Read on Twitter
The understanding of the situation around #freethe9blocks was divided along pretty stark lines.
On the one hand you had a few reporters in person on the ground, in proximity to the police, and on the other you had the voices of residents, spread mostly through social media.
On the one hand you had a few reporters in person on the ground, in proximity to the police, and on the other you had the voices of residents, spread mostly through social media.
I saw a tweet reply to one such journalist that said something like "we hear the reality of things from you, but then there are all these things coming from residents that say otherwise and I don't know what to believe".
It was really telling.
It was really telling.
Take for example the first night, when the cops first came in.
Thru WhatsApp, FB & Twitter I saw a bunch of Insta/Snap vids expressing confusion, worry, anger, filmed usually from inside the blocks.
But on here I also saw reporters characterising sentiment as calm & grateful.
Thru WhatsApp, FB & Twitter I saw a bunch of Insta/Snap vids expressing confusion, worry, anger, filmed usually from inside the blocks.
But on here I also saw reporters characterising sentiment as calm & grateful.
The reporters in question may well have heard such things from residents, one said at the time that they "spoke to almost 12 people".
Now this was in the presence of police, and it was mostly at one tower.
Now this was in the presence of police, and it was mostly at one tower.
But it was widely shared as an accurate description of the sentiment of 3000 residents, and the reporter in question acquired many thousands of followers in response.
I'm not saying that it was inaccurate, I saw a bunch of posts and videos from residents but not from all 3000.
I'm not saying that it was inaccurate, I saw a bunch of posts and videos from residents but not from all 3000.
At the same time, it's pretty difficult to argue that speaking to "almost 12" residents, in the presence of police, when things were still unclear, is a great foundation for generalisation.
This trend continued, with journalists on the ground speaking to major community organisations, government departments and the police, and so getting an impression that there were some hiccups, but that things were going well.
Meanwhile from inside the blocks and from smaller organisations a completely different picture was emerging: of a response that was more concerned with punishment than health.
This divide was/is reflected by the different stances of people on the intervention, w/ those opposed (if only to the police aspect) finding ample support for their position in videos and tweets from within.
While those in favour heard good things from journos at the front gate.
While those in favour heard good things from journos at the front gate.
A lot of info online was coming from people involved in relief efforts and from FB groups/WhatsApp groups of those who had lived, have relatives who live or are currently living in one of the blocks.
These channels are/were pretty much closed off to journos standing out front of the block, one who described residents as "neighbours" because they can see towers from their study window.
That limited vision wasn't so much a product of malice as the natural narrowing of vision that comes with a mode of reporting so orientated towards speaking to "people on the ground" when people are locked away, and all interactions happen with police in hearing distance.
The best reporting and op-eds so far have come either from people in the towers, or from those who had real connections there, even when in some cases they were physically distant.
However when the baseline was from those just outside those barred doors, it produces dissonance.
However when the baseline was from those just outside those barred doors, it produces dissonance.
On the one hand you have videos of politicians delivering food in PPE, descriptions of police as "polite" and "calm", photos of neatly piled crates of food and orderly testing centres.
On the other hand you have stories of babies without access to formula, videos of police violence, despairing tweets and photos of food piled up alongside rubbish bins.
And people have been either very much one way or very much the other. The two options give that space.
And people have been either very much one way or very much the other. The two options give that space.
If you've been silly enough to follow me, you'll know where I sit on that spectrum. Even the hashtag used in the first tweet of this thread gives it away...
I'd argue that those reports coming from proximity to the police, sourced by tourists outside the blocks, skate close to propaganda in their narrow representation of both the situation and the sentiments of residents.
But if your first instinct is to trust the police and the authority of awarded journalists, then you have plenty of options to assuage your dissonance.
Anyway, this is a recent release, even if you're one of the above it's worth a read. #freethe9blocks
