Participating in a discussion is a great way to learn and contribute to ideas for superstructing. When you post a comment, try to provide information that others may not know, and avoid getting into arguments. Winning discussions are all about working together to get smarter.

Please login or register to post


    GenerationExile: Goals and Strategies

    Defeating the Generation Exile Superthreat

    Started by: noplacelikehome Raves:5

    Subscribe » RSS

    We need to start brainstorming about how we are going to defeat this superthreat. What issues are migrants facing and what ideas do you have for combating them? Remember, we're just brainstorming here so if you have any ideas at all make sure you post them. After all, we are superstructing, are we not?

    One problem is that 99% of the people facing this threat are not likely to be prepared to or cabable of dealing with highly technical solutions, or solutions that challenge what remains of their self-identity. They\\\'re likely to be extremely conservative, so a lot of solutions will have to be common-sensical and low tech, and rely on basic factors of human psychology to succeed. For instance, the need for food and shelter, and the instinctive tendency to obey authority figures, will lead a lot of migrant populations to trade their autonomy for the appearance of safety. How can we help people to satisfy these needs while retaining their right to self-determination?

    Perhaps we need a superstruct specifically created to deal with the issue of getting people with the skills and abilities to help these people into contact with them, and connecting them with the tools and knowledge that they\\\'ll need to do so.

    We need to consider not only the issues the migrants face, but the issues migrants pose for residents of the areas they move into to. Also, we need to find ways to prevent or at least slow the need to leave areas where possible.

    the mechanics of taking care of the basic needs of refugees are pretty well established. the bigger problems to deal with is in terms of scale and permanency of the situation. if people are fleeing wars, then the solution is to end the war and return them to their homes. if people\\\'s homes are now inhabitable due to various factors, then you got a bigger issue. is the ultimate goal of policy to absorb these refugees into your society and political system? or is the goal to provide them a temporary place to stay until their original home is habitable? each country have dealt with this in different ways at different times. the first step, i would suggest, is to establish some sort of international protocol on how to treat these migrants. would they be treated as permanent refugees and thus as 2nd class citizens? would they be treated as temporary refugees with a path to citizenship? some sort of understanding should be reached internationally. otherwise, different countries with different policies will create different incentives. if country x has a path to citizenship while country y will create a permanent underclass, then the refugees will have an incentive to go to country x. this will create an imbalance in the load, and will wear out their welcome quickly.

    So we need a struct to work with governments to create a unified strategy to deal with these issues.

    I like the idea of having a superstruct that will work with governments as you say to create a unified strategy. That is an excellent idea.

    @fungus - You hit a lot of good points. It seems that one of the first steps to getting the superthreat under control is to establish some sort of protocol that requires migrants who have to no real direction or idea of where they want to go to register maybe with an organization (superstruct?) that could place them. This way, the organization could maintain a good majority of the migration and spread the migrants out evenly as to eliminate or at least reduce an overabundance of migrants to one area or city. I smell a superstruct coming on.

    Here is a superstruct I created that was designed to keep migrants informed as they travel. http://superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/104 I think that one of the keys to success is to keep people safe by keeping them informed.

    We need a huge shift of mindset, where we start thinking of refugees as valuable resources instead of merely as victims. The next exile coming into your community might be a doctor, a botanist, a security guard, a poet, a carpenter, or a singer. They can bring skills, strength, talents, and resources. Rather than focusing on ways to keep them out, we need to think of it more like a draft in a sports league. How do we identify the most valuable exiles and encourage them to come to our location? How do we invest in them so that they can then give back to us?

    While Fungus makes some excellent points, I can\\\'t get past the initial premise that we\\\'ve established the mechanics of taking care of people\\\'s basic needs. Way back when, we didn\\\'t do a good job of taking care of people displaced by Hurricane Katrina, and the path to citizenship has never been as clear or effective as it could be. Ultimately, we have to assume that the migrants themselves will have different desires- some will want to return to their homes when possible, and some will be seeking permanent relocation. But most, if not all of them, will need social services readily available. Can our social service infrastructure absorb large numbers of migrants? Can we come up with more effective methods of allocating resources to meet the increased need? Do we have food, shelter, employment, education, and health services available?

