“It is a little dehumanizing […] because it’s kind of like you’re seen as a number, as a case number.”
Excerpt from interview with Lucila, a community organizer in San Jose, CA. Summer 2021.
Interviewer: […] thinking about the Downtown Superior Court, if you could describe, sort of, what you remember about the courthouse and also the neighborhood around the courthouse. Like, if you could --if you could share to someone who is unfamiliar with it, how would you describe it?
Lucila: There was no parking (ha) I do remember that. It was hard to find parking. Umm, there's, like --I remember, like, being multiple buildings, you know, and you really have to know where you're going to kind of get to the place that you need to go. And I also just remember a lot of lost people. And then, there was like, kind of like, the park in the middle of it all, right, so it's kind of like, oh, I'm not sure --it's kind of almost, now that I think about it, it's kind of like a college campus, you know, where you have to go to the different buildings, and you have to know where you're going, otherwise you're just the lost person. I remember that. And I do remember that one of the, um, in one of the services that they had, that there was a big line, you know, for people waiting to get in and get some of the services.
Interviewer: And yeah, how do you feel about those things? The fact that it's hard to figure out where to go, there was no parking, and there was a long line for services. Like, reflecting on that, what does that make you think about the court?
Lucila: It's not community friendly, you know, and like, I think --I remember the feeling that I got even just walking through there and mind you, that this is --I think I was there as an advocate, you know, not even as a community serve or as a community person. But yeah. I just get the sense of, like, there's people that know where they need to go. You know, it's kind of automatic the way that I see it. It's like the people that know really well, you know, that campus, and they know exactly where they need to go. And, you know, it feels like they're kind of rushed. You know, I'm imagining --I have no idea, but my assumption is that they're lawyers. So, they're like, you know, people that already have their appointments, judges, you know, whatever it is within the system that are kind of like, go, go, go, you know. There's people that have the experience in there before, you know, so they already know how the system works, you know, and where to go. And then, if you are somebody that's new in that environment, then it kind of feels very lonely (ha), you know, because it feels like, oh, you don't want to interrupt this busy person that's walking by asking them where to go. And it feels like some of the staff in there are kind of like, again, automatic into their thing. You know, like, this is what I need to say --seems kind of like they already have memorized the script, you know, of like what the answers are. And yeah, I think at the end of the day, it is a little dehumanizing, you know, because it's kind of like you're seen as a number, as a case number. Um, not as like the full human being, you know. And yeah, it's very unfortunate, like I said. It just doesn't feel community friendly. Even from the beginning of, like, there's no parking, so you even have to spend a significant amount of time, you know, driving around, trying to find somewhere to park. Pray that you will get lucky if you do find street parking and nobody will fine you, you know, because you don't know how long it's going to take. It doesn't feel like you have the right to ask any questions. And when you do, it feels like the answers are automatic, you know, and there's not really a real investment in the human.
