Creating Public People vs. Creating Public Spaces
One of my roles in Minnesota Works Together, the Center for Democracy and Citizenship initiative I'm working on, is to convene public forums. I've been thinking of this as a way to "wake people up" by getting people to think about deeper societal problems and realize the ability they have to combat them. When looking at outcomes, this has led me to focus on causing changes in individual people, preferably measurable. This is quite an ambitious goal... one that I'll continue to work on, particularly by studying forums with different structures and seeing their outcomes... but one that I probably won't see much progress on this semester. Therefore, I was happy when I had the idea, in a discussion with Addi a couple weeks ago, that a more concrete goal could be to create public spaces, rather than public people. This would be an effort to create/encourage actual physical locations people can go to engage in dialogue with strangers.
The best approach would be to look at where this is already happening, with some limitations, and to encourage it there. I'm stil intrigued by the coffee-shop culture. Coffee shops are places where eventually the regulars get to know each other, but it would be nice if it happened more quickly. And there is the issue of their not being true "free" spaces, as you're sorta expected to buy a cup of coffee to earn the right to sit there for a few hours. This requirement actually kept me away from coffee shops for much of my adult life. But the good ones still allow anybody to sit there, with or without purchase, trusting in the caffeine and sugar addictions of the rest of the patrons to keep them in business.
The smoking ban has also created new public spaces, on the sidewalks outside clubs, restaurants, and coffee shops. It would be interesting to do a study of the number of strangers smokers talk to in a given week vs. the number of strangers non-smokers talk to. We need new culturally accepted conversation-starters in the U.S. Ones that will make it clear that you just want to talk, and aren't trying to pick someone up. Why is it so taboo to speak to other people here? Is it like this in other cultures? Was it like this in the U.S. 100 years ago? I get the sense that people are generally dissatisfied with their level of alienation here. That's why I taped up a column of "I Saw You" from the City Pages on my wall. I found it poignant.
But I'm supposed to be looking on the positive side. Existing public spaces. I'm looking into the practice of having discussions after political or other particularly engaging films. When I went to see The Battle of Algiers in Paris, there was a discussion afterwards. When I went to see Fahrenheit 911 here, people just walked back to their cars and disappeared. Hopefully this is something that the Oak St. will start up. Another possibility is catalyzing dialogue at music venues. What if the performer were to hand you, the audience-member, a sheet with their lyrics on it, and then sit down and ask you what you thought about them?
Comments
I think it is cool that the regulars start talking to one another and I do think it needs to happen more quickly, but it is hard. I have been much more open in this past year and met a lot more people but when I talk to a girl it is still hard to remove any notion of her or I thinking I am coming on to her. Are there certain questions you could ask that could make it clear you weren't interested in anything romantic but just want to pick their brain? I would also be interested in seeing the discussions, like you experienced in France, happen here. I guess I would also like to see more Americans be politically interested though. I think we have lost (though regained for many in the last election) our sense of civic duty when it comes to politics. I think it is more of something that is expected of you in some other cultures, but for some reason the US has groups that are totally outside any political dicussion. I could be totally wrong and making myself look like and idiot too, though.
Posted by: Will | March 20, 2006 4:40 PM
I don't know, that's a hard question about how to start conversations with people. I think we need to address it from two fronts: coming up with some new social customs in the form of acceptable questions (like "Do you have a light?"), and changing the entire structure of society so that people speak to each other as part of everyday life. When I worked at SuperAmerica, there was a guy who came in and bought lunch every day, and it turned out he worked at my credit union, so he cashed my checks for me. We had a symbiotic economic relationship that was easy to understand and non-threatening.
Anybody else have ideas for non-threatening conversation-starters?
Posted by: Laila | March 23, 2006 12:39 AM
the smoking culture is fascinating to me. the lure of having an instant bond with a fellow human being fuels our smoking subculture. No amount of anti-smoking campaign or reduction of advertising is going to change the fact that by banning smoking we are ultimately creating a place for it and a sense of belonging to it. Our society has become so nebulous that we cling to comraderie of any kind. Smoking, Jesus, etc... If we really want to eliminate smoking in society, perhaps we have to make less of it. Let people smoke in public places, let non-smokers get disgusted and start complaining directly to smokers. I think that only by fashion and grassroots social exclusion are we going make smoking less of an issue. I like the idea of creating physical places for new ideas. How about creating an 'extinguish smoker's cigarettes with water guns station' right outside the shop window?
Posted by: Amy | April 5, 2006 11:43 PM
So you equate love of smoking with love of Jesus, Amy? Hmm. But why should we try to eliminate the "smoking subculture", if it's one of the few socially acceptable ways to meet new people? Yeah, it's bad for you, but at least you're socially healthy. I do like the idea, though, of pitting smokers and non-smokers against each other and letting them fight it out and decide for themselves whether a business should be smoke-free. I've spoken to a number of people recently who have complained that society today (in Minnesota, at least) doesn't allow for any tension or contention.
Posted by: Laila | April 6, 2006 11:54 PM