It was forwarded from a third party and contained directions on how to navigate the craziness of downtown Phoenix due to the Anti-SB1070 Protest that was happening on Saturday morning. It also contained directions on how to join in the protest if so inclined!
I have to include Maya's only addition to this forward:
"FYI! Let's give Washington a big message!"
So, it was obvious that Maya supported the march and was recruiting a wee bit. I didn't mind this. I'm not saying I wouldn't have minded if we didn't happen to share the same sentiment about the issue either...
Anyway, it was also obvious that she sent the email to inform the marketgoers that there would be some traffic at the pickup for the CSA that weekend.
What Maya (and all who were CC'd) received for this tidbit of info was an immediate "reply all" email from one woman who was so bothered by the "mixing of politics and business" that she asked to be unsubscribed from the newsletter.
Ten emails later (many in the same spirit of condemnation and disapproval), I sent Maya alone the following letter.
Maya,I want to voice my support for your decision to share information on the march downtown. I was happy to receive the info. I was equally happy to see that the info came from a reliable source. I think Maya's farm represents a certain voice in the Valley- a voice that to me is a link to the food revolution movement. I think you would agree with me that Maya's Farm is a shining light for the small organic farm community here in the Metro area.I think that it's important for this movement to align itself with movements like the support of immigrants in farming states like AZ. After all, a large majority of farm workers come to AZ to work at all levels of farming and this includes the small organic farm. It is important for the customers and supporters of Maya's Farm to be aware of the issues in AZ and share empathy with those people who are linked so intimately to us- through the growing, picking, shipping of our food!I understand that complicated issues like these are often not well understood, yet still manage to cause such knee jerk reactions. But, I want to applaud you for reaching out to your virtual community. Some of us can only connect via the internet, but I'd like to think our loyalties lie deeper than that.Marta OrozcoStudent, Educator, food lover
The reply was a simple thank you.
What I wanted to use this incident to illustrate is, first, how virtual communities are not always what they seem. The emails saddened me and angered me and almost embittered me. But, after writing to Maya, I have just come away with some understanding.
I think that sharing views and ideas and passions over the internet is kinda dangerous. Especially when they are usually so brief. Yet, everyday I climb into Facebook Land and semi-share things about my life. They're vague, but I'm a private person (for further reading on privacy...). I resist sharing those views that I know are controversial. I don't share much about my political, ethical, spiritual views for a reason! Because there are those who I would ostracize from me. I don't want that. I think communities are for sharing and inclusion.
This is why filtering our communities is important! On Facebook, the only way we express kinship of ideas is when we "like" the same existentially meaningless tag: A Million Doing What, Exactly?
To tie this together: I was unhappy to see people removing themselves from our virtual community of food enthusiast/small farm supporters. This is a struggling movement. Maya's Farm is one of the best resources for people actually DOING things to revolutionize the food industry. I hate to see people boycott her food, her ideas, her emails because they couldn't forgive her email etiquette snafu (people were also upset that their email addresses hadn't been blind-copied).
When it comes to making public my views about any given subject, I abide by the following lyrical guideline: "Don't ever renounce or ever claim to be." A little Devendra Banhart, anyone?
You'd think bearing witness to the polarizing effect that this can have on people would only reinforce this notion of mine. It hasn't. I think people should begin to wonder why we don't share our potentially schismatic views about the world. Instead of keeping them to ourselves and wondering why the "other side" is so ignorant about it, we should just share! I am a big believer in being informed. How can we expect people to be informed when we're all tiptoeing around our beliefs instead of discussing them?
Virtual communities like blogger, or Facebook, or any other conduit of information-sharing should all serve as better grounds for debate and discussion instead of side-taking and narcissism.
So I'll conclude with a pat on our backs, because that's exactly what we're doing here.
Back when I started reading blogs and discovering the virtual communities, it became evident that some people thrive on picking fights. It is not about discussion or "intellectual honesty," but it is exactly what you said -- taking a side and narcissism. Actual debate, fact-checking, and logical arguments take a back seat to opinions and who can dominate the discussion. (On the blogs I read, these people are referred to as "trolls.")
ReplyDeleteVirtual communities can be quite an insulated place, too. I found the blogs I liked and identified with AND encourages honest discussion. I avoid sites that promote ideas that I disagree with AND where the community has no interest in any differing views. I try to keep an open mind, but it would be very easy to filter out information that I found disagreeable. I do filter my own opinions on Facebook when it comes to religion or politics. I'm not proud of it, but it is just...easier.
I definitely agree that we should talk about these polarizing issues but I'm not sure Facebook status updates are the appropriate platform. Considering the emotional ties that people have with there own perspectives, we should limit our audience to those who are interested in discussing controversial issues to begin with (like we're doing here). Of course, then we need to make sure to be aware of our own ideological attachments and the consequent emotional reactions, so as not to judge others.
ReplyDelete