Volunteers collectively redirected each other’s political criticisms into private moods rather than public problems.

Evidence

When a volunteer expressed a criticism of the election process on one election day, she sounded extremely apologetic about it. She did not express her worries in the meeting, but whispered them before the meeting, while standing outside with the banquet-sized co¡eemaker, waiting for the janitor to unlock the door to the meeting room. During the meeting, a fellow volunteer kept whispering to her, saying, Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get over it,'' and asking, Don’t you feel better now?” The problem had to be treated as if it were just “her mood,” not a problem with the political system. — Nina Eliasoph, “Close to home”, 63

Categorization

• XREF: A concrete instance of group discipline enforcing apathy — relevant to how even positive shared spaces police what can be voiced aloud. — connects to: Volunteer groups suppress political talk even though members privately care — Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding politics: how Americans…, 192; Volunteers welcomed structured political discussion despite avoiding it informally. — Nina Eliasoph, “Close to home”: The work of avoiding…, 100; Volunteers spontaneously raised environmental and racial concerns rather than avoiding them — Nina Eliasoph, “Close to home”: The work of avoiding…, 64 (+8 more)

Related

• Volunteer groups suppress politically troubling topics to protect group cheer (similarity 0.91)
• A shared meeting setting suppresses volunteered political speech that members hold privately. (similarity 0.90)
• Volunteers welcomed structured political discussion despite avoiding it informally. (similarity 0.89)
• Civic volunteers suppress political worry publicly despite private obsession with it (similarity 0.89)
• Political concern exists but is silenced by informal etiquette in group contexts. (similarity 0.88)
• Volunteers silence political discussion to preserve their can-do optimism (similarity 0.88)
• Volunteer groups suppress political talk even though members privately care (similarity 0.88)
• People voice political opinions privately but suppress them in group settings. (similarity 0.88)
• Volunteers themselves restrict political talk to preserve their civic faith (similarity 0.87)
• Volunteers silence political problems to keep the empowering feeling alive (similarity 0.87)
• Volunteer groups lack respect for open-ended discussion of unresolved issues (similarity 0.86)
• Volunteers suppress political talk because it would sink their feeling of empowerment (similarity 0.85)
• Cynical joking paradoxically frees political complaint more than earnest volunteer talk does (similarity 0.84)
• Even politically engaged volunteer groups avoid discussing the substance of public issues (similarity 0.84)
• Volunteers acknowledge social problems only after they are already solved. (similarity 0.83)

Broader Connections

• Volunteer groups suppress political talk even though members privately care #corroborates (0.90) — Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding politics, 192
• People voice political opinions privately but suppress them in group settings. #corroborates (0.88)
• A shared meeting setting suppresses volunteered political speech that members hold privately. #corroborates (0.86) — Nina Eliasoph, “Close to home”, 98
• Volunteers spontaneously raised environmental and racial concerns rather than avoiding them #contradicts (0.85) — Nina Eliasoph, “Close to home”, 64
• Volunteers suppress political talk because it would sink their feeling of empowerment #expands (0.85)
• Volunteer groups suppress politically troubling topics to protect group cheer #expands (0.85) — Nina Eliasoph, “Close to home”, 96
• Volunteers welcomed structured political discussion despite avoiding it informally. #corroborates (0.78) — Nina Eliasoph, “Close to home”, 100
• Cynical joking paradoxically frees political complaint more than earnest volunteer talk does #complicates (0.75) — Nina Eliasoph, “Close to home”, 131