Voices

We released our endorsements last week, and—quelle surprise!—some people weren’t happy with them. This week, we’ll publish responses to our endorsement of Elizabeth Warren for president.

The Third Place

In praise of the community spaces that make cities what they are

BY CHIKA GUJARATHI backtalk@indyweek.com

We’ll begin with JACKSON ROSS CURTIS: “I’m in my mid-thirties and have never been interested in politics. This is undeniably an age of cynicism and to a large degree an age of passive non-engagement. As you stated in your endorsement of Warren, Bernie is relying on a grassroots revolution to pass sweeping legislation. He’s doing this by exciting people like me. The part that wasn’t explicitly said in your endorsement is that Warren is more of a centrist than Bernie, thus her legislation will likely get more Republican support. Why the fuck should any progressive want to pass more centrist, establishment legislation that has only ever fucked the working class and benefited the elite 1 percent?

“This is at the heart of Bernie’s campaign: We deserve a happy life. We should not have to compromise for the things we deserve. This includes kowtowing to corporatists, centrists, conservatives, or anyone else whose interests aren’t the people’s interests. The divided Washington you speak of is not just Republican against Democrat. The greater divide is that of grifter shills in both parties and the politicians who answer to the people. In other words, there are Democrats who do not have working-class interests at heart. Do not ‘Vote Blue No Matter Who.’ This is why I support Bernie Sanders.” PATRICIA SHAW wants us to reconsider Warren for an altogether different reason: “She’s a good woman. I like her and many of her views, and I feel the same way about Bernie, Pete, and even Joe, but none of them can beat Trump. Beating Trump is paramount in this election. He’s a dangerous man, and we must beat him.

“Mike Bloomberg is the only man who can do it. He’s a decent man, with a decent past. (Shame on you for bringing up his once approval of stopand-frisk laws. He apologized, he realized he hadn’t given it enough thought, he just wanted to lower the too-high crime rates in NYC. Elizabeth Warren, on the other hand, lied about being part-Native American in order to obtain minority perks in her application to college.)

“Either don’t endorse anyone or endorse Mike Bloomberg—because he’s the only person who can beat Trump.”

WANT TO SEE YOUR NAME IN BOLD? indyweek.com backtalk@indyweek.com @IndependentWeekly @indyweek

During the early 2000s, when I was an undergrad at UNC-Chapel Hill, Raleigh wasn’t on my shortlist of hangouts. I knew the area around N.C. State, which usually warranted the rare trip to Raleigh in the first place. Beyond that, I never found a compelling reason to revisit. So, almost 15 years later, when my husband suggested that we leave Chicago to make the City of Oaks our new home, my first thought was still grounded in that tainted opinion. I quickly blurted out, “What the heck is there to do in Raleigh?”

There are several ways that living in a big city can spoil you. But first and foremost, in my opinion, are its third places. A phrase coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg in the late 1990s in his book The Great Good Place, a third place is a place between home (first place) and work (second place) where a community can easily come together to mingle, relax, and get inspired.

Third places are low on personal investment. You don’t need to dress up, or drive long distances, or pay a lot of money. They allow you to make last-minute plans with friends. They provide a space that is inclusive for all types of people of all backgrounds and ages. Basically, third places share art, beauty, and community equally to anyone who shows up.

One of the best-known examples of a third place in Chicago is Millennium Park, where my friends and I used to meet up with nothing more than a picnic blanket and have a lot of good conversations. Some days, we’d catch a free performance by an artist we couldn’t otherwise afford, but most of the time, we just lazily lingered, talked, and enjoyed the good weather. These rituals only intensified once we became parents because, as it turns out, kids love third places, too (and you don’t need to clean your home to see your friends). The patchwork of picnic blankets would grow in size, each of us bringing whatever we could to share.

My initial hesitation at the thought of moving to Raleigh was really me wondering how much of this experience I would be able to replicate here. The answer has been slowly unraveling in these last four or so years. In many ways, I’ve been amazed at how easily I’ve kept up with my love for the arts and theater in Raleigh and the greater RTP area (actually more than what I managed in Chicago). I also feel like I have enjoyed more fancy meals here than back in the day. I am a proud Raleighite by all means. And in terms of third places, I’ve found a lot of joy and comfort now that Moore Square Park and Transfer Co. Food Hall have opened downtown. Still, with all of the development going on, I think we all deserve more than just a couple of options. I am

“Third places are low on personal investment. You don’t need to dress up, or drive long distances, or pay a lot of money.”

curious to know how you all feel about the choices you have in your neighborhoods. What are your favorite third places, and why are they important to you?

Years after the publication of his book, Oldenburg wrote in a 2014 New York Times column that “Joyful association in the public domain is far better than watching television in our lifeless subdivisions.”

I still love my TV more than Oldenburg might approve, but I do hope that city planners spend more time considering not just how many mixed-use condos and office buildings to accommodate, but also community spaces that allow the likes of me to spend more time with my friends—without having to clean my home. •

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