The Power of the Counter

From the beginning of time man has felt the need to socialize, and as time evolved this need grew. How we have Countless ways to classify how connected a person is. The overarching label that we use is called “the public” now publics confuse me. This is because public is defined as a group who are socially aware of specific events. The problem resides here, that makes the public a very limiting force.  A Public is also a self-organized group. So, does this mean that to be considered part off the public you must willing choose and be aware that you are part of it? Furthermore, who gets to defined what the organization is? To me the scary part about publics are that they are so open ended that they are able to apply to everyone. Which is not inherently bad, however it can create problems. Society has shown us that when public have issues, we can see the creation of counter publics. A counter public is when the minority voice stands up to dispute the norms of what society is saying. Counter public’s can lead to a powerful and visionary movement, which allows the invisible to come together and be recognized by society.

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In class, it was discussed how a public is the social space created by reflexive circulation of discourse. The importance can always have been seen in conversation. The public can only be positive and beneficial when all parts are aware and collaborating to bring the best to the society they serve. These spaces of open dialogue and discourse are very important for how a counter public interacts. As societal norms are naturally build around the culture we can start to develop bias, so the importance of a counter public is to make sure the society is mindful of how it comes across. The government has a very powerful system in place to act as a safeguard for the people and the public. In the same regards, we can label counter public's under the same name. checks and balances are what allow a public to thrive and grown while on the other being protected. This is the merit.