Confronting unknown threats makes people fall back on texts.

Evidence

Warner’s foundational study theorizes publics as constituted by circulation of texts among strangers, with particular attention to queer counter-publics. His method is rhetorical theory in dialogue with political philosophy. Publics and Counterpublics is essential reading for COMM/equity doctoral work on the rhetorical theory of publicness. For platform-era candidates, Warner’s analytic of circulation among strangers offers a powerful frame for analyzing platform-mediated public formation. — , The Braided Reading EPUB, 377 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Publics form through circulation of texts among strangers rather than shared identity — , The Braided Reading EPUB: 5-Year…, 377; Obscure symbolic threats minimize exposure while maximizing terror; New, weak social contents naturally conceal themselves for protection (+2 more)

Related

• Identity deception succeeds better amid strangers than friends (similarity 0.84)
• Publics form through circulation of texts among strangers rather than shared identity (similarity 0.83)

Broader Connections

• Publics form through circulation of texts among strangers rather than shared identity #expands (0.85) — , The Braided Reading EPUB, 377
• New, weak social contents naturally conceal themselves for protection #corroborates (0.80)
• Collective emergencies suspend urban anonymity and legitimize open stranger contact #complicates (0.80)
• Obscure symbolic threats minimize exposure while maximizing terror #qualifies (0.75)
• People unconsciously avoid confronting evidence that contradicts their sense of safety #expands (0.72) — Julien Gracq, Balcony in the Forest, 229