Showing Up Matters

Since Koni's passing, I've been going to a lot more events than I used to. Being around people keeps me positive. And I missed a lot of events in the past five or so years because I was very busy as a caretaker, first with my parents and then with Koni. 

 

Over the past five years, there have been some times where I was grateful for virtual attendance options. Zooming in meant I could skip the drive over and the drive back, and spend that time taking care of things at home. It was just easier.

 

But did I get the same things out of virtual attendance that I would have gotten out of being physically present? Of course not. The meeting was called to order, the presentations were made, the meeting was formally adjourned, the feed ended. I had none of the little conversations you have before and after the official business, none of the relationship building and maintaining, no, "hey, let's go grab a drink" opportunities. So much less of those little things that make participation a positive experience.

 

The mindset developed in our community, toward the end of peak COVID, to an almost dogmatic level, that virtual attendance was Just As Good As in-person attendance, and that disagreeing with that premise was "ableism." I watched my friend get bullied out of the county party in part because he dared to ask that question.

 

I understand some of that. Like I said, I'm just out of a long period of caregiving. I also have a somewhat hidden disability that makes certain crowd situations, especially where there's conflict or hostility, hard (one of the many, many reasons I prefer a presidential primary over a caucus, but that's another story). We shouldn't abandon virtual options for the general public or rank and file members.

 

But leaders, in an organization or in government, have a different level of responsibility. If you're taking on a leadership role or an elected job, you owe it to everyone to show up and make yourself more available and more accessible - to everyone, not just "your" people. Yes, it's less convenient. But you made that choice when you chose to be a leader.

Nothing is an absolute, and there's good reasons and excuses. As a Sometimes thing, virtual attendance can be a useful tool.

 

There are a lot of very experienced rank and file staffers in our local government. We're the institutional memory. We know about a lot of things that aren't in our job description or even in our department. If you get to know us, you'll learn a lot.

 

But when your default mode is Virtual Is Just As Good, when you miss out on all those countless hallway interactions and opportunities for one on one conversations with the public because you're literally phoning it in, are you really doing the same job?