Over the past couple of weeks, Matt (N0YNT) and I have taken a critical look at the social and philosophical underpinnings of the amateur radio hobby, the barriers to a vibrant future, and the potential that exists. While we are always more comfortable with technical solutions, the real challenge lies in social solutions. The antiquated model places responsibility for the social aspect on clubs, but that's been an exceptional failure. That model was premised on a homogeneous society, strong conformist tendencies, and a technological relevance that no longer exists.
The very definition of what amateur radio is has become contentious and hazy. Again and again, we find the hobby being defined -- unquestioningly and presumptively -- as HF operation. Everything else is dismissed as either a distraction or as a mere stepping-stone to HF operation.
It is axiomatic that everyone who obtains a licence hungers to get on HF. Of course, some are just too 'dim' or insufficiently 'serious' to make that dream a reality. Others have made poor choices, such as living in a residential situation that precludes large HF antennae. It's regrettable and a bit sad, but the existence of these "failures" merely serves to prove what hams already 'know': that they are superior to the vast majority.
For many, in fact, it is this exclusivity that defines the social aspect of the hobby. Much like an exclusive country club or fraternal organisation did "back in the day", amateur radio allows the worthy to associate with "the right sort". The universally-accepted revulsion that so many hams express towards CB is not based, in large part, on the chaotic and inefficient practices of the operators there. Instead, it's based on the "common" nature of those operators. They completely failed to surmount even the most trivial of obstacles. It's open to anyone, so there is no status to be obtained in associating with them. Amateur FM is simply a way to get you past the bouncer at the door, where you are then able to lay the groundwork for your accession to the VIP lounge.
This is -- unconsciously, at least -- accepted as indisputable truth among many of the older operators. And it's a self-effacing truth, as well. Those that don't find this premise attractive leave the hobby, and only those that accept it tend to remain. We can include the numbers of the "rejects" to bolster our pre-conceived notions, while pointing to those that remain as 'proof' that this exclusivity is "working".
Those that aren't steeped in this archaic model merely want to meet new and interesting people, engage in conversation, and find camaraderie. Others want to tinker and explore. The radio is a means to an end, not the end itself. This is a crucial distinction between the two models.
While the self-supporting delusion of the adherents to the old model is a formidable barrier, it's important to realise that these people see themselves as "the good guys". They don't see themselves as 'elitists', or even as irrelevant. In their minds, they are completely accepting. Some people just aren't "the right sort", after all. Many are willing to make (fitful, clumsy, and condescending) efforts to assimilate new-comers that are 'promising'. And, over the course of a decade or more, their tutelage could very well turn the new-comer into a "real" ham. It's the least that they can do; to "give back" to the hobby that they love.
Even the surliest operator sees themselves as providing a valuable "education", and as upholding the (nebulous) "standards" that will keep the hobby going into the future. Even the most fossilised club is absolutely open to newcomers. They just have to be "the right sort", know their "place", and embrace the archaic model without question. What's wrong with that? They will even help these new-comers "fit in" and advance to the VIP lounge of HF operation. The hobby can be confusing, but they will helpfully point the way to the most "worthwhile" activities and provide access to those with the highest "status". They are doing their part to keep the hobby alive.
Combined with the self-supporting delusional mentality discussed earlier, this "good guy" status makes it extremely difficult to address the behaviour of the "bad actors" in the community. Since everybody is a good guy, the jerks and those incapable of actual conversation are simply misunderstood. The new-comer just has to understand that, and adjust their own behaviour and expectations accordingly. Calling out your fellow good guy on his behaviour and attitudes is uncomfortable. Dismissing the new-comer as "the wrong sort" is much easier and serves to reinforce the status of good guys beset by clueless idiots that need to be "weeded out" of the hobby. There's plenty more where that new guy came from, after all.
From the perspective of the newcomer, these "good guys" are offering a hamburger to a vegetarian, and they expect humble gratitude in return. These "good guys" seemingly hold themselves to no standards whatsoever, yet are quite zealous in holding others to mysterious, arcane, and completely situational standards. There is no regard for the new-comer as an individual -- only as raw material to be moulded into a cog in a scripted machine of tedious and vacuous conversation. The licence exam was only the merest first step in a much more arduous social examination that is not only continual, but offers nothing of value if you are successful.
At the root of all of this is the definition of amateur radio itself. There are multiple aspects of the hobby that those immersed in it are absolutely incapable of seeing, and that they struggle to ignore. As hams, we focus on the technical aspects, because those are often the easiest to address. We put up repeaters and strive to improve coverage, as if operators will emerge from the ether to populate them if we are truly deserving. The social aspect is contrived with nets, contests, and "DX". It's like putting up a chain of restaurants with theme nights and trivia contests while neglecting the menu. And then we set aside a few VIP tables for the best customers to sit at as they munch their wilted salads and dry steaks.
I've said this before, but ham radio is based on obsolete technology. You won't attract people to the hobby on a technological basis, but you most certainly can attract people on a social basis. Why do people go to bars, for example, when they can drink more cheaply and safely at home? To socialise. People have food at home, yet they go to restaurants because they offer something different without the work involved.
We live in a world of abundant and efficient communication. Ham radio can't compete on the basis of cost, distance, and simplicity. It can compete on content, however. When you travel to another city, you have a ready-made world of people to talk with. Sure, you can dial random numbers on your cell-phone and see if anyone who answers is up for a chat, but ham radio is tailor-made for that sort of thing. You can find out local information or meet new people. You can connect to people in your own community, build friendships, and explore common interests. You don't have to go to the work of finding them, because they are already there on the air.
None of this has anything to with status, or rubbing elbows with an elite of "good guys". It may seem incredibly "common". We may have already "weeded out" the best prospects for making such a model viable, in fact. But putting new drapes up in the VIP lounge of the Elks Club isn't going to turn things around.
Again, it all comes back to how you define the hobby. If you define the hobby in terms of the thirty year-old model, then enjoy the ride downhill. As Matt pointed out, bowing to the demographic tide has its advantages. It would be an opportunity to re-make the hobby from the flotsam and jetsam of the inevitable collapse, and perhaps even to incorporate new technologies.
But, if you do decide to pursue this course of decline, because it's easier than questioning your own delusions and false premises, will you be remembered as a "good guy" by those that remain, and by those new-comers that take your place, once the hobby has been aired out of your 'elite' odor?
2 comments:
If the local 2M scene is expected to live, conversations need to be something about more than what radio/antenna you're using. So many repeaters in the metro, and only two or three are what I consider to be even slightly active (BTW... whatever happened to the Blowtorch??? As of late, that repeater is as dead as Dillinger.) Any time someone does get on the air (especially if they're new), it takes less than 30 seconds until the conversation is steered exclusively to radios. Bo-ring. Talking about radios can be interesting, but if that's all anyone really wants to talk about, what's the point? As hinted at in the article, no one purchases a new iPhone only to start calling others with iPhones to talk about their iPhones. I just don't get it.
I agree completely, Dustin.
Low activity is always caused by *other* people, it seems. I get discouraged, too, when I spend 30 minutes throwing out my sign and no one responds.
The .425, I think, evaporated because everyone there found other places or put up their own repeaters. It was also the fear of running into Norm or Frank that kept people away, too. It's tough to hold people together like that, and whenever you get a "scene" going some other group is going to try to poach your crowd to save their own fading scene. In a sense, it was a collection of misfits, and acceptance was dangled by other groups.
I don't think that any of us fully appreciated what we had there. Nothing like that exists now.
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