I’m Not Here To Make Friends

I heard a story on NPR a week ago about the use of the culturally unfortunate and overused phrase on reality TV programs, “I’m not here to make friend.” The story made a real impression, as we live in a time where it now seems virtuous to articulate the extent that we’re all on this earth looking out for Number One. As Leave No Trace leans heavily on “community” to get its important work done, I have been thinking about how possible our tactics are in the shadow of a culture where the positive power of community is diminished every day.

Consider yesterday. I was faced with a choice, while I walked my dog on Mount Sanitas in the Boulder foothills. I watched a woman ignore her dog as it chased a deer for a couple of minutes on a hillside above her within her view. Though well versed in one of Leave No Trace’s frequently-sited texts, “Authority of the Resource" by Dr. George Wallace, an inevitable part of me, while appalled watching this little animal/human drama unfold, wanted to merely mind my own business.

Then, another distasteful instinct scrolled across my subconscious: “I’m not here to make friends.” I wanted to race down into the valley and throttle the woman. This woman was disrupting the flow of wildlife. She was endangering the deer and her dog. Before all of the eyes on the trail yesterday afternoon, she was potentially compromising the rest of our coveted, off-leash dog access.

The bottom line is that neither of these initial instincts would likely have a positive, long-term outcome. The “Authority of the Resource” concept is based upon the notion: “Desirable behavior is more likely to occur if people understand how their actions affect the way nature operates.”

When there is no official authority available, when does the community step in? What would you have done? Beyond enforcement, what is the best way, in the moment, in a natural setting to approach people and talk with them about behaviors or actions?

Call us if your curious about the “Authority of the Resource” concept or to request more information. Goggling “Authority of the Resource George Wallace” will also yield a PDF of his article.