
Academic turns city into a social experiment (2004) - djoldman
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2004/03/academic-turns-city-into-a-social-experiment/
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morley
The title of this article really doesn't do it justice. (And honestly, the
article itself really buries the lede.) Some interesting passages:

    
    
      He launched a “Night for Women” and asked the city’s men to
      stay home in the evening and care for the children; 
      700,000 women went out on the first of three nights that 
      Mockus dedicated to them.
    
      Another Mockus inspiration was to ask people to call his 
      office if they found a kind and honest taxi driver; 150 
      people called and the mayor organized a meeting with all 
      those good taxi drivers, who advised him about how to 
      improve the behavior of mean taxi drivers.
    
      Initially 20 professional mimes shadowed pedestrians who 
      didn’t follow crossing rules: A pedestrian running across  
      the road would be tracked by a mime who mocked his every 
      move. Mimes also poked fun at reckless drivers. 
    

It really strikes me how the "academic" in question, Antanas Mockus, was able
to inject some whimsy and levity into the dour field of politics / civil
service. Other politicians are so obsessed with how they come across that they
sand off anything resembling humor.

~~~
quicklime
The idea of mocking pedestrians who run across the road reminds me a lot about
about the coining of the term "jaywalking", as described by 99 Percent
Invisible: [https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/episode-76-the-
modern...](https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/episode-76-the-modern-
moloch/)

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RcouF1uZ4gsC
>Mockus, the only son of a Lithuanian artist, burst onto the Colombian
political scene in 1993 when, faced with a rowdy auditorium of the school of
arts’ students, he dropped his pants and mooned them to gain quiet.

Wouldn't that be classified as sexual harassment now?

~~~
babyArte
Actually recently in the last congress elections he ended doing that again,
but not in the university, but in the congress itself in the ceremony to
become congresist. He is a really nice guy actually the best rector the
University has had. [https://lakalle.bluradio.com/virales/antanas-mockus-
muestra-...](https://lakalle.bluradio.com/virales/antanas-mockus-muestra-las-
nalgas-en-pleno-congreso-7204-ie790430)

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reidjs
Love this. I help organize a group in San Francisco that aims to improve it
through technology (code4SF). Considering most people in the organization
work/want to work in civic tech, many of our members (and organizers!) are
extremely PC and are afraid to take risks that might make them look bad to
their peers. I think there is a lot of good that can come out of having fun
helping others/your city, but I think most citizens are afraid of the
potential ramifications.

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forkandwait
What I especially like is that he knew that public life should be full of art
and personality, not just pasty faced bureaucrats who try to avoid attention.

