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George Floyd and #NormalContact

Post author By NormalContact
Post date 2020 June 17

Right now the news isn’t full of protesting, rioting, the CHAZ/CHOP in Seattle, and more. When it comes to George Floyd and #NormalContact, we just wanted to remind you: #NormalContact has no official opinion on any of that. This is not because our volunteers don’t individually hold opinions. It’s also not that we believe that peaceful protest isn’t part of the First Amendment. It is, after all, the reason that #NormalContact can exist! (Note that #NormalContact as a movement also has no opinion on whether the protests are peaceful.)

Does that make #NormalContact racist? Lazy? Uneducated? Nope! It makes #NormalContact focused. Identity politics and a media frenzy encourage us to feel obligated to take sides on all sorts of issues. #NormalContact, on the other hand, declines that opportunity. #NormalContact stands for one (and only one) thing: we’re ok with having a normal interaction at a normal distance. This focus is core to the philosophy of #NormalContact. The issues of George Floyd and #NormalContact have zero overlap, and so we leaving that topic alone. #NormalContact as a movement avoids anything that could make it part of identity politics.

(Edit: we would like to clarify this point. No opinion is recommended by #NormalContact. That said, YOU should definitely have an opinion on the current situation. Being a normal contactor doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have an opinion. You should also expect that not all normal contactors might agree on issues like this one that are unrelated to #NormalContact.)

Race isn’t what #NormalContact is about

We’re wary of defining too many terms, but “micro movement” seems like a good one here. #NormalContact isn’t a broader movement with complex goals like Democratic Socialism or the Tea Party. It also isn’t an actual organization or company. It’s a simple idea that stays the same over time because it’s a notion of humanity. Our core humanity doesn’t change just because the news cycle did.

In many ways, #NormalContact merely defines a label in two words that otherwise would take over a dozen. It’s almost a form of slang, or an abbreviation. It’s not a political ideology, not a shelter for any particular ideology. And until normal contact is the norm again, #NormalContact will definitely be relevant and equally applicable to everyone of every color, of every political ideology.

#NormalContact administration Living a Normal Contactor life

Is #NormalContact relevant?

Post author By NormalContact
Post date 2020 June 4

Is #NormalContact relevant if the news cycle shifts? We say it is if we are still wearing masks or social distancing.

A friend asked, “Is #NormalContact relevant if the news cycle shifted to police brutality and racism (or anything else) from COVID-19?” The answer is simple: #NormalContact is relevant as long as we have to remind ourselves that normal contact is normal!

It seems strange to have to remind ourselves as a society that it is ok to speak from within an arm’s reach. As Americans we stand much farther on average than most cultures when having a conversation. And yet, the distances we’re being told to interact with can seem practically astronomical by comparison. That’s not normal. Universally, we’re becoming used to not understanding each other as well through masks. That’s not normal, either. We’re learning to apologize when we brush someone not because we were rude, but because they might be deeply offended and fear for their lives. Is that really what we think should be acceptable as normal?

#NormalContact as a movement stands for one and only one thing: that we feel, based on the science, that it is ok if someone wants to have a normal interaction with us at normal distances. We aren’t going to force that on anyone, but until the general assumption is, once again, that a normal interaction is, well, normal, then there’s definitely no question regarding whether #NormalContact is relevant. If human interaction is relevant, then so is #NormalContact.

Is that all that makes #NormalContact relevant?

To be fair, #NormalContact isn’t relevant to everyone, although we would argue that it is relevant for everyone. We’ve met folks who don’t think #NormalContact is militant enough, or not in-your-face enough. While plenty of normal contactors are fervent advocates of reopening completely without delay, some aren’t. Some are strong anti-maskers, but others aren’t. For people who want #NormalContact to be more, we understand. And yet, it’s precisely because #NormalContact doesn’t stand for more that makes it so universal, and thus for everyone, even the folks who find it irrelevant to them because it doesn’t push any agenda hard enough for their tastes. Human interaction is for all of us, and that’s exactly what makes #NormalContact relevant.

#NormalContact administration

Why isn’t there an official #NormalContact Facebook page?

