Here's the thing...

...and I'll concede that for 'some' of the dissident/engaged/citizen intelligentsia in the city, what I have to say –and the way in which I say it– just has them turning away...

...but in the end, as Einstein said, 'The definition of 'insanity' is to keep doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result.'

So my point is this:

It's not enough to have article-after-article on Raise the Hammer examining 'walkability'. You know, the 'two-way vs one-way' discussion. Or to me what comes down to 'livability'. 

And it's not enough to have some Spec articles, and op-eds at urbanicity and posts at CBC Hamilton. 

I'm not saying they're 'bad'. Just that they're not enough. 

One of the problems with being passionate about a 'cause' is that you risk taking on this attitude of 'Everyone places as much importance on this as I do!'. Which in most situations, they don't. 

I see it all the time on our community blogs. People get energized about something, there are all kinds of exchanges taking place within that forum...and suddenly, it's assumed that there's this consensus, this sea change in attitude, this massive swell of activism moving out across the surface of the city...

In almost all cases, that's simply not true. 

In fact, that assumption is kindasorta resembles delusion. 

Recently, I saw it with the ward boundary review petition initiative. And you could say it was there during the PanAm Games Stadium Site Selection process. And in the HWDSB imbroglio...and I'm worried that it's going to happen with 'walkable streets'. 

I'm not saying that people don't agree with the above causes as they were presented by RTH and others. What I am saying that it is a) dangerous to assume that you've got broad-based support using insular jingoism, comment numbers and site hits as your references when you've got a city of over half-a-million people, b) foolish to believe that any effort that doesn't generate a 'critical mass' (and I'll define this in a minute) is automatically going to provide a mandate for councillors to act upon, and c) unwise to forget the words of a very smart man: "It's not enough to be right."

'Critical mass'? This is the point at which councillors feel 'pressure' to not only listen, but to act on the consensus being presented them. It doesn't have to be 'everyone', and it doesn't necessarily have to be 'the majority'. It has to be a degree of support that indicated that what's being proposed isn't the stuff of a 'special interest' group. Because they believe –rightly or wrongly– that these sorts are not the ones that get them re-elected. Councillors want to feel supported. They crave approval, no matter how dour or poker-faced they may seem to make out. And if you're talking about fundamental change, then this 'critical mass' has to be far more than articles and op-eds and videos. 

The other thing attached to all this is 'presentation'. There is a tendency when 'selling' notions that veer from the status quo to 'get it so wrong in trying to get it so right'. In other words, the perceived arrogance and dismissiveness of Those Wanting Change. 

All fine and dandy for blog posts. Not so much when you're trying to get those who are generally detached from all this, or ambivalent...or who really don't like being told how they should look at things, to see the light. (Yes, given the feelings of some towards my stridency, I get how ironic it is for me to be saying this.)

Here's my belief: In order to get any change of any substance effected in Hamilton, you have to:

'Think outside the blog.'

You have to get onto the streets (I'm not talking about protest here.), you have to get into the neighbourhoods, you have to get dialogue and discourse and discussion going in the communities themselves, and effectively seduce the masses into considering another way, a better way. You have to effectively sell your cause by promoting the idea that people should feel more compelled to care about issues like 'livability', inspire them by way of engagement with each other, by way of feelings of increased empowerment that there's something at stake worth fighting for, and that they can join in the fight and be part of the process. After all, it's their city, too.

Nothing new here. I've said it before here, on Town Halls Hamilton, and at Hamilton Neighbourhood Associations. And I'll keep saying it, and moving towards providing a better contribution to the general endeavour. Much to the expected chagrin of the naysayers and huffing malcontents. 

"That's not news, but that too, is reality."

M Adrian Brassington