In my blog post last week, I used the debates surrounding the song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” to highlight a focal question of mine: How do we responsibly study and address difficult issues embedded in cultural artifacts, especially those that still wield sociocultural influence today? For the purpose of this post, I wish to consider Goffman’s On the Run both as a work of research and as a cultural artifact as well. One major problem I have perceived is that nobody can be fully knowledgeable in everything culture and society, but we all have to navigate complex sociocultural situations and make decisions and judgements every day. Different individuals possess different biographies, come from different perspectives, care about different artifacts and within them, different aspects, and therefore reach different interpretations and end up debating at complete cross-purposes. And thus, wherever there is fanfare, controversy, or some other point of interest, there is a very common ...