People seem terrified of making other's uncomfortable, which prevents them from accessing ideas outside of their own and discussing issues with people that may challenge their perspective. It is inappropriate to discussion religion, politics, or personal issues because people don't want to tolerate the tension. This fear also translates into avoiding people of other races, religions, and sexual orientations.
I live in the reality Boyd describes both online--on Facebook and in a co-op that touts diversity-- but has few members that are not white or Atheist. I have a lot of pseudo-hippie friends that complain of injustice, but do not experience it or do anything tangible about it. I take some comfort in the fact that my friends make posts about political issues, and most of them are sensitive and conscientious.
What intrigued me about Boyd's and Stepaneck's articles is the expression of pervasive racial issues that are subconsciously expressed by aligning with certain social networks. This issue reminds me of my friend's thesis on racially-based sexual preference as an indication of underlying racism. I wonder how can we solve racism we don't acknowledge or understand.
I think you make a good point. It's going to be difficult for race relations in this country to improve much more if our citizens are largely self-segregating online. If we're forced to go outside and talk to people of different races or political ideologies, then we may be more likely to tolerate other groups. But if we have the option stay at home and post in cliques and homogeneous communities, most people will choose to do that instead.
ReplyDeleteLike you said, I think people try to avoid making others uncomfortable, but I think most individuals act to keep themselves from feeling awkward. Perhaps regarding racism, discussions about the issue are sparse, misguided or unproductive because people are so tension-averse. Stepanek mentioned a five-step deliberative polling process as a possible strategy for increasing civic engagement; maybe society could tackle issues of race if there were a mediated environment to facilitate talking about such a controversial topic.
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