[NLA] Tom Sticht's Democracy

[KathleenBombach@aol.com]

Ref Tom Sticht's analysis of discussion list postings:

The lists that have greater moderator participation, fewer messages, and less 
'democracy' in the postings are lists I value. I want to thank the moderators 
for their effort, research, and information-sharing with us that we might not 
otherwise be exposed to. 

Since those of us on these lists, like technology, women, and poverty/race, 
may very likely already agree with the stances taken by other posters, we may 
be less inclined to respond. But that does not mean that we are less 
interested and involved in the content of the lists.

My thanks to Daphne, Mary Ann, Emily, and others for the work they do, since 
there is an implied (or maybe I just inferred) criticism inherent in Tom's 
posting that the lists they moderate are less 'democratic'. 

I know that I have made a conscious effort to reduce my list postings on the 
NLA and ESL lists because of the rather passionate discussion two years ago 
on the dominance of postings by a handful of people over issues that some 
felt were arcane or not directly related to the express purpose of the lists' 
creators and sponsors. My name was mentioned, along with George Demetrion, 
Catherine King, Andres Muro, and others. I could argue that these lists, 
which are also the more active lists, are less 'democratic' now because the 
free flow of ideas has been reduced. 

Numbers of participants do not equal 'democracy': witness countries that have 
an astounding 97-98 percent voting participation rate. If the same ideas are 
repeated by a large number of people, what we may have is the reification of 
one ideology over all others, which 'corporatizes' our practice. No matter 
the volume of messages, their content is reduced to a handful of ideas. Other 
voices with different beliefs and contrary experiences are stilled. 

The initial reason a list is created will naturally change over time as the 
participants 'vote' on the topics they wish to discuss through the content of 
their postings. It is like giving birth to a child: you know what you intend 
for your child, but you also know that your child will take on a life of its 
own; even do and say things you do not agree with. The knowledge base of the 
participants also changes over time as we simply learn more and are exposed 
to different ideologies, arguments, and information. Discussions will become 
more wide-ranging and sophisticated, and minds may be changed.

This does make it difficult for newbies to become integrated into list 
discussions, and that is a problem which must be addressed. But reducing 
discussions to the lowest common denominator is also a problem as simple 
boredom and repetition set in, other ideas and ideologies are not 
acknowleged, and an artificial consensus is created. It is a 'groupthink' 
phenomenon that does not serve us in the long run. 

For those of us who are not part of the New England literacy 'cliques' and 
cannot attend all the conferences, meet face to face, argue, debate, and 
develop strong likes and dislikes for each other, we are denied an important 
look into the underground tensions, conflicts, and foundational issues that 
exist in the literacy world. We are given the sanitized version after these 
debates have taken place, rather than being full participants from the beginn
ing. Of course, there is a plus side to this--those of us who live in flyover 
country tend to like everyone and take everyone at face value when we meet, 
read articles, and attend presentations. We simply have less baggage to lug 
around, which is a psychological blessing.
 
I think that the homogenization of postings on the lists is a problem of the 
first magnitude. One of the topics we avoid is African-American literacy. I 
consider black literacy issues to be the 'big empty spot' in our literacy 
world map. I grew up in the south, but live on the border. I have no 
practice-based experience in black literacy but my southern heritage 
(Southerners always have heritage; we are never just from somewhere. Even 
white trash like me and my kinfolk appropriate the heritage of the upper 
classes of the south as though it were our own, so strong is the racial 
divide.) tells me that it is intrinsic to the most crucial divide in America. 
When does black literacy become an essential part of our literacy worldview? 

There are other 'big empty spots' on our map--however discomforting, we do 
ourselves no favor by ignoring their existance. To do it in the name of 
'democracy' is a sin.

Kathleen Bombach
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