you have the patriot act which allows the government to listen in on its people
yet abroad the US is doing most of the talking
part of its role as a global hegemon I guess
I wonder what would happen if it really listened to what people are saying
what would it hear?
me: This is good - can I use this? You don't have to be named as the speaker
Neil/Bob: go ahead -def no need to name me
I am already fearful of the new powers in the US!
maybe that listening vs hearing contrast is one you could work with
my feeling is that the govt is enabling new powers for listening in
but it isn't really hearing what is being said
if you listen closely people may be saying
we're hungry
we want to live our way of life
with our own culture and religion
as with all politics it is how we balance all those things
me: who is speaking?
Neil/Bob: good question
what isn't being said?
me just talkin out my butt
me: no – this is good dialogue
I've been looking more at people's personal experiences with listening-
though the reason for it is much broader
and it IS in relationship/response to the current political climate
Neil/Bob: one of the things that Ralph's book impressed upon me was that
"standing close to listen" thing
in Western rationalism we try to objectify
"standing back to look"
it is a way of accessing information by standing back to remove ourselves and feeling from something - like scientists
it is our cultural belief that doing so yields more knowledge
and allows us to create high-rise buildings and all that stuff of modernity
governments based on rational-legal authority etc
but Ralph's thesis is that this is only one way to access knowledge of the world
of the many others there is the idea of "standing close to listen"
what is it that people are saying
you can see this eVERYWHERE
one of the problems of DEvelopment Studies
which I was interested in
is that it has this cultural superiority
that Africa is poor because they don't know what they need, they don't have the Western rationalist scientific knowledge
BUT
if you stand close to listen, and ask locals what it is they need for their villages, farms etc
though they won't use the same terms
(marginal cost, average cost, etc etc)
they will have an acute understanding of what they need
though it may be expressed in terms of religion, culture, environment
or in a mystic language or some kind
we just aren't listening to them
for example, some farmers on the African continent have been raising cattle etc for dozens and dozens of generations
why should a western theorist come in and tell them what they need to do to improve their situation
they almost certainly know
my turn to listen now....
me: I LOVE YOUR RANTS
I ALWAYS LEARN SO MUCH
Neil/Bob: can I share one more thing along same lines?
me: (no reply- was distracted from chat greeting my roomate)
Neil/Bob: herro?
I musta ranted her to death...
or you're getting more wine
so I'll rant a little longer until you come back
Ralph has something in the section on Marxism which stuck
It was that since Marxists focus on the material side of things
me: sorry flatmate just got home
Neil/Bob: you gotta go?
me: no - keep going
rant away
Neil/Bob: okay - a short one
Marxists identify with the inherent exploitation of capitalism
so
when the tread in their shoes
they hear the voices of the children who sewed the stitches with every step
another kind of listening
maybe
kinda like listening to things
or products to hear their representative stories
or something like that
me: yes! I'm interested in that kind of listening to things - to histories of things
or sounds that things make or
Neil/Bob: it could be that you don't have to actually hear a sound, in order to listen to something
the idea of histories could be explored too
as you said
me: exactly - was just typing that
Neil/Bob: maybe think of the concept of a "narrative"
the shoes themselves don't speak
but one can follow their story
or genealogy
me: your shoes squeak
Neil/Bob: we are to some extent the products of our upbringing
yes they squeak!
so if you talk to your grandma
you can hear the words she chooses as the sum total of the narrative of the family history
her values etc come from this lineage
can't articulate this clearly, but you can see where Im going
I can't think every thought
I can't be "objective" 100%
so when I talk (and rant) what I say is reflective of that cultural, or genealogical history
whether I am conscious of it or not
that is a kind of narrative - hearing the things that I don't say, but are audible anyway
I'll shut up now
me: no, don’t - I love it
i feel like i just want to take the role of learner in this whole project
i realize that i project my own thoughts and ideas quite a bit
this project is getting me to listen if not anything else
Neil/Bob: yes - I am TERRIBLE at it
but wish to improve
me: you are better than most
Neil/Bob: flatterer
me: being back in American - I've found people easy to talk to - good conversationalists even, but not always the best listeners
conversation and listening doesn't go hand and hand - or doesn't seem to as I initially thought
Neil/Bob: does that indicate that we are increasingly desperate to be heard? kinda ironic really
me: possibly. yes
ironic, yes
Neil/Bob: maybe (since it is late, and you have wine) you could just do an exercise with a bit of paper looking at the discourse of this
write down several key words on a piece of paper
then looking at each in turn
see which words tend to cluster around them
good fuel for ideas
me: hmmm - good idea - i started something similar in the studio
hey - shall i call you "no-name" in the record of this dialogue?
Neil/Bob: or could use an alias
me: what will your alias be?
Neil/Bob: ah, you can choose
did you know that gmail can record these chats?
I think I have that feature switched off
but it is probably set to on for you as a default
me: ah- maybe ill do that - for now I'll just copy paste
I'm collecting conversations
they are all candid
some e-mail
or just notes after a conversation
Neil/Bob: that will be interesting
something that has interested me
is how dialogue manifests itself
for example
why some parts of this dialogue are overtly (edited out)
some might be clearly masculine or feminine
etc
what is the reasoning behind the different flavours/aspects/manifestations etc
might be off the topic for your project though
me: to be continued
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