2nd
NIMBY
Haven’t written in a while, but it hasn’t been for lack of material. Sorry for holding out.
I’m inspired tonight by the idea of NOT IN MY BACK YARD, also known as NIMBY. This is a prevalent in human psychology. The gist of this notion is : “i don’t give a shit what you do, as long as it’s not in my back yard.”
Back yard, in this analogy can extend to one’s property, one’s neighborhood, one’s city, one’s state. After 9/11, one might say this perspective includes a nation. The point being, you ACCEPT whatever is happening outside of your scope SO LONG AS IT DOESN’T EFFECT YOUR SCOPE.
At the onset of the INTERNET, there were grandiose predictions about the potential of the internet for human rights, international politics, interpersonal understanding, etc. And, indeed, the internet facilitates connections between people in virtually all corners of the world. However, I wonder if the promise of the internet has yet/will ever become a reality.
I would argue that it hasn’t yet. This is the INFORMATION AGE. Not only can I look up any piece of “trivia” information in a matter of seconds, I can also access up-to-the-minute information about friends and family at any given moment. To wit, “Oh, my friend BOB is at a concert in Manhattan tonight. I haven’t heard of that band, I’ll listen to their most popular songs on Last.fm.”
There is an important motivator in this chain of thought, particularly the desire to know more deeply about the activities of my friend.
There is also an import omission…i dont give a fuck about the millions of people who won’t eat tonight or who dont have running water or the women being raped and sold into sexual slavery. This is the basis for my rant, and my concern about the internet. NIMBY is strong in this case and in the majority of the decision we continue to make, myself included,
Can the internet foster a more worldly perspective? Will it? What incentive is there to sponsor such a change?
If anything, the internet provides too many distractions to be effective as a motivator.
Let’s hope Beyonce hides some of worldly perspective in her next video. I’ll definitely be watching that.
-p
