Read an interesting article in a "migration politics" course about why people don't move (discussing how not moving tends to be a major blind spot in discussing the politics of migration of people). It occurs to me that we could try to sketch out (as dickmalone did a while back) reasons why people DON'T listen, and -- maybe as importantly -- why we (1) assume other people aren't listening (usually more accurately: "why [group] aren't and shouldn't be listening"), (2) don't listen ourselves (Frank, why don't you read cat mysteries again? I feel like this is a subgenre I could get behind!), and (3) both the benefits and detriments to conversation that result in how we filter things out, based on what we've chosen to ignore and why.
(1) I assume most of my classmates aren't listening to Ashlee Simpson. (However, I think they should; they tend to think I should not, or at least that it's odd that I do.) (2) I do not listen to smooth jazz. (3) In case (1), not listening tends to be a detriment. They take my logic for (2) (I listen to OTHER jazz and can hear the difference; I know that it's catered to "easy listening" listeners, meaning it's intended to recede into the background and I prefer to listen actively (this is why I don't particularly care if I hear it in an elevator but wouldn't listen to it in my stereo) and then apply my logic inappropriately to Ashlee. I know this because I've listened -- but the only context most people have for Ashlee is "easy listening," as "Pieces of Me" is for the most part a contemporary "soft rock" ballad (because what's interesting in it requires context and isn't just happening in the music itself).
Why People Don't Listen (revisited)
(1) I assume most of my classmates aren't listening to Ashlee Simpson. (However, I think they should; they tend to think I should not, or at least that it's odd that I do.)
(2) I do not listen to smooth jazz.
(3) In case (1), not listening tends to be a detriment. They take my logic for (2) (I listen to OTHER jazz and can hear the difference; I know that it's catered to "easy listening" listeners, meaning it's intended to recede into the background and I prefer to listen actively (this is why I don't particularly care if I hear it in an elevator but wouldn't listen to it in my stereo) and then apply my logic inappropriately to Ashlee. I know this because I've listened -- but the only context most people have for Ashlee is "easy listening," as "Pieces of Me" is for the most part a contemporary "soft rock" ballad (because what's interesting in it requires context and isn't just happening in the music itself).