Public Relations Spins Me

The fog isn't lifting for the promised sunny day. That means no laundry for me, not really a big deal but inconvenient. I realized it has been about ten years since I got rid of my clothes dryer, so that gives some perspective on whether or not I can live without it. I haven't resorted to the laundromat yet although when my foot was broken I did let a few people do my laundry for me. (Keep that in mind as a way to help people in medical crises...easy to do and while somewhat intimate, it's not as hard as lots of other ways to help.) But I can't make the sun come out, only wait for it. There's no use at getting mad at the weather-spokespeople either. Patience and steadiness is all I can apply, and optimism may or may not be rewarded.

I feel burned out on city government-watching. It's educational for my work with my own organizations: how scripted discussions sometimes are, because they are in the public eye and are being recorded, how wild the wide array of public opinions can be, how mistakes are constantly made because it is so hard to see the big picture when looking at the small details. I really don't like the opinions of developers and republicans, and they really don't like mine. I try for transparency in my own words and actions but I can't maintain the perfect balance of wisdom over fear and get my needs met and goals furthered, particularly when I am not clear on those goals and fears and in reaction mode. I keep reminding myself that this is not a crisis.

I have a long history here, but not much real inside engagement in most cases. Observing and standing back are ways to keep a distance and avoid responsibility. This has been super apparent to me with my lack of willingness to weigh in on the OCF cultural appropriation debate, the current discussions in the city over Park Blocks/ Kesey issues, and others. I'd like to sit back and see what develops, but how this plays out over time is that my voice is not heard and I haven't done my part in making sure my needs are met. Sometimes you have to wade in and be a part of the messiness, or so I keep advising myself.

I applaud those who have the courage and skills to articulate the way their positions are actually bigger than just their own needs-assessments, the way the decisions should be guided to meet the real needs of most of the people. That of course is the stated aim of most politicians, but close observations expose the self-interest and manipulations of those who don't really see the common people and don't really have a clue about what would really benefit them. They need their feet held to the fire, as I do, reminders of why we do what we are supposed to be doing and why it is important to make the effort.

Developers of our city properties are fairly easily understood: they want to profit, and use as little of their own resources to do that, to maximize the profit and minimize the loss, clear money management tactics that don't include much about the quality of life and needs of others. They usually don't want to build places for old ladies and young seekers to live during life transitions, but of course those are huge needs that I see the opportunity to address. We need places to sit and places to feel safe and the young seekers need support while they figure out how to make their way. They don't care that putting a building in that tiny little alley on Broadway will take away my safest access to my workplace downtown. It's so far off their radar I hesitate to bring it up. I'll have to accommodate, and I have a long history of being adaptable and resilient, so I'm okay, but not happy about that building project. It seems a stupid use of resources and a money grab in the shortsighted quest for a piece of a track meet that might not even make it downtown. But whatever. I don't expect that anyone but me really cares about whether or not I can safely navigate with a bike cart. However, if I thought that all bike carts would be unusable downtown, I'd speak loudly...but I won't know if that is a possibility until the PR spinning stops and the construction site fences go up. Then it will be too late.

We need to support what is working and not destroy it in the rush to do something new and shiny. Reining back the visionaries and novelty-seekers is necessary to a degree, but to use the same metaphor, we don't want to hamstring those fast-movers. The tech community downtown is seen as the fast horse that is going to win some race and people who think of themselves as winners want to back the winning team in any race. So it seems to makes sense to get those people what they need if possible, and they want fast internet and nice apartments downtown, so a lot of energy is being directed their way. If a few low-level bikers are inconvenienced, well, that's too bad, but there may be a bandaid for that. Let's see the wound first, they might say. In other words, let's not operate from your fears, but if you could provide some compelling force, like a million dollars, that might help.

Early 1970's, Saturday Market

With the farmers, there are also young enthusiastic entrepreneurs and more mature money people who see that building a storefront so they can sell every day would be cool, especially if someone else would pay for it since it is out of reach of even the collective efforts of the farmers. They have to invest in their own properties and crops, and marketing takes a lower priority. Yet they have to sell, and the roadside stand or weekly appearance at a little market doesn't satisfy their bigger needs. They've turned to the city and county and dangled the proverbial (and real) carrot of money for everyone, interesting the development community and committing them to a PR effort to sell their concept. It's not a concept that history would support, but that was then and this is now. As long as they don't try to take down Saturday Market in the process, I can't stand in the way.

