On Friendship, Authentic Support, Building Community, and Zines :)
The past couple of days have been a real learning experience for me. I have been involved in a lot of conversations that I am going to try and talk about in this post. Plus , I was interviewed by the local weekly alt paper about my role in the local arts scene back in the day. And tomorrow I am going to be a part of a panel discussion. Which is partly why I dont have a lot of time to write. I am preparing for that, and for a "Free Coffee and Support For Activists" time that I am hosting on Saturday. This post is going to be a mish mash of the things I have talked about with other Steemians here as well as the stuff going on in my real life.
Here is the article that I was interviewed in
Click the picture to go read it if you want. There aren't any photos of our zine collective but I will share some with you as I dig them up, in future posts.
On Building Community
The crypto movement is like any other movement. On some level, it is trying to address a problem in society by creating a new paradigm. Many Steemians talk about it as a new, liberating paradigm, where power is decentralized, where people have more control over their own futures, and where we can learn to be supportive and peaceful with one another even if we have differing views. That is the message, and the idealism of this place.
But like with any movement, the habits and patterns that we have learned from our cultures inevitably seep in, and before we know it, we start to see the old world replicating itself in this newish form.. and people get alienated and upset, and conflict sets in , and people feel disillusioned. I have HOURS of talking I could do on this part alone. This problem is what I decided to go to grad school for, after 15 years of movement work trying to address it on my own and just kind of floundering around wishing these patterns would not repeat, but then seeing it happen over and over.
The key thing I want to say here is that I have been in some great conversations this week with people like @wwf , @soyrosa, @eaglespirit, @teamgirlpowa, @isaya ... and more people.,. all along the lines of "What do we want from our community spaces? What do we wish was different in the world? Can crypto really be the new paradigm or is this just a repeat of the old? What IS community? What is healthy conflict? What is hurting our ability to be positive change makers in the way that we want to be?"
And I have learned so much from these conversations. I have felt really lucky to have that space to make inquiry, to practice healthy dissent, to discuss questions that may not even have answers. And to just find some kindred souls who also care deeply about integrity, making a better world, walking our own values. And the word Virtue.
None of that "networking" had to do with SBD for me
Yeah I want the SBD like anyone else, I am here for that and its great! But I wanted to point out that these connections and conversations had a much deeper and lasting meaning for me that goes outside the desire for money. The desire for money is fine! I will just repeat that! Because we all deserve stability and abundance! But I wanted to point this out because its important to me to think about these distinctions between networking with a self serving goal in mind, and real connection, real community building.
The way Steemit works, we are encouraged to go make friends, and network, and make quality content. We should make meaningful comments on each others posts, and so on. Vote-for-vote , follow-for-follow, and spamming are super frowned upon.. and with good reason. But I have reallized that in some cases, that behavior is disguised in a sophisticated way, where people "make friends" and "make meaningful comments" and "network" but its all still done in this "if you scratch my back I will scratch yours" kind of way.
Ok maybe thats still okay , right? Nothing so wrong with it on its own.
But what seems to also happen is people become afraid to be TOO authentic, because they want to be accepted because they want upvotes. So all of a sudden, fitting in, and not making waves, is attached to your survival on Steemit. And it doesnt feel so possible to have healthy, supportive, reasonable dissenting opinions. Because you could lose upvotes if your opinion is not accepted by the group.
Again, thats fine. I mean I don't see a problem with that on its own until it is taken to a level that becomes unhealthy. And unsustainable. When poeple feel afraid to be who they are, you just end up in an echo chamber. And thats boring. Not only that but you end up with fractured groups, hurt feelings, power struggles. You also get whole host of other issues that end up being the downfall of everyone involved. Its a pattern that happens again and again in movements.
And Steemit is a movement. It means many things to many people. It is a very complex ecosystem that ideally has values of autonomy and decentralization. Autonomy and decentralization mean that diversity (ideally) has a lot more room to breathe than it would in other types of environments.
And its up to all of us to be very self reflective about our behavior in this ecosystem. That rule of manifesting your reality is SO true here. We are literally creating a reality on the blockchain. Sometimes we all agree in a big chorus of YES! But we have to resist straying into groupthink. If we all act the same, we will reap sameness. We will exist in sameness. And we will get very bored and swim away. And this platform wont offer anything truly new to society. Maybe that is fine with some people, and I can actually respect that, but it is not what I am personally here for.
