Yesterday, I rented a bike in San Francisco and rode over the Golden Gate Bridge to Marin. To get back to San Francisco I took the ferry from Sausalito to the Embarcadero.
While waiting for the ferry, I called my wife. I said "We are waiting to get on the ferry." In a later call she asked me who was the "we." She knew I was there to meet a man from South Africa. She also knew that our daughter-in-law Jessica was coming to San Francisco for a Salvation Army meeting. So the "we" was unclear. In one sense though it was just me. The cyclists were all off to the side separate from the pedestrians. "we" meant us cyclists. Why did I say we?
There are many cyclists on the bike path along the bay, on the bridge approaches, on the bridge and on the bike paths in Marin and Sausalito. Everyone stops at different points to rest. Cyclists pass each other and then get passed. They hold brief conversations and greetings. A certain number of cyclists then form a camaraderie of doing the same thing at the same time yet not being directly together. While waiting for the ferry loading some of these cyclists are able to greet each other as friends of the moment though names are not known and there will soon be a break-up. It becomes a "we." It could still be "we" to distinguish from the pedestrians or to group those about to do the same thing. In this case the "we" becomes a designation for a temporary community.
There are many types of communities that may not seem to be communities. Motorcyclists wave to each other. On country roads with little traffic and relatively low speed there is the lifted index finger off the steering wave to each other. Cowboy hat wearers nod to one another. The same with drivers of antique cars, Corvettes, or whatever is similar yet uncommon. In the Xin Fu Kang Neighbourhood in Shanghai it might be senior citizens in specially designed buildings in a wealthy area.
If it is not possible to say "we" then a community must not exist. Maybe if we (there it is again) can say "we" then we can go further and clarify the type of community and can do, something for the common good.
As safety moves from mandatory behavior control to grass roots beneficial experiences, there will be more of the "we" communities. I'm going to work more on where the "we" should take place and how to know when the community exists.
David Sneed
While waiting for the ferry, I called my wife. I said "We are waiting to get on the ferry." In a later call she asked me who was the "we." She knew I was there to meet a man from South Africa. She also knew that our daughter-in-law Jessica was coming to San Francisco for a Salvation Army meeting. So the "we" was unclear. In one sense though it was just me. The cyclists were all off to the side separate from the pedestrians. "we" meant us cyclists. Why did I say we?
There are many cyclists on the bike path along the bay, on the bridge approaches, on the bridge and on the bike paths in Marin and Sausalito. Everyone stops at different points to rest. Cyclists pass each other and then get passed. They hold brief conversations and greetings. A certain number of cyclists then form a camaraderie of doing the same thing at the same time yet not being directly together. While waiting for the ferry loading some of these cyclists are able to greet each other as friends of the moment though names are not known and there will soon be a break-up. It becomes a "we." It could still be "we" to distinguish from the pedestrians or to group those about to do the same thing. In this case the "we" becomes a designation for a temporary community.
There are many types of communities that may not seem to be communities. Motorcyclists wave to each other. On country roads with little traffic and relatively low speed there is the lifted index finger off the steering wave to each other. Cowboy hat wearers nod to one another. The same with drivers of antique cars, Corvettes, or whatever is similar yet uncommon. In the Xin Fu Kang Neighbourhood in Shanghai it might be senior citizens in specially designed buildings in a wealthy area.
If it is not possible to say "we" then a community must not exist. Maybe if we (there it is again) can say "we" then we can go further and clarify the type of community and can do, something for the common good.
As safety moves from mandatory behavior control to grass roots beneficial experiences, there will be more of the "we" communities. I'm going to work more on where the "we" should take place and how to know when the community exists.
David Sneed
