A Raccoon in the Machine
In last year’s Best Picture winner, Everything Everywhere All at Once, the character played by Michelle Yeoh mistakenly refers to the Disney movie Ratatouille as “Raccacoonie.” She thinks it’s about a chef controlled by a raccoon, and while this is played as a joke at first, it’s later revealed that Raccacoonie is real when she travels to an alternate universe where raccoons are secretly controlling the cooks at a Benihana-style hibachi restaurant. Not only is this a metaphor for how the movie’s characters are being manipulated by cosmic forces, it’s also a pretty spot-on description of the human brain. We believe we’re in control of our thoughts and feelings, but we’re all being piloted Raccacoonie-style by subconscious cognitive biases, and this affects public discourse in some pretty important ways.
One of those ways is influencing the degree to which people feel motivated to engage in public debates over civic issues. As someone who exists in the city of Alexandria, you’ve probably noticed that people who oppose things tend to be more vocal than people who support them or are neutral and open-minded. We’ve seen this dynamic pop up in tons of issues lately—zoning reform, bike lanes, specific development projects, even going back to the Waterfront Plan itself. It’s such an expected and anticipated dynamic that when some people spoke in favor of the entertainment district proposal at Saturday’s public hearing, it was seen as a remarkable occurrence akin to the sighting of a rare bird that was thought to be extinct for the last 140 years.
This isn’t a phenomenon specific to Alexandria. Academic studies have shown that opponents are generally more likely than supporters to turn out and speak up in a way that may not always be representative of broader public opinion. The important thing to know is that this is normal and expected, and behavioral economics (or as we like to think of it, Raccacoonie science) can explain it. For example, negative thoughts and ideas have a more powerful effect on people than positive ones do. This is called negativity bias, and it originally evolved as an adaptive mechanism. For prehistoric humans, a rattling bush was probably just the wind 99 out of 100 times. But 1 in 100 times there might have been a sabertooth tiger hiding in that bush. To survive, we had to focus all our attention on that 1-in-100 negative outcome. This mentality is not well-suited to debates about urban planning.
There’s also the fact that the costs of proposed changes are often concentrated while their benefits are more diffuse. When a developer wants to build something, like 301 N. Fairfax (to use a recent example), the people who live next door have strong incentives to mobilize against it while the generalized benefits of an increased housing supply are less likely to get more far-flung residents off their asses to attend a public hearing on a random Tuesday.
And then there’s status quo bias. People have a strong preference for the (known, safe, red brick) current state of affairs over the (unknown, riskier, other colors of brick) alternatives. A related effect is loss aversion, a mashup of status quo bias and negativity bias that makes us feel the pain of losing something we already have more intensely than the pleasure of gaining something new. Once you swirl together all these flavors of irrational brain weirdness, you get an Agenda Alexandria panel a clearer picture of why people get way more hyped to speak out against proposed changes than they do to support them.
Setting aside the merits of the arguments on any particular issue, it’s tricky to make policy decisions when one side—those anxious about change—is typically the most vocal in any dialogue. In response, we might try to seek out a more comprehensive assessment of public opinion, but that’s not without inherent structural challenges. No matter how hard you try to broaden input opportunities and encourage people with diverse views to weigh in, it’s hard to overcome the underlying asymmetrical motivational structure. Even online polls have the same problems as town halls, community meetings, and yard sign tallies in that those with concerns are more likely to take the time to respond. This is why we as a society cannot rely on Yelp reviews. Good meal at a restaurant? Most people wouldn’t bother to log on and issue a rating, we have other shit to do. But a bad meal? THE ENTIRE WORLD SHALL KNOW ABOUT MY ONE-STAR EXPERIENCE. It takes a lot of effort to hear from people who are happy about things, or just okay with them, or even undecided—which isn’t to say it’s not worth attempting.
But ultimately policymakers have to make decisions with imperfect information about public opinion. So… what should they do? We’d suggest that it’s important to first openly acknowledge the raccoon under the chef’s hat. It’s in there, it’s holding onto our hair with its paws, it’s using our hands to make fried rice. The biases are real and they are skewing which perspectives we hear and don’t hear. We have to be honest about that.
However! That doesn’t mean we should ignore all that input—many concerns shared are genuinely valid and important and deserve to be surfaced during public dialogues, so they can be accounted for and addressed. We just have to engage with those concerns, like Michelle Yeoh, with our (third?) eyes open, knowing it’s too simplistic to merely count for-or-against comment breakdowns as the sole basis for any given policy choice. Fortunately we have other decision-making frameworks to lean on in these situations—such as relying on evidence and data, using long-term plans to guide decisions, or centering core community ethics and values. Sometimes that’ll mean agreeing and siding with the voices who speak up and speak out, sometimes it won’t, and that’s okay! Legitimacy doesn’t stem from gauging the alignment of a choice with the perceived majority perspective—governing is a series of judgment calls. Like hibachi cooks in a parallel universe, we’re just doing the best that we can with fucking raccoons on our heads. They're part of us and we can't get rid of them, but we don't always have to let them drive.
