Letters to the Editor | Aug. 17, 2023

Three people came forward about the alleged workplace toxicity they experienced while employed by Lizzo. Having suffered through various toxic workplaces myself, I would never diminish the impact of living through hating work because of a judgmental, threatening, or demeaning boss. There’s no justification for being cruel to the people around you or crushing their hopes. Coming forward about Lizzo is their story. In my case, if I had come forward with my complaints (alone or with others), you never would have heard it.

Lizzo became news, however, because she is “a symbol.” Other celebrities behave badly, and it’s almost expected, but we judge her differently because she tells us to love ourselves even when it’s hard. Her positive message is now her crucible. “How am I supposed to love somebody else when I don’t like myself?” she asks in her song “2 be loved.” If the allegations are true, she was in the wrong, but where most bosses rarely show contrition or a change of course, Lizzo’s fans can hope she hears her accusers out and treats people better. She has a unique ability to entertain while speaking truth. Her voice is necessary. Let’s hope her work style aligns better with her songs’ messages. Love you, Lizzo.

Nate Craig, Schwenksville

I grew up in Philadelphia, learning our long history of leading the nation forward with an eye toward progress and justice. I am heartbroken that children today are missing the snow I used to play in, or can’t go outside in the summer because of vicious heat and smoke, or fear for their safety from ever-more-common hurricanes. What kind of future are we building for them? It’s already clear that renewable energy is the way forward, but Pennsylvania lags behind other states in making the transition. Peco still relies primarily on short-term contracts with fossil fuel companies instead of the more stable, and ultimately more cost-effective, long-term contracts it could enter with a focus on renewables. Why are we living in the past? This has been the hottest summer in human history. We all feel it. We need — and deserve — our utility providers to be looking out for us. POWER Interfaith’s People’s Energy Plan identifies concrete steps that Peco could take toward progress and justice again, starting with adopting long-term contracts and cutting reliance on fossil fuels. Peco, listen to the people.

Phoebe Barr, member, POWER Interfaith, Philadelphia

In a recent hyperbolic editorial, The Inquirer Editorial Board fails to make the connection between Mayor Jim Kenney’s lavish PAC expenditures and the politics as usual found in Democratic-run cities in America today. Instead, it exhorts Kenney to devote the resources left in his PAC to “saving American democracy in the city where it was founded,” further claiming Kenney could “reshape his legacy as the mayor who helped save democracy.” Funny how some people conflate losing a Democratic majority with losing “democracy itself.” If board members really cared about Kenney’s legacy, and the general good of the city, they would have urged him to tackle the ongoing xylazine epidemic (known as “tranq”) plaguing Kensington’s open-air drug market, turning ordinary drug users into walking zombies. Tranq has been found in more than 90% of drug samples tested in Philadelphia in 2021, so the problem is as widespread as it is pernicious. It demands Kenney’s full attention — and the Editorial Board’s as well.

Richard F. Kosich, Conshohocken

Edward J. Gallagher, Bethlehem

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