Embracing healthy dissent is the way toward fostering any vision, it is the essence of any creative process.
We are creating a reality as a group. When someone disagrees with you , don't take offense to it. Get curious about it. Wonder why they disagree. Wonder how it might be a tool or idea for you to think about later. Try to find out where they are coming from. If you cant move past your disagreement, change the subject for a bit. Try to learn something totally new about them. Learn their hobbies, their dreams, their favorite song. In other words, find the connection point. You might find out later that this same person shifts your whole reality on something, or you shift theirs. Or maybe that person offers an amazing perspective on a totally different subject. Either way, unless they are doing real harm, like hurting you or other people, let their opinion be different than yours. Just let it. See what happens or evolves after that, with an air of curiosity.
Most of us didn't get attracted to this space to conquer each other. We are here to build.
Thats why I am asking : Can we experience all this human interaction as one giant creative process?
That is all I have time for today. I am thinking about doing some webinars , or livestreams, or podcasts , or something interactive about movements, trauma, violence, peace making, and conflict resolution. If any of you are interested in that, I want more practice leading and facilitating discussions like that. I would be happy to build some interactive conversation time around these topics. I certainly do not know it all, but that's another reason why I want to facilitate these discussions as well--- I love learning from other people about these things.
My best to all of you, and thanks to those who continue to offer me your friendship here on Steemit! You are giving me so much. There aren't words.
xo
Dflo
Well thought out post, in trying to build a new paradigm, the shadows of the past loom.
Its up to the explorers of the new frontier to create these novel blooms.
Thats cool how that rhymed huh? Lets all avoid groupthink, don't let the zombies take over the creative space.
What HE said!!
lol :)
Well, it really doesn't seem to matter where I go, there I am.
If we want a different paradigm we have to be the change we want to see. Most of us are incapable of that change. I just happen to note that I see some of the same sample you do, and agree with your assesment.
My back really doesn't itch very bad right now. I'll let you know.
Hahahaha that's funny I didn't get it at first! But yeah I have been thinking about it a lot and was getting kind of down about it. It felt out of my hands until I realized oh. If this is an autonomous place I am actually giving my "power" to make it what I wasn't it to be away by just quietly feeling helpless about it lol. I realized I can actually talk about what I want things to be like instead of just wishing they were that way. Thanks for your comment!
That's a great reflection on this platform and the way it might or might not work and how we can shape our communities! Glad you wrote it down.
I especially agree on
Sometimes I'm saddened by the agressive tone people use when they disagree - instead of SHOUT, why not ask?
Keep up doing the good work and keep being you :-)
Such a well-written post @dflo,
Very well written! I can see you put a lot of thought into this.
I wish I could be more interactive with your ideas, but my ambition is sadly lacking lately
This post was resteemed by someone that I'm following, so I decided to check it out. I enjoyed reading this. Having a healthy discussion about things that we don't see the same way is always better than simply talking past each other whild hold our position, but it can be hard to achieve.
Thanks I am glad you liked it. Yes its always challenging but it is something to strive for. I don't always achieve it either but see it more like a value that I hold above needing to be right. And i do think I am right about a lot of things, hahaha. But when I am interacting with others I would rather prioritize some notion of a common good or a common creative process than winning or being the smartest or the best at a topic or something.
I enjoy the promise of the blockchain community for the potential to create a community that avoids the censorship problems other platforms of which those interested in sharing and learning have been victims. By having more open communication, there is less time for the uncertainties to be painted by anxieties of the unknown; the Steemit community appears to be a place where people can interact with a large spectrum of opinion on any given topic and leaves the consumer of the information, and not the platform, to determine what information should not be given additional considerations. This skeptical filter is essential for effective decision-making and many people benefit from having forums to discuss these ideas viewpoints from which another person is viewing it.
From a very personal standpoint, I have always considered deepening my understanding a certain topic to be much more valuable than joking with a stranger about a shared experience but I have grown to appreciate that we are doing both in life, learning of our shared existence by learning of other individuals existence as well. Humans are social and our need for creating this global network has long been established, technology has begun to find a way to tear down the artificial boundaries. I appreciate the reflection on this important facet of our community and communications role in life, appreciate the discussion!