Things You May Have Missed Because You Have a Life
Forbes profiled Alexandria as an “affordable vacation destination.” That’s right America, we’re a cheap date. Come take us for a spin, there’s only a 50/50 chance we’ll give you syphilis.
Hazel, the tunnel boring machine responsible for reducing sewage pollution in the Potomac, has completed her subterranean tour of Old Town. AlexRenew will host a family-friendly open house on April 13 with Hazel photo ops, hands-on touch stations, and a chance to meet the miners who operated the machine. While these activities are primarily intended for kids, Becky cannot wait to get her face painted with a diagram of the combined sewer system.
In other sewer news… manhole inserts! And while you might think a joke about manhole inserts would write itself, we absolutely cannot trust ourselves to write a joke about manhole inserts—a term which we can all agree is a completely ok and safe thing to google on a work computer.
Virginia Tech has launched a program teaching middle school students how to build, program, fly, and repair drone soccer balls in preparation for an upcoming district-wide drone soccer competition. In a related item, Alexandria Soccer Association has announced that drone ball mastery and drone goalie training are both things you’ll need to register and pay for separately.
Local Discourse Power Rankings
Cherry Blossoms (Last week: NR). It’s shaping up to be a better than average year for the blossom-peepers [Editors’ note: language!] among us, as an earlier than normal bloom was followed by a cold-but-not-too-cold spell that experts expect may preserve the cherry blossoms a bit longer than initially anticipated. Tree-lebrity [Editor’s note: heh] Stumpy is getting a lot of attention and final farewell selfies, as it’s likely this flowering Charlie Brown tree will soon join our own dearly departed Witness Tree in the great arboretum in the sky. And in an unexpectedly earnest note, we will just close by saying while the Tidal Basin fully deserves the attention and adulation it receives this time of year, many neighborhoods across Alexandria look damn gorgeous in their own right this time of year and we hope you have the chance to get out and take in the views.
Not in My Potomac Yard (Last week: 1). The Washington Post recently obtained the financial analysis of the Potomac Yard proposal commissioned by Gov. Youngkin’s office and we haven’t seen numbers this unreasonably hopeful since the last time Jesse swore this would finally be the time his Los Tios bill would come in under $150. Some of the assumptions in the analysis ($75 parking spaces, $730 hotel rooms) are yet the latest reminder that corporate honchos long-removed from the vagaries of everyday life desperately need to start employing just one (1) normal person whose job is to be in these meetings to say “uh, that’s not what that should fucking cost.” Just one guy! One! They’d reduce dumb bullshit by at least 75%!
Alley Oops (Last week: NR). City Council denied a proposal to build a house at 404A East Alexandria Ave because they claim it would set a bad precedent to construct a residential dwelling on an alley with no direct access to the street. What’s next? Telling us we’re not allowed to build homes without adequate light or ventilation? How about bathtubs and toilets, do we have to have those now too? Pretty soon the House Police will be telling us that we can’t build residences without exterior walls or electricity, which is blatant discrimination against exhibitionists and the Amish, respectively. If we want to live exposed to the elements and the horrified gaze of our neighbors in a McMansion-sized bouncy castle that we inflate with the air from our lungs like nature intended, that’s our right and no bureaucrat can take it away from us. You’re on notice planning commissioners, this tyranny will not stand.
Non-Migratory African Swallows (Last week: NR). One of the arena proponents at Saturday’s council hearing used a surprising chunk of his allotted three minutes comparing the public discourse on this issue to a scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail and hell yes, we fully support the notion that all local issues should be discussed in similar terms. For example, we could debate whether Maryland drivers should be required to answer me these questions three before crossing the Wilson Bridge. Tree canopy goals could be measured in units of shrubberies. Instead of a bulldozer, Mayor Wilson could destroy Taylor Run with the holy hand grenade. All of this would only be slightly more ridiculous than how we talk about stuff now. Just look at the Times, they’re probably working on an editorial arguing that we should use strange women lying in ponds distributing swords as a basis for our system of government, after all a farcical aquatic ceremony couldn’t possibly be worse than holding local elections in November.
Don’t Zone Me Bro (Last week: NR). The latest news in the Coalition for a Livable* Alexandria (*offer not valid without 1892 proof of purchase) lawsuit challenging last year’s zoning changes is that the local circuit court judges have all recused themselves from the case. This means they’re going to have to send in a new judge from somewhere else and we just really fucking hope it isn’t Aileen Cannon, otherwise we’re going to end up with rulings like “a homeowner has sole authority to decide what kind of music their neighbors can listen to” or “the Constitution says you can throw rocks at renters.” Either way this development is sure to draw out the proceedings longer than necessary [Editor’s note: they were never necessary].
Alexandria’s Hottest Club Is… Spring Break
Spring Break is officially upon us (well, officially for ACPS families and spiritually for everyone else) and we regret to be the ones to tell you this but… it’s not just in your head, everyone is going somewhere cooler than you are. For families with kids this is a time of year to juggle the competing emotions of, on one hand, genuinely appreciating the chance to slow down and spend some time together, but on the other hand, who has time to plan anything! And that’s true whether you’re traveling or not—for those of us sticking around next week you still have to do a ton of planning because schools are closed and the “experts” in “childhood development” get all mad when you “let your kids watch YouTube for 10 hours” so yeah it’s a lot of work even if you’re just staying here.