Post author By NormalContact
Post date 2020 May 30

There is no official #NormalContact Facebook page or group.

We have Instagram and Twitter pages. Why don’t we have an official #NormalContact Facebook or YouTube page? In a word: privacy.

The #NormalContact site and social media are maintained by volunteers. These volunteers are given significant privacy because anyone and anything that goes against the general narrative these days tends to garner a lot of hate. (That’s why we don’t accept comments on the site, incidentally.) So our volunteers are sheltered from that hate by anonymized accounts and VPN access.

This worked fine for Instagram and Twitter. YouTube was quickly dismissed because Google tracks all the IDs on your device, which would have instantly tied them to the #NormalContact account. Facebook, however, was a pile of problems unique to itself.

Facebook doesn’t have an option for organizational accounts. All company pages have to be tied to an actual person. And Facebook has definitely done what they needed to make it difficult to fake. They disabled the account after they had an email and phone number. To fix it they wanted a picture of a face. (They got one, and it was even a volunteer pic.) …but then they disabled the account again. Now they also wanted an ID or bank statements. While we could totally fake those, it’s clear that FB is going to look for any excuse they can to disable the account. So we’ll pass.

That’s it? No official #NormalContact Facebook page?

Yup! …but that doesn’t mean there can’t be unofficial #NormalContact Facebook pages.

We invite anyone to make an unofficial #NormalContact Facebook page that chooses to do so. If you do set up a #NormalContact Facebook page please follow these guidelines.

Please make it clear that your page or group is unofficial and point to this site as the official source. Don’t claim any affiliation or support from this official site.
Be careful to follow the #NormalContact philosophy and keep the focus of your page extremely focused. Try to avoid promoting any specific ideas regarding reopening, etc.
Feel free to let us know about your page by sending us a link on one of the other platforms. While we can’t promise that we can promote it, we’d love to know about your efforts!
We strongly recommend that different #NormalContact Facebook pages look for opportunities to cross-promote whenever possible. Work to develop a robust and networked community of people.

It’s a shame that Facebook seems opposed to letting us create an official resource while maintaining anonymity, but that doesn’t stop us from actually building community. Remember to wear your ribbon and use the #NormalContact hashtag.

Living a Normal Contactor life

We don’t need a “new normal.” We need #NormalContact.

Post author By NormalContact
Post date 2020 May 26

The “new normal” being suggested isn’t normal.

You don’t have to look far to hear plenty of discussion about what a “new normal” would look like post-COVID-19. Permanent distancing, replacing handshakes with a formal bow, masks on everyone year-round. Everyone has an opinion, and none of them sound very normal.

A #NormalContact fan sent a cheeky meme. We wish we could give credit to someone for it. Yes, it’s an oversimplification of the situation, but one that’s a great illustration.

No, soda isn’t the same thing as a societal shift. And the point certainly isn’t to make light of a serious situation. The point is that we don’t need a “new normal” if the “old normal” (or, as everyone tends to call it, “normal”) worked fine.

In the case of COVID-19, of course, the entire point is that folks claim that the “old normal” left us open for disease. They’re right, of course. It did! The social behavior of people is undeniably a risk factor for disease, violence, social discord, and more. It is also a risk factor for art, social harmony, music, childbirth, understanding, and more. At this point in history we have people suggesting that we should reconsider our economic and social models and asking whether we need to reshape everything. #NormalContact isn’t going to argue that issue one way or another. What we do humbly suggest, however, is that we all intentionally remember what it means to be human, and what we require to flourish as humans.

If there really is to be a “new normal” we suggest that it means that we (re-)learn as a society how to be able to disagree strongly with someone and yet still be able to have fun together and like each other. Let’s make any “new normal” in society a way to be closer as a human society.

#NormalContact administration

Share a ribbon with a friend!

Post author By NormalContact
Post date 2020 May 23

You can use our template to give a #NormalContact ribbon to a friend or stranger more easily.

We finally have a printable sheet (US Letter 8.5 x 11 only, so far) that you can use to share extra ribbons with friends and strangers. It has a quick explanation and then a link to the site. So if you end up with some extra ribbons laying around, spread the news!