Step-By-Step

I move through Edmonton in a very orderly pattern. I always know my destination and how I plan to get there. Though there are times where this order is shaken, whether by a missed turn or wrong turn or the impossible construction detours, I tend to work my way towards the path I had planned on taking as quickly as possible. This is the case when I am both driving and walking, but is mostly a condition of my familiarity with the city. In other cities, I explore, that is, I don't know where I'm going or have a plan or path. If I knew the city I was exploring, I don't know whether or not I would follow a set path, but my guess is that I would. I have never considered moving against the city and/or have yet to feel that I move against it. I am not antagonistic, very passive. The only times I have ever considered going against the routine I described above is when I am frustrated with the conditions: traffic, construction, snow...I imagine that resisting  the flow would be somewhat futile, and in the case of driving, most likely illegal. Is it not uncomfortable to fight the circulation of a city? If I want my path to loving this city to become any more difficult, I might consider doing such things. With that said, I am starting to consider that maybe resistance would just be making the city my own and might actually facillitate my love of the city...I don't know...When I walk, I walk. When I drive, I drive.

Expectations

So far all of the expectations I had for this course have been unfulfilled and in a sense exceeded. Now...that doesn't really make a lot of sense, but I'll explain. I didn't expect that this course would have such a strong focus on the geographical aspect of text and the concepts of place and space, and in that way, my expectations for a essay based, classical literary English course have been unfulfilled. I did however find that, moving through the course, some of the experiences went beyond what I expected and exceeded what I would have expected had I expected the goings of the course thus far. In that way, expectations, which I did not have, would have been exceeded.

Experiences include:
        1. Maps (Crime Map, Sexual  Assault Map, Arcade Fire Map thing..., and Hypercities being my favourites)
       2. The talk about The Edmonton Queen, and further, meeting Mr. Hagen and hearing his response to the multitude of questions we all had)

Therefore, my suspicions, my many expectations have been exceeded and discounted, shaped and deformed, by this class. I am looking forward to the future. And the future literature. I hope my partners map isn't too far of a drive....or walk (as I think I might be out of shape...)

Conformity and the City

To say that the city reacts differently to minority groups than it has in the past would probably be to commit to a conclusion that is based on little solid fact. Sure, we have legislation in place and programs that are around to ensure a sense of equality and acceptance of diversity, but to say that these programs have put an end to the old ways of ostracizing and to the entire structure of social conformity would be false. The idea of conformity and tyranny of the 'majority', both of which are inseparable as concepts, is so entrenched in our social and institutional structure that it is hard for those of us deemed different only when compared to the 'majority' to try and commit to a pure and unaltered individuality. We care too much about what others care. Thus, taking these concepts and linking them to the condition of minority groups, and more specifically, the LGBT community, one might easily find that it is the same now as it has always been, only now we pretend like we are individuals and will respect all individuals and diversities. That is not to say that there are some of us out there who do care about individualism and diversity. But we still conform to 'majority' ideologies whether we acknowledge it or not. And the city itself plays a large part in all these ideas. The city is control. The city is a major instrument in social conformity. On your own, outside of the limits, with miles of space between you and the next, it is possible to be an individual in so much as your parents allow its facilitation.Therefore, the natural inclination of minority groups, especially those who are the most pressured by society, is to form communities, whether Underground or Above Ground. And with communities, of course, comes place or places that one goes to feel comfortable or unique or like an individual more than a pawn whose moves are not his/her own. With that said, compared to the days of Frank Oliver and the myriad other Ministers of the Interior who  systematically and purposefully brought in and promoted policy of discrimination, we have come a long way. There is no doubt in my mind that policy, especially with the advent of human rights and the subsequent charters and so forth, has tried to eliminate Canada's and Edmonton's (see Frank Oliver Tunnel, Oliver Square) past of discrimination. It can only go so far.