CYBER_EMPATHIA
In a post-empathy city, humans no longer know community or collectivity and are overcome by the reality of neoliberal competition and feelings of “it is me against everyone else.” Living in the city has become utterly racialized, gendered, and class-based and struggle for a life of meaningful acceptance is hard to come by. A neoliberal society is a refusal of relation, emotion, and understanding with the people around us: what would happen if there was a world of radical empathy and intersubjectivity?
Vulnerable populations still seek this collectivity and empathetic landscape within the dark depths of capitalism. These populations have harnessed technology to re-fulfill these ideals of acceptance, conversation, belonging, and purpose. Embedded on top and through the city, these populations have taken over with CYBER_EMPATHIA, a utopia within our current dystopia that creates safe spaces for communities to work within the neoliberal reality and find connection.
This inflatable network grows and is dislodged within the existing city in order to fulfill the demand for safe spaces for physical protection from violence including sexual predators, harassment, violence toward trans-folk, people of color, and people of queer identities. As someone is walking on the street and violence is sensed, the inflatable dislodges itself to prevent the violent act and encompasses the individual or group of individuals within the utopia. The BUBBLE_CONTROLLER is the mind of this inflatable system and has an innate sense of this danger and controls who is in and outside the utopia.
The safe space bubbles are deployed anywhere- out of windows, on roofs, in public spaces, and weaving through existing buildings- to create spaces for meaningful conversation amongst like-minded people. Theutopia does not seek to target men as enemies, but allow for more vulnerable populations to have thriving spaces of their won. If the BUBBLE_CONTROLLER feels that someone holds the values of acceptance, care, and empathy they are allowed to enter the utopia and exit as they please. Once the BUBBLE_CONTROLLER senses that someone has become dangerous to those inside, they will be immediately de-absorbed out of the community.
1. Everyone is allowed to enter and exit the utopia and go back into the existing city as they please
2. There is universal healthcare for everyone in the utopia, including access to women’s healthcare including IUD’s and prenatal care, surgeries for trans-folk, and psychological support and therapy for everyone
3. Plants and produce grow with empathy (because plants have feelings) so there is plentiful fruits and vegetables for all to enjoy and live a healthy lifestyle
4. There is no violence, including violence to animals within the utopia, and therefore no meat consumption in the utopia (you must exit and go to a capitalist steak-house for that)
5. There are no police because police are only implementers of violence and the BUBBLE_CONTROLLER takes care of all threatening people
6. There is no money as all the fruits and vegetables are plentiful
The goal is that this technological system will take over the city and become the new city, but the BUBBLE_CONTROLLER senses this will never happen and a perfect world of emotion and acceptance based on identities will exist within the bubble and threats will remain outside.