wall of silence has a trap door – a door that lets people in and lets the truth out.

In February, I hope to find one of the bubble’s hidden trap doors.