Nobody's Opinion Really Seems To Count...Here's Why!

Every reporter has that one piece, that one project, that one “simple” assignment that they take on without thinking of the challenges and roadblocks they’re about to encounter. Mostly, they’re thinking about the prestige, the professional reputation they will gain and possibly the financial gain involved in the assignment - and perhaps they even care about how that one story will open doors to other rewarding projects.

It’s sad when a simple assignment - a straight-forward project that has a beginning and end - provokes you to learn more about who you’re surrounded by and how lackadaisical they are when it comes to their community.

I recently took on the Canarsie Courier’s weekly column: “What’s Your Opinion.” It’s a fun to read forum - usually compiled by different freelancers who are bold enough to hit the streets and survey residents on their opinions about certain topics. I was honored to take on this new role (if ‘honored’ sounds corny, it’s okay - I spent many years as the newspaper’s editor assigning people to ask a different opinion question every week).  This new endeavor wasn’t a problem for me socially or professionally!

So "simple" yet so opinionated!!

I was able to formulate the questions myself, as I kept the inquiries local and realistic. I mapped out the locations I would ask random people these questions. I was also prepared to show residents a published column from the week before so they could see what the finished product entailed. All I needed were a handful of people to answer a simple question and get their photo.

Great!

Those who are professionally close to me know that I’ve grown out of my shyness. I can approach anyone (who will actively respond) and I've had no problems addressing large crowds at meetings to foster a relationship between organizations and the newspaper. There’s nothing I fear about speaking to strangers. Everyone’s a stranger until you talk to them and make a connection…right?

I guess I gave myself too much credit during my second round as a roving reporter!

I planned on asking residents a simple question: How do you feel about the quality of transportation in our community? Also, what would you change about the local bus routes - or would you add a route to an under-served block/avenue? I know a lot of people are upset about transportation issues around here -so it should have been easy to obtain at least a couple good answers! 

Sadly, my attempt at trying to publicize how "outraged" people are about the MTA was brutally unsuccessful. One woman waiting for a bus at East 105th Street near Flatlands Avenue blatantly got the “no passengers” hand signal from a driver passing the stop. She was fuming.

Great! A chance to ask her what she would change about the local bus service.

“Hi miss. I’m with the local newspaper and we do a column every week surveying residents on quality of life issues. This week we want to know how you feel about the local bus service….”

“No, I can’t talk, there’s too much going on in my mind right now…” She uttered quickly, even though she clearly had plenty of time on her hands because her bus wasn’t coming. I rolled my eyes, knowing that if I mentioned the incident with this woman in the newspaper, she’d never read it because she has “too much on her mind” to care about what’s being published in her local newspaper.
  

I was also close to getting a great answer from one gentleman who was waiting for the B60 bus on Flatlands Avenue near Rockaway Parkway. He had all the right qualms for all the right reasons.

“It’s terrible! I live right there on East 86 Street and come all the way down here to get the B60 and it never comes - I wait 20 minutes for one bus!”

Wow, perfect! Of course, too perfect…He pulled the breaks on being a good candidate when I said I just needed a headshot of him to go with the statement.

“No…No..I can’t …..No..Sorry.”

No? What - is he a criminal? Is he wanted by the police and that tiny headshot in the Canarsie Courier would happen to be the ONE place authorities located him? Does he owe child support and his biggest fear is “baby mama” seeing his face plastered in a two-by-two column in the local newspaper?

I just didn’t get it - until I realized that these types of people in our community - the ones who didn’t want to have their words and face printed on paper - are the very residents who most likely don’t go to meetings, don’t want to influence change and don’t care about their community. They “have too much on their minds,” “don’t have the time” and don’t want to show their faces where/when it matters!

For all these shy/scared residents know, I could have done a full story on the quality of public transportation in the area and perhaps connected them with resources to help improve bus service. I felt like saying, “Well, you know why the bus service is so horrible? Because people like you don’t want to have their voices heard or their faces accounted for!”

I did finally get my answers from people I knew in the community and those who weren’t ashamed to tell me what needed improvement.

In the end, I didn’t care if people shoved me off - it gave me a clearer understanding of how unimportant it is for residents to express themselves to the press. It made me realize why the same familiar faces always go to civic meetings and you’ll rarely see dozens of new people at a time coming out to make a reputation for themselves in order to implement change. They're simply too afraid to be accounted for!

Let’s get real! Most people are busy or would rather hide behind social media and take “selfies” - where they’re only proud enough to show themselves to people who can’t influence change. They’re not looking to give their opinion on anything because they’re not annoyed enough or feel strong enough to show their faces. 
In my opinion, that’s an unfortunate way to operate in a small and quaint community.