    Before you can defeat the threat, you have to define what defeating the threat looks like....what are the measures that we have succeeded?

    @Ironmonkey-I completely agree with you on the fact that if we stop looking at migrants as victims and start seeing them as assets then we can actually utilize their skills and abilities. Everyone has a special skill or attribute that would make a good contribution to a collective effort. In short, we do need to separate them up into groups according to what they are looking to do such as settle or continue to migrate.

    No one is going to chase me out of my house. What I don\\\'t understand is why these people with ReDS aren\\\'t put somewhere far away from the rest of us who don\\\'t have it. At first, I was going to move just like the majority of you. Then I said, why do I have to leave because these people are sick??? It\\\'s just absurd and I think they should be put on a deserted island in the middle of the ocean for the rest of their lives.

    Wow - these are all great thoughts, ideas, and suggestions! From what I understand, everything you've been identifying is very much in line with effective community development and relief efforts. Maybe we can combine everyone's ideas and set-up a superstruct that includes a number of interventions to simultaneously target 1) individuals and families, to maximize healthy coping and adaptation, utilize and build their skills and assets, increase basic needs (food, shelter, etc.) and decrease risk factors for medical, psychological, etc. problems; and 2) local, national, and international communities, to collectively build social support networks for individuals, identify the problems as well as specific variables that have caused them, minimize the impacts of our problems, identify culturally competent solutions, and work towards reaching identified goals. (Among many other things) What do you all think?

    Also, let's build forums to allow everyone to share their stories and opinions! No one wants to have to be mandated to move or change in some way - especially when they don't even feel heard, understood, represented, etc. by the authority instituting the mandates. And these feelings can often ignite group tensions and civil wars. Let's utilize focus groups to get different opinions represented and identify solutions that respond to problems from all perspectives.

    One question I don't see being asked - what is the basic goal? Assuming many can't be returned home, should the goal e re-settlement? I see quite a few people commenting as if "mobility" is going to be a new lifestyle. Should we be talking about how to make the mobile life "abundant" - or just how to make it survivable and how to create new places for people?

    I favor "settlement", where possible. In the US, that probably means re-populating some areas that have been abandoned - there's cheap land out there. What's missing in those places was an economic reason for staying - farming got to be too expensive. One idea - Wind Power Communities. Re-vitalize existing railroads through empty areas, establish wind power farms along those corridors (electric trains?!) and establish high-energy-consumption industries to build there. Maybe nitrogen fertilizer production? Bio-fuels using water-conservative farming? (One of Wind Power's big issues is that it produces energy too far from consumers. What if we moved consumption closer to the power?)

    @TomC I like your ideas of creating communities along rail lines. I think that this strategy would work. As far as wind power not being storable, in 2008 there was some research being done on storing energy by melting salt deposits.

    well for one we could make guns and other weapons illegal and not produce them anymore

    Just got on, sorry if someone else has already thought of this: anybody remember Craigslist or Monster? People creating networks defining their locations, skills and goals? Why not establish an online presence like that? People could check in at open-web points, update their status, see if any person or community has browsed their skill sety and is interested in taking them on. This could be a way to help place mid- to high-skill migrants inside existing communities.

    DanielSchwartz...I really like the way you are thinking. This sort of hybrid solution is exactly the sort of thing that would work. Have you considered creating a superstruct around this idea?

    I have NOW, Steve. Thanks for the encouragement! I'll start looking into how to do that ASAP.

    How about simply making it easier for people who are constantly on the move? Americans were moving every couple of years in 2008...maybe we are just programmed to be nomadic...it certainly was the way of our distant ancestors...

    A benevolent dictatorship would solve a lot of the problems with massive immigration and the disappearence of national identities. Strong authority is needed to control the tidal wave of refugees so the foster country doesn't burst at the seams.




    Nominate For A Badge

    Badge:
    More detail on badges



    NOMINATE CANCEL