I'm really burned out on PR. Maybe it's just the post-Xmas and Super Bowl residual effect, but every time I see that 100-year Farmer's Market spin I get angry. For the record, going indoors year round killed the farmers market in 1959. Killed it. Read the book Market Days

if you doubt me. In 1970, in making our Saturday Market, we included farmers and set it back on its feet. Saturday Market visionaries, while investing in our own way to market our crafts and the products of our lifetime investment in art, realized that the food producers were the exact same type of self-employed entrepreneurs that we were, and we helped them gain the strength of membership to re-establish the Farmers Market. After ten years they wanted to branch off, and we gave them our blessing and continued to support them as they struggled, sharing an office and helping train their managers, as well as continuing to do the lion's share of providing health and safety amenities like bathrooms and garbage disposal, as well as promotions and governmental interface. The city pushed them from place to place, and it was soon established that the only way they could thrive is in close conjunction with our own members as we gathered together for mutual benefit. Saturday Market largely gets the credit for Farmer's Market success during the years of 1970-2005 or so, from my perspective. But their PR did not mention that, and in fact, buried us a little in the dust of their re-invention. We brushed it off, but it isn't the first time they disregarded our needs in their rush to get their own needs met. I'll stop with that, but there are lots of other subjects in that file. Complaining about it has no purpose at this point. I'm always hopeful and have sold at the Tuesday Market next to the farmers quite successfully and hope they know that I am a supportive partner as long as I am a respected one.

Saturday Market is still essentially the same membership nonprofit as we began to be in 1970, in structure. We buy in, we operate together, meeting in public, selling in public, and working together to keep ourselves strong. Indeed, we have thrived, and continued to bring in young entrepreneurs and every kind of artist and producer as we worked. A couple of us were here in the beginning (I arrived in 1975, and retained membership since then) but mostly people have come and gone and put in their efforts as long as they wanted to. We've had good years and bad years but are stable and self-sufficient, and indeed that is our micro/macro style. We put our money together and meet our own needs. After decades of being dismissed and even reviled, we are still creating a completely magical and beloved event weekly, and in the last decade or two this has been recognized. But it seems that to be counted as part of solutions, we have to buy some PR like what the farmers have done. We have to let people know that our makeup is about 20% old, 30% new, and 50% every combination possible in the middle. Every Saturday is a new and different variation. That's our reality, and we won't have to lie to show that as a strength. We have to remind people how easy it is to find your bootstraps in our system, and how many have used us as a springboard and a way to be a productive citizen. We're so woven into the business fabric of Eugene that apparently we are now invisible. So we go to the meetings and listen for encouragement.

I'm not excited to do a pitch to some unknown audience. I see that the farmers organization spun a lie about their origin that has become the public truth, and basing things on a lie cannot be a good course of action. Yet all PR does exactly that...more mildly put, it spins a glamour that shows what the organization wants to show, and the truth isn't relevant. So now everyone thinks the farmers are the venerable 100-year old producers and Saturday Market is irrelevant. I'm angry about that, but of course many of the farmers are people I love, so what is done in their name is not something I can really fight, at least not publicly. My willingness to do some PR of our own is born out of necessity, but it isn't natural to me. We have the opportunity to highlight our good and true strengths and spin anything that isn't working as well...but it's a big job and not only do I not want to do it, I don't trust the process. If faced with the advice to put out a similar lie, I will balk. So I don't expect that I will be that helpful to the process, and am thinking to step back from leadership, at least in that area.

But I am one of the leaders, and stepping back will hurt us. I am one of the articulators, someone who has seen decades of our efforts, and while I wouldn't say I am essential, there are certainly people counting on me. As I mentally stepped back, I thought of what I could do that would help the big-picture, root-cause sorts of issues and in the process protect my interests. I recognized that I can support the progressive parts of our governments, and be sure to elect representatives who will speak for me, and if I can, supply them with the kind of helpful information that will help meet my needs.

So Bernie or Hillary, someone from the left side for sure. I don't want either of them to trash the other in the process of competing. That's easy and I don't feel much need to get involved. Down a level, find other progressive candidates for more local offices and support them. I already told the Lucy Vinis campaign that I support her for Mayor. I love having a woman for Mayor and I think Kitty Piercy has done a wonderful, amazing job at keeping positive while so many tons of criticism have been thrown at her. I think the progressives on the City Council are doing pretty well (in my limited observation) at holding the line against the clearly self-interested among them. I trust the hearts of most of the people sitting up there trying to make good decisions for the common good, and I think they are wading through the PR fairly well in most cases. But we'll need more progressives, most importantly for Ward One, right there in the center of it all. My ward.
I'm not running, but someone needs to!

I don't think I will like the decisions they make about Kesey Plaza and the Park Blocks, but I see the progressives weighing the public passion against the private profit motives and I see them protecting what they can of the will of the people. I sympathize with their positions, juggling so many needs and interest groups. I'm tired of watching though. If this were the Super Bowl, I'd be at the Kareng Fund Art Bingo event instead, just as I was yesterday.

The fog is lifting, so I started the washer. Things may get partly dry this late in the day but they'll be clean. I'm still unsure if I'm going to the City Council meeting tonight, but I found a little bit of energy to do it. I don't have to stay for the whole thing, but listening to them and trying to add some positive energy to their efforts will benefit me and the city public, so I guess I can give up one additional evening. I have a wild little plan to execute, as some comic relief...and as a gift to our Mayor. I think it could be a sweet gesture in the midst of a bunch of angry contention. I'm scared to do it, but that's a good sign that it's important to do. And yes indeed, it involves Jell-O Art. No one can bring that but me.