My Own Imaginings

How do we imagine specific publics? Asen brings attention to the common stereotype of the welfare queen, which is the idea that certain recipients of welfare do not need it, and live somewhat  leisurely lives as a result. As a junior in the Criminology program, this is a common topic.

I began to think of other social imaginings, especially in how crime is perceived. Imagined publics are very common in crime analysis, by both society and the state. The idea that the Baltimore or Ferguson movements were filled with gang members, thieves, and anarchists is myopic. While some were looting and damaging public property, most were not. The majority of the protests were peaceful demonstrations in response to the events that occurred in each city.

The news media had very different responses, depending on the day. I am not a fan of television news, but I did see some of CNN’s coverage. While some of it was objective coverage, it often seemed that they were focusing on the criminal behavior that was occurring in each city, instead of the reason for protests and the emotions of those involved.

Politicians began to react to the imaging of these publics as violent entities, and condemned the actions. This demonstrates public imaging at its worst. When people begin to perceive a political movement no matter how pure it is at its core, as a destructive body, it begins to lose its steam. This comes at great cost to those who did not participate in the actions that are singled out by politicians and the media. 

I am beginning to examine my own imagined publics. I don’t know which ones I have yet, but upon this reflection I realize the importance of being aware of these perspectives. Hopefully thoughout the semester I will find which ones I have.