The difference between cruelty and criticism
I’ve been a public servant in Luzerne County long enough to know that scrutiny comes with the job. I welcome it. Residents have every right to question my decisions, challenge my priorities, and hold me accountable. That is how a healthy government functions.
What I will not accept is the pretense that cruelty is criticism.
Let’s dispense with the fiction that these memes on social media are political commentary. They are not. They are the digital equivalent of a brick through a window, and it’s long past time someone in this county said so plainly.
Show up at every Council meeting and tell me exactly where I’ve gotten it wrong. That’s the job, and I respect anyone willing to do it honestly. But there is a wide, unmistakable gulf between criticism and the campaign of degradation some in this county seem to prefer instead.
When I was originally nominated as County Manager in 2022, my nomination was met by protesters, some dressed in an image of the Grim Reaper. A charming welcome. Since then I’ve had my share of memes built for one purpose: not to make an argument, but to humiliate, intimidate, and remind me of my place. I’m hardly alone. The last few weeks have shown that for some in this county, the appetite for this kind of ugliness hasn’t diminished with time. It’s found fresh targets, and it’s gotten meaner.
Let’s call it what it is. Those who create these images, and the ones who dignify them with a “like” or a share, aren’t landing a political point. They’re broadcasting exactly who they are to everyone watching. Cowardice dressed up as commentary is still cowardice.
And let’s not pretend name-calling is any better simply because it doesn’t require a photo editor. Calling people names and hurling insults instead of engaging their actual position doesn’t help the discourse, it’s the same impulse in a different costume: mean-spirited, childish, and beside the point. It doesn’t refute a budget figure, win an argument, or make you right. It just tells everyone in the room that you had nothing else.
So here’s my message to anyone under the impression that an image on a screen is going to derail my work, or anyone else’s: it won’t. I didn’t take this job for applause, and I’m not leaving because of an insult. I’ll be here long after the meme has been forgotten and the next budget still needs balancing.
This county has real problems that deserve real debate, infrastructure, corrections, the basic dignity owed to every resident regardless of who they are. None of that gets solved by grown adults trading in cruelty because they’ve run out of arguments. If you’re tempted to hit “share” on the next one, save yourself the trouble and ask what it actually says about you.
Romilda Crocamo
Luzerne County Manager
Consider the D&L Trail when talking about selling the rail line
A ceremonial groundbreaking in May in Mountain Top launched real improvements to 4.7 miles of former rail line that takes the Delaware & Lehigh Trail over the top, but not yet home.
The D&L Trail stretches from Bucks County to Mountain Top and soon to the Oliver Mills section of Laurel Run Borough in Luzerne County.
The goal for 25 years has been to complete the trail to Wilkes-Barre, 165 miles tracing the path of anthracite coal from the Wyoming Valley, transported along canals and rail to fuel the industrial revolution of the United States.
The trail is part of the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor. The section being improved is a partnership with the property owner, the Anthracite Scenic Trails Association, as well as the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development, and Hanover Township.
Another section below Oliver Mills is expected to be bid this fall, with construction to follow. These improved sections bring the Delaware & Lehigh Trail tantalizingly close to the northern terminus, downtown Wilkes-Barre.
But the route from Northampton Street in Wilkes-Barre Township to downtown has not been established.
A common-sense trail to downtown would be, in part, on an existing rail line owned by Luzerne County Rail Authority. As the county considers the sale of the rail line, it is prudent to consider including space for trails.
It’s taken 25 years to get the D&L Trail this close to the Wyoming Valley. Luzerne County government should plan for completing this amenity that provides recreation and other wellness benefits, and potential for economic development that is already happening on the established sections of the D&L Trail.
Joseph T. Butkiewicz
Kingston, Pa
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