tandempower

Social interactions in public with strangers is an interesting aspect of life. Some people/cultures regard it as offensive to talk, smile at, wave, or otherwise interact with strangers in public, while others welcome and enjoy such interaction. Driving, you catch little glimpses of other drivers behind their windshields and windows, depending on how tinted the glass is. The speed of driving makes such glimpses/interactions slightly more fleeting than when biking or walking.

If you find public interaction with strangers awkward and uncomfortable, driving may be preferable to biking/walking, because it involves less threat of lingering interaction. You don't have to spend as long pretending to ignore passersby while actually being focused on waiting for the moment they are past so that you can stop avoiding looking in their direction.

If you like such interaction, biking/walking is enjoyable because you can engage in brief conversations or information-exchanges, as well as waves, smiles, nods, "hello"s, etc.

But what about 'social interaction' with non-humans? Some people don't recognize interaction with non-human beings and things as 'social,' but it is. Animals are often very interested in you as a cyclist or pedestrian, probably because they can actually see you whereas they just see the cars when people are driving by. Plants are obviously incapable of showing interest, but it is interesting to see them and think about their life 'experience.' Trees are huge organisms, somewhat like elephants or dinosaurs, but they move very slowly and pose little threat, which is also probably why they are being hunted to extinction slower than other large organisms in most areas.

And what about man-made objects? Humans build things to communicate with others who interact with their creations. People make art, clever mailbox designs, decorations on the outside of their houses, etc. for passersby to view and contemplate or regard in some way. Architects design buildings to convey a certain image. Road-builders built roads to use. Gardeners design landscapes to view, etc.

Do you experience visual interactions with inanimate objects and non-human beings as social interactions? Do you feel more 'connected' looking at pics and messages posted on social media than looking at objects and beings 'posted' outside in public? If so, why? Does the world seem less abundant with social interaction to you than it actually is? Maybe you just need to slow your mind (and body) down enough to perceive what's out there.

Walter S

What a gem of a thread for living car free. I noticed you mention "drivers". Slick move . You're now on topic!

Machka 

I work in an office with approx. 100 other people.

I attend university, and each class contains approx. 150 students from all over Asia (mostly) and other parts of the world.

I participate in cycling clubs and attend events like the symphony, theatre, church services, etc..

I wend my way through the crowds of people walking up and down the streets at lunch ... even more so in the summer when the cruise ships come in.



One of the reasons I cycle is to get away from all that.

Rowan

Hehehe... my social interaction at work involves brief discussion with my boss in the morning, then talking to wedge-tailed eagles (yep, true), a whole heap of other birds, wallabies, echidnas, the occasional quoll, and possums... oh and the occasional snake in summer.

tandempower

I've never heard of echidnas or quolls. They look interesting. The possums appear to be different from the ones around here. I see a lot of those as roadkill around here, along with armadillos, though more armadillos than possums typically.

tandempower

What about interactions with non-humans? Any of those mean anything to you?

tandempower

The topic is about social interaction with strangers and/or non-humans when you're out on your bike or walking.

enigmaT120

I rarely see anybody else on my bike rides. I talk to the cows at the organic dairy I ride by.

liampboyle

I have a particular squirrel near my house that likes to throw acorns at me when I'm riding, does that count?

badger1

Oh, yes ... I see. Something like this, perhaps? Seems a coherent and 'on-topic' contribution to a coherent thread.

You're welcome.

Mobile 155

Just stop it. You are making me smile.

tandempower

No, that's a sarcastic trivialization of the real quality of interactions with trees. Try watching Passengers and note how it feels when the tree shows up on the spaceship, and how it is when the rest of the passengers wake up and see the fully-grown tree after 90 years.

badger1

IT ... WAS ... AND IS ... A ... JOKE ... an attempt to introduce a little light-heartedness into the otherwise depressing, incoherent miasma that you -- yes, you -- have single-handedly managed to convert, and subvert, this poor sub-forum into, by appropriating it as your own, personal, blog-space.

That you are utterly incapable of seeing that is the point.

Bye for now

badger1

See posts #12 and 13

Mobile 155

Ah now I see it. You cannot make fun of an idea that is promoted by a movie about space and trees. Let me put my serious face back on...

There we can return everyone to the programed content.

tandempower

It's not innocent humor but vitriole. The idea is resonant with the most hateful use of the label, 'tree hugger.' The message is to ridicule the love of trees as somehow a displaced libidinal attraction, which is supposed to be directed toward human relationships. It's very Freudian and narrowly humanistic, where social-relationality is reserved for humans with humans and everything non-human is regarded as a mere object, background scenery for human interactions.

As for me turning the forum into a personal blog space, that's just rude. Anyone can respond to any post and/or post threads. If you dislike me or the content of my posts, that doesn't mean you have to accuse me of being too present in the forum and thus imply that I should shrink or go away completely.

tandempower

I would appreciate and even share this humor with someone if I knew they didn't seriously hold the view that there was something wrong, stupid, or misplaced about loving trees. The problem is that it represents a serious form of ridicule couched as humor. Humanism is a real problem, where people have a real ego-defense reaction when environmentalists or others suggest that it's possible to appreciate non-human entities as much or more than human beings.

Think about the people who took what I said about human consciousness being special and challenged me by mentioning animal consciousness also being special. What if I had reacted in an ego-defensive humanist way and ridiculed them as loving cats more than people? What if I had told them that if they think feline consciousness is so special, why don't they marry a cat or adopt a cat as a child, etc.? That would be more than just humor, it would be ridicule subtly aimed at putting them down for appreciating cats instead of discriminating against cats in favor of praising humans.

Don't you see that goes beyond humor?

Machka 

https://media.giphy.com/media/DVB6kIirLxgfm/giphy.gif

tandempower

And you accuse me of hijacking threads with off-content posts?

Machka 

Didn't you want to talk about socialising with animals?

tandempower

More so as part of 'sociality in motion,' i.e. interactions with strangers in public as you're getting around, but I guess if this is an earnest contribution to the thread, then I should respect and appreciate it.

Do you encounter many cats when you go out biking or walking then? I once tried to put my cat in my cargo basket but she jumped right back out. I was reminded of it the other day when I saw someone with a little dog in their basket. I think dogs are happier bike passengers for some reason. They also like barking and running along when you bike by them, I've noticed. Cats watch, but it's hard to tell if there is any love in them the way there is with dogs. I make purring noises at them sometimes to see how they respond.

badger1

qed

Walter S

It's all deadly serious. If you don't understand the detailed etiquette that goes with posting on the TP blog (formally BF LCF) watch out!

tandempower

How many people do you think you can recruit into your anti-TP crusade? What's your ultimate objective? To drive me off the forum or just get me to submit to your ethic of not saying what other people should do and what would otherwise be good?

Walter S

To live long and prosper