On 1/23/04 10:41 AM, "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I was watching a debate (can't remember around what issue) but one of the > debaters made the point that, in a democracy, the minority must be protected > from the majority at times. > And, in regards to homelessness, I do not believe that the majority of > people are unsympathetic to the issue. I'm sure they're not. Most of us are sympathetic to a lot of issues. But being sympathetic and being moved to action are two different things. > In the many, many one to ones I have had with people over the years, they > want our resources to be used to end poverty and homelessness. > And their wishes are not being listened to much of the time by elected > leaders. No offense, but I'm willing to bet money that every issue advocate that appears before the mayor or city council (or any elected body) claims to have the support of the people. It's one thing to say it. It's another thing to demonstrate it. How are you demonstrating it? > Many, many people are busy making a living, raising their children, > surviving... they are not always able to take the time to fight against the > many "wheelings and dealings" done by local politicos and power brokers. Right. But thousands of those same people who are busy making a living, raising their children, etc. showed up to help out at the St. Paul Winter Carnival to construct the Ice Palace and do whatever else was needed. In damn cold weather, no less. Why did they do that? Because the organizers were able to get these folks to believe that their time was well-spent on a worthy cause. I'm willing to bet that the Carnival organizers did not use guilt trips to accomplish that. >From my own experience as a neighborhood activist, I know that it's harder than heck to get people to show up for something like a public hearing on an air permit review for a local industrial facility. It's not because it's not important or because people don't want clean air to breathe. We just haven't figured out the approach that gets folks as psyched up about something like that as they do for something like a neighborhood clean-up day, which is a lot easier to get volunteers for. > As to "resonation"... social justice cannot be reduced or equated to > selling a product. > Margaret Hastings-Mpls No, it can't. But homelessness is one social justice issue among many issues that people are trying to raise money for, get volunteers for, raise awareness of, etc. As noble as your cause is, you've still got competition to deal with and that means that you have to figure out how to connect with your target audience, just like if you were selling a product. A few weeks ago, a whole bunch of folks (couple hundred, if I recall correctly) showed up outside the Park Board headquarters to show their displeasure with the Gang of Five and their shenanigans in hiring Gurban. Is homelessness less important than how the Parks superintendent got hired? Of course not. But those folks that organized that demonstration managed to get folks to believe that showing up was worth the time spent. As best I recall, nobody used guilt tactics to pull that off, either. If you're not getting the results you want, maybe it's time to try a different approach. Mark Snyder Windom Park REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
