The voice of Peter Lopes--the voice of the literate, intelligent poor in the U.S. and around the world--is a voice that needs to be heard and brought into the conversation if we are to bridge the digital divide.
Steve Eskow [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- From: Peter S. Lopez [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2005 10:09 AM To: The Digital Divide Network discussion GROUP; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: GROUP Subject: RE: [DDN] A Littl' More On Bridging the Digital Divide in the US "Dr. Steve Eskow" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: < wrote: <is obsolete disadvantaged kids, starting at a the preschool level, need a computer in their home in order to have a chance at parity with their more affluent counterparts. Want to Improve High Schools? Put Computers in the Homes. is now published on the Digital Divide Network website.>> And of course Ronda is joined is this conviction by Negroponte and many others. My own hunch is that leaping the stage of "the social computer" and moving immediately to "the personal computer" is an invitation to failure. Unless the computers never need servicing, never get infected. Unless the computers are never given to the home without local and free servicing made available. Unless free and ongoing instruction in their use is made available to parents as well as students. Unless the computers are solar powered or hand cranked. If these conditions aren't met, a majority of the computers sent to the homes will not be functioning within six months. A social setting for shared use of computers-- a school, a library, a church, a community center--allows for instruction and servicing. Each user of such a computer as the Simputer can have his or her own card that allows for personal use of a shared device. The arrival of the low cost paper back book did not make the library obsolete. The arrival of television did not make the shared technology known as the school obsolete. Steve Eskow [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. REPLY ~ Wednesday Morning ~ I agree with you Dr. Eskow and am pleased at your common sense. I am not sure how many people on this DDN Discussion List are actually poor themselves in the economic sense. Nevertheless, we must all clearly understand that the big factor in there even be a high tech digital divide is the social-economic existence of the misery of poverty suffered by billions of people upon Mother Earth. For the poor, access to the Internet Technology is NOT a top priority, finding the next decent edible meal, temporary shelter and/or satisfying a urgent medical need ARE among basic daily survival priorities. I certainly am poor right now and I must be honest, practical and realistic or invite peril, disaster and self-delusion. I am one of those who come from the social set and settings of the inner-city urban poor in Amerika. I am one of those who found out about the existence of the high-tech digital divide bridge and once I crossed that bridge I naturally, immediately and enthusiastically got online and got involved in Internet Activism; in conjunction with the TOP PRIORITY of being involved in local activism in my own local community. Relevant Link ~ http://www.netaction.org/training/reader.html I am blessed to even have a 'home' and have the electricity tuned on at home! The idea of spending money on computer repair to a computer service man is to me a Yuppie fantasy. Thus, I have learned to take care of my computer best I can: by not opening attachments from unknown sources, daily defragmentation, regular software maintenance that I got FREE from download.com and other sources. I think if we look at these questions as simply technical ones we miss the whole point of WHY we want to build bridges to cross the digital divide. These are social, cultural and educational questions that will be answered over decades. These questions involve promoting a social culture of literacy that promotes education as a key survival tool; as we continue to fight for our very survival on a day-by-day basis. It all hinges on the set and settings of the cultural matrix. A community-based group setting is ideal as there are benefits of seeing others involved in the same activities we are doing in a sane and sober environment that promotes on-going basic literacy, computer literacy and general self-improvement. We must have faith in the people and our capacity to comprehend, to develop as humane beings and to respond to the demands of connected reality. Remember: even the educator needs educating, ever the counselor needs counseling and even the doctor needs continued treatment. Help Build Bridges, Not Borders!~ Peter S. Lopez~Field Coordinator Sacramento, Califas, USA http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HumaneRightsAgenda/ http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/sacranative P.S. At the risk of seeming ludicrous, for impoverished children it will take more than 'a computer in their home in order to have a chance at parity with their more affluent counterparts.' It involves the total elimination of poor oppressive conditions on a global scale altogether to bring about 'parity' fo po' folks! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Yahoo! Music Unlimited - Access over 1 million songs. Try it free. _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
