What should we be talking about more?
Just figuring out how to take care of each other.
Evan Morrison, 43, Executive Director, People First of Santa Cruz County
I would say how to get more of our housing into the hands of locals and not people who don’t live in Santa Cruz.
Lauren Lemon, 34, Artist/Musician
We should be talking about the real problems instead of cute distractions. It always reminds me of “the orphan-crushing machine” meme that frames a systemic problem as a heartwarming story— “A hero rescued 12 orphans from the orphan-crushing machine”—and nobody asks, “Why is there an orphan-crushing machine?”
Jenny Penner, 43, Paralegal at Legal Aid Society
Let’s talk about how social etiquette has decreased and people have stopped being mindful enough of others. You go somewhere that’s a community space and people don’t treat it as something that’s for everyone. Everyone’s in their own shell.
Henry S, 24, Sales
Globally, we’re not trying to communicate positively with each other. We’re still in an adversarial place of demanding, ‘This is mine’ and ‘I win, you lose,’ instead of building a resilient community for things to come.
Linda Cover, 81, Artist @ River Studio, Tannery Arts Center
I’d say how people are living too much in their own bubbles, and how people choose to ignore what’s going on in the world. I know people who actively go out of their way to not read the news every day. But I think it’s important because it keeps you grounded in reality.
Alexis Hernandez, 21, barista and cognitive science major, UCSC
