Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Third Place-- Leveler?

After our class discussion.. I feel that there are many places that are deemed to be "third places" where they are levelers and the "clientelle" are are supposedly equal, but are they? I worked at a Dunkin Donuts back home in NY for three years and every night the same man (mind you had he some problems) came in and ordered a coffee/donut. Most nights he didnt have the money to pay for them and due to his odd appearance, sat alone in his filthy clothing and no one in the store looked or talked to him (conversing being a huge portion of third places). Even though he was not banned from being inside-- is this type of establishment an equalizer? Yes, he was a regular who frequented the store for his nightly dessert but was the mood playful for him? The workers and the clients had a friendly bond with each other but from his POV, is he included in that? And yes, this was a "home away from home" for him but conversation was NOT the main activity. So for him (from the POV's of himself and of others) was this a third place for him?

As well, we discussed Social Capital on a broad scale. Going back to the aforementioned paragraph (my strange donut-eating client) did he have the abilities to network and form bonds? What defines Social Capital?-- Is it this man speaking to the people behind the counter to name drop so he could apply to work there? It is very shrouded to me as it doesnt seem that there is equal opportunity when it comes to acccessibility of Social Capital.

2 comments:

  1. I was also wondering a few things about the criteria for Third Places, and the obvious problems with them. There is so much depending on individuals as to whether a "third place" works or not, and after that whether it works to bridge or bond. You could also argue that simply having that man there, in the same place as a mom and two kids lets say, bridges the two with an experience. I think the "low profile" bullet point is ridiculous and depends totally on individuals. Just because I prefer a low profile coffee shop doesn't mean other people do.

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  2. I happened to read to the third reading for this coming week, and the narrator pointed out an interesting point in the last paragraph of the article. In essence, she pointed out that while we implement policies and expectations, not one person is perfect...i.e. there is no one that does not hold prejudice, feelings of being better than another etc., if that makes sense. Or, in other terms, no one can perfectly implement what qualities a third place should ideally be like. Therefore, the personalities of those, say working at Dunkin' Donuts, creates the atmosphere and the third place characteristics. Regulars at the store become accustomed to how the store managers and workers develop social capital. So, I don't believe any third places exist characterizing all eight bullet points given in class. Rather, third places shape to form to the given environment and those who "create" the environment.

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