Cognitive dissonance

Change is in the air, yet many still refuse to embrace it

Some days ago, I watched Christopher Nolan’s mesmerizing new science-fiction film, “Interstellar.”

The new movie, from the iconoclastic director of “Inception,” “Memento” and an inspired “Batman” trilogy, is grim—and sometimes depressing as hell. But it’s also a lyrical, visually stunning meditation on imagination, the human spirit and American psychology.

The two-sided, schizoid-like element in Nolan’s new flick is a fitting description of Tulsa at the end of 2014. We have enormous energy, real entrepreneurial power and a resilient population. But our town is often highly resistant to changes in city planning, social innovation, engagement in issues of race and class and embracing “outsiders”—openness that’s propelling other communities forward. We are missing out, and we risk becoming real laggards if we don’t tune in.

What are some of our immediate challenges? What hot-button issues are galvanizing activists, politicos and active Tulsans?

The immigration moment

If President Obama’s widely anticipated executive order to shield millions of illegal immigrants from deportation and grant work permits to many of them would affect millions of families in the U.S. Tulsa Public Schools, our workplaces and our company start-up rate have been altered dramatically by the infusion of tens of thousands of Hispanic folks into T-Town over the past decade. While some Tulsans see this influx as problematic, others see this sea change—righteously in my book—as an opportunity for grand, energizing developments. Tulsans have an opportunity to welcome the thousands of folks who’ve lived here, in the shadows, for many years. The moral, socially positive and economically useful thing would be to welcome these folks with open arms and all the goodwill and positive energy we can evince.

I spoke recently with Bill Wynn, managing editor of La Semana, the Tulsa-based bilingual weekly. Wynn said that the biggest barrier to turning this quiet revolution into a wholly positive thing is that all of our state’s federal officials and our governor have manifested monolithic opposition to the president’s initiative. It’s counterproductive to what could be a big boost to state and local interests. Hispanic folks in this community and elsewhere have demonstrated enormous entrepreneurial zeal, an outsized work ethic and tremendous adaptability. These are elements that we can use to spark Tulsa’s economy and augment our social and cultural trajectory as the century rolls on.

To do otherwise would be foolish in the extreme.

The great sidewalk tussle

A roiling controversy is stewing over a proposed eastside walkway leading to the Gathering Place park on Riverside Drive. At issue is whether our mayor and City Council are committed to the core principles of PlaniTulsa— the impetus for a new focus on connectivity, neighborhood walkability and mixed-use development. 

PlaniTulsa, which reworked Tulsa’s old-hat zoning, land use and development guidelines, resulted from a deep, democratic, local engagement of the time, energy, imagination, and aspirations of thousands of Tulsans. The commitments that emerged from PlaniTulsa aren’t legally binding, but they should have great moral influence on elected officials, community leaders and homeowners near the Gathering Place. These stakeholders appear to have ignored this weight, and the vision has taken some major hits this year. 

Part of the intensity of this fight is the cringe-worthy nature of the response, so far, by Mayor Dewey Bartlett, who canceled plans for the sidewalk after protests from residents with whom the mayor has business ties. The sidewalk contretemps is a big test—a public forum on the topic is scheduled for Nov. 24 at the Tulsa Garden Center, 2435 S. Peoria Ave.

The Ferguson spark

The Ferguson, Mo., grand jury charged with ascertaining officer Darren Wilson’s culpability in the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown is likely to come to a decision shortly. As it happens, the grand jury proceedings in Ferguson have leaked a lot in recent weeks, and the betting outcome is that Wilson will not be indicted.

This outcome will precipitate a whole series of large-scale demonstrations, civil disobedience actions and simple protests in Missouri and elsewhere. But a major takeaway concerns the future of policing everywhere in America—the evolution of police/community engagement, racial profiling and a whole series of equity issues that are also very much in play in Tulsa. Green Country has a reputation as a place that has sometimes been at the forefront of social innovation—our early involvement in aviation, seminal role in energy, the voluntary school integration plan and the magnet school initiative are singular examples. And while the Tulsa Police Department under Chief Chuck Jordan has been active with community forums on some of these issues, the “Ferguson moment” is an opportunity for T-Town to reconsider policing—and not just in trivial ways.

A community policing program—getting more Tulsa cops out of cars, increasing beat-centric patrols, more on-bike presence, foot patrols, Segway-supported neighborhood beats and other efforts that will create more active engagement, particularly in black and Hispanic neighborhoods—really needs to be a big part of policing in Tulsa. Again, Jordan and others such as Tulsa writer and activist Hannibal Johnson, have made a start on these fateful reworks. But we need a fervent effort to forestall the kind of catastrophe that occurred in Ferguson and, more importantly, a re-imagining that can optimize Tulsa’s social prospects. Some kind of police/citizen oversight process, a formal one, would also help improve the interplay between the police department, the sheriffs operation and Tulsa neighborhoods that have been sometimes traumatized by overreactions by TPD and the continuing local legacy of our society’s failed war on drugs. Another very tangible initiative, adoption of so-called body-borne video (now in increasing use by major metro police departments) deserves a big look. The notion is conceptually simple: Tulsa cops would wear small video cameras that would record every police encounter of any consequence. 

The evidence from tryout cities like Denver is fascinating: in the multi-month demonstration in the Mile High City, body-borne video has dramatically reduced the number of complaints against cops and the number of irregular/brutal encounters between citizens and cops. Body-borne video is an enormous step in the direction of radical transparency in policing and something that a community with a checkered racial and social history could really use.

Let’s get with it.

For more stories like this, check out Ray's takes on parks and walkability and Voice editor Molly Bullock's coverage of the proposed outlet mall on Turkey Mountain.