Remember when Spring Break used to be simple? Just you and your 15 closest friends and a one bedroom house somewhere the State Department hadn’t quiiiite gotten around to issuing a travel advisory about yet? There was no planning involved in that, just pure impulse behavior. That place seems warm! That place seems to have poor state controls on the enforcement of regulations regarding the sale and control of adult beverages! No planning, no effort, just… break.
But now we’re grown up [Editor’s note: are we?] and have to be more deliberate about all this. Contemplating a week bereft of the organizing routines of school and activities feels a little less WOOOOOOOOO and a little more OH NOOOOOO. With that in mind, for those of us hanging around next week—what does an Alexandria Spring Break look like?
To start, you could visit the brand new piece of public art on the waterfront. Installed just this week it is not actually titled “Die Dinosaurs, Die!” but that’s what stuck with us from the initial press release announcing it. Anyway it’s cool and it’s shiny and by visiting it you’ve knocked off 12 minutes of the ten days you have to fill! [Editor’s note: shit.]
From there, how about a visit to Winkler Botanical Preserve? This previously private 44-acre site became a public park last November, now operated by NOVA Parks. With multiple trails, a lake, and waterfall it’s a fantastic place to enjoy some outdoor time in the city’s West End. And look—that’s a whole afternoon of your Spring Break knocked out! Only nine more days to go! [Editor’s note: *soft weeping sounds*].
We’re not going to suggest that you should spend your remaining eight days of break at Port City Brewing, but you could! With great core beers and rotating seasonals (including their award-winning lager series) there’s plenty of variety as you kill time at their picnic tables and enjoy whichever food truck is there that day. Sunshine and outdoor drinking, now this is feeling like Spring Breaks of yore!
But if you really want to feel like you’re reliving the glory days of yesteryear—surrounded by young people yelling, fighting, going nuts and occasionally throwing up in the corner while loud music plays—you can always take your kids to the indoor trampoline park. That’s just one reason we love this city, no matter how old we get it never runs out of ways to make us feel young at heart. Whatever you do next week, have a great time Alexandria!
The Alexandria Times Quote of the Week
“When one door is closed, it may be time to go back to the drawing board.”
We completely agree. This really hits the nail on the nose, and has us concerned we may get caught between the frying pan and a hard place. It doesn’t take a rocket surgeon to see that this many cooks in the kitchen could really break the camel’s back.
One Awesome Thing in ALX
If you follow the world of philanthropy and nonprofits closely (and honestly who doesn’t) you’re likely aware that over the past several years MacKenzie Scott has been rapidly giving away the money she earned from her stake in Amazon. There’s a lot to love about this, especially the fact that it makes Elon Musk mad, but also the approach she’s pursued to big philanthropy that is radically divergent from the approach pursued by many traditional big foundations. Gone is the sequence of letter of interest followed by concept note followed by arduously bureaucratic application completion—a massive expenditure of time and effort that may not even lead to funding (especially if you’re responding to an open call for proposals) and comes at the expense of practitioners spending time on their actual mission-driven work. She has instead mostly pursued a grantee-focused model that proactively researches and identifies organizations making an impact in policy areas she cares about, gives them general operating support, and stays out of the way (for her efforts to deemphasize interim reports alone, we say… dayenu).
It’s a really compelling model (and one that we hope to see more widely adopted) and this approach has rightfully earned her praise. But after several initial high-profile rounds of giving through that we-do-the-work-you-get-the-check system, last year she announced her first ever open grant application, which yielded 6,000 submissions seeking support. Of those, 361 were announced earlier this week as being picked to receive support—including Friends of Guest House right here in Alexandria!
Friends of Guest House, an organization founded in 1974 that supports women reentering our community after incarceration, received a $2 million gift. They work across the entire metro region and provide counseling, workforce development, life-skills training, and a range of other supportive programs. And they weren’t the only nearby nonprofit that received support! Other organizations doing work that overlaps into our community include: English Empowerment Center, Edu-Futuro, Communities in Schools in Northern Virginia, and New Futures.
It’s tremendously awesome to see organizations doing great work get transformative gifts, and we’re eager to see how MacKenzie Scott’s generosity will deepen the impact they have in our area, and raise the profile of their work and their missions. And while each of us may not have MacKenzie Scott levels of resources, if any of these organizations catches your interest or is aligned with your values—think about how you might support them in your own way.
You can follow Becky @beckyhammer.bsky.social and Jesse @oconnell.bsky.social on Bluesky, or you can e-mail us anytime at alxtranewsletter@gmail.com.
A certain caps and wizards owner has the most terminal case of rich guy brain I’ve ever seen. Getting together with our governor has been such a comedy of errors from the beginning, couldn’t agree more that one normal person to tell them no would have saved so much heartache.
as one who find soccer incredibly boring to watch... all soccer is drone soccer.