Self-proclaimed activist for social and criminal justice, Karen Fo Ma Prevalej, informed her neighbors that her vehicle’s windows and rear-view mirror had been smashed on the streets of Berkeley on Wednesday night.
Posting on Burgled Nextdoor, the Social Media service “dedicated to anti-social behavior,” Ma Prevalej described her street as full of “sketchy people” and “suspicious activity.
“I’m aware that this is expected,” Ma Prevalej wrote, “but I realized that I live on a street that seems to be the go-to place for people involved in dangerous lifestyles.”
With four months to go on her lease, Ma Prevalej pleaded with neighbors to help her find a safe parking space for her “luxury brand” vehicle.
Ma Prevalej has been active, to this point, on the original Nextdoor, where she championed compassion for “our homeless neighbors,” regardless of their criminal activity.
According to Josephine Fairlawn, professor of psychology at UC Berkeley, the conflict between Ma Prevalej’s compassion and her own drive for self-preservation represent another variant of the phenomenon known to experts in the field as ‘the Berkeley Standoff.’
Longtime readers of The Bunion may recall Dr. Fairlawn’s explanation of the Berkeley Standoff: “when the brain’s pre-frontal cortex, the area responsible for abstract thought and compassion, becomes overloaded and begins annexing lower functioning areas of the brain, such as the cerebellum. When this happens, the more mundane brain functions such as executive functioning suffer, and in extreme cases can cease all together.”
In Ma Prevalej’s case, Fairlawn explained, her compassion for her “homeless neighbors” had “blinded her to the threat that ‘sketchy people’ ‘involved in dangerous lifestyles’ may represent.”
“There are really only two ways to reconcile these conflicting impulses,” according to Fairlawn. “Ma Prevalej can undergo intensive Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and learn that her advocacy is the direct cause of the threats to her property and personal safety. In the alternative, she can eliminate the threat by moving to a safer location and pivot to what is known in the literature as ‘Berkeley Televirtue.'”
Berkeley Televirtue is most prevalent in areas of low crime, according to Fairlawn. It allows individuals to continue their activism at a safe remove from its consequences. Alternatively, they can express their compassion during short excursions to high crime areas before retreating to their own sanctuaries.
Ma Prevalej announced her intention to leave the neighborhood after her lease is up.
“Once I’m at a safe distance,” she explained, “I’ll be able to continue my advocacy. In fact, I’ll be able to kick it up a notch since I won’t need to spend time emptying my car of valuables or keeping an eye on it from the window. Better yet, my former neighbors will have an opportunity to provide direct support to the homeless neighbors I hope to continue drawing onto my old block.”
Ma Prevalaj plans to gift her neighbors with the name of reliable auto body glass repair shops before she departs.