Student Feedback on the State of the Public Sphere in Harris County, Texas and Houston

I asked my students (my teachers) today what they've learned so far in this summer course on public sphere rhetoric. Some held their heads down -- because they've learned nothing? -- because they've not yet learned to speak up? -- because they don't believe in public rhetoric? -- because of their own insecurities? I don't know. Most of the responses below came from five students.

1. Their authorities take no responsibility for communicating with the stakeholders 
2. Authoritative texts too difficult to locate; language often inappropriately difficult for public to use 
3. Lack of sufficient documentation and literature reflects authorities' apathy towards public engagement  
4. Our own lack of knowledge about the power structures increases both our and their apathy 
5. Public fails to recognize problems because we have been habituated to "learned helplessness" 
6. Public notices but feel powerless because we've been taught we can't change anything 
7. A Race and class -- minorities taught to accept invisibility  
8. B Teachers tell minorities to be invisible.  
9. C Discipline culture silences youth which leads to silenced adults.  
10. Non-English speakers have to work more than English-speakers to get involved  
11. Re: #7.A -- it's not that we're taught NOT to act, but that we're NOT TAUGHT to act. 
12. Unless we have money in Harris County, no one listens  
13. Americans are stuck in their own hole -- they know nothing about the world around them and what entertains them  
14. American "pride" more prominent in Texas (see "rhetoric of Texas")  
15. No Child Left Behind -- waste of energy, money 
16. Government creates distractions to keep people from noticing, getting involved.  
17. Students don't feel "American" enough and this leads to silence. (This needs more definition/clarification) 

Interestingly, most of those who spoke up are also Black -- only one Latino contributed. That itself says worlds, I think. I'll have to come back to that another time.

Of course, I first have to reflect on this and ask myself if somehow I've poisoned the well with my own cynicism, that their perspectives have become negative because of my own disappointments with Texas politics. But -- reading this list carefully -- we see that few of them actually would apply to the white Anglo-Saxon Protestant guy when encountering other (mostly) WASPS in Harris County, including the Constables and the Commissioners Court.

Harris County Commissioners Court, 2014

But the narratives coming from the students as they attempt to gather information from the multiple jurisdictions demonstrate that this list represents their actual experiences, not interpreted through me. One Latina writes:

While contacting my authorities, to find out how many cops patrol my area for my concern about my neighborhood safety, [the] Precinct Constable transferred me to three different people before they could tell me “I am sorry we do not have the answer to your question, you will need to dial the Humble police.” I asked the Humble police department the same question, “...about how many police officers do you have patrolling Cypresswood Point in the Humble area?” There was an awkward silence, finally the lady responded, “Sorry, we do not have that information; you will need to call the Harris department of sheriffs.” Once again, I made another call with the same question and the response this time was “That area is part of Precinct 4, you will need to contact them.” I explained to them I already contacted Precinct 4 and I got transferred so many times I ended up with them. She gave me a different number that connected straight to the Precinct patrols. Finally, at the end of all these calls I found out that Precinct 4 has a total of four hundred officers, but only one up to four cops’ patrol [area] is made up of I-45 all the way to U.S. 59. If I had to be transferred to all those different people for one question it makes me wonder, is this rhetoric of ignorance? That no one wanted to take responsibility to answer my question. After all, we are not as safe as we think we are.

Harris County Constable Precinct Map -- Constable Hickman is responsible for Precinct 4

Notably, so many of the students' comments -- reflecting, again, what they've learned so far during the course -- demonstrate how local culture affects a person's sense of rhetorical efficacy:
#4 -- students feel that they've been deprived of real education up to this point to engage with the state (read: the political community)
#5 -- they feel that because the state ignores some issues, that the local community learns that the state will not respond to any issues.
#6 -- the community rhetoric, based on #5, expands to teach each other that they are helpless, powerless, voiceless
#7 -- per Gramsci, the hegemonic structure uses its institutions to instill apathy in its citizens, to replicate its own power structure by disempowering the majority
#8 -- Non-speakers of the "Standard American English" have to work harder to find responses to their public issues than "SAE" speakers; this becomes ludicrous in a county like Harris with its enormous Hispanic population.
#10 -- money talks. We know this, but the students are seeing how class and economic status directly affects not only the creation and distribution of necessary texts and civil discourse, but also defines access to the state
#13 and #16 -- a rhetorical situation has been created and maintained to keep Americans (et al) distracted from real concerns -- the very concerns that would improve their local communities and improve their way of life in simple ways. 

#17 -- discussing what "American" means needs to wait for another day, as my teachers are still debating this in class and on-line.

Overall, we see a rhetorical ecology in the Harris County area (at least the Aldine/Spring area of the county) where private citizens (and non-citizens) have accepted their impotence and too quickly accept the mediocre and incompetent silence from their public servants. Instead of a real public sphere, we find ourselves within a sphere of rhetorical opacity -- instead of clearly defined and responsive lines of communication and information, they've learned the hard lesson that what we have is nothing like the ideal democracy they were taught so much in secondary school. The emblems that they were taught to revere and the state they represent are beginning to lose their luster.

So I left the class depressed, partly because of the lack of participation from most of the students, but also because of the participation without results of some of the students. They're learning that the bureaucracy doesn't fear them. But it should.

“People shouldn't be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people.” ― Alan Moore, V for Vendetta

Just once, I would love my students to all come to class wearing Guy Fawkes masks. Just once.