Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Cultural Consistency

[BM.Vornbrock (bmv]

Hmmm.   This thread got dropped like a hot potato.  At the risk of getting
burned, I've got a couple of comments and a question.

I think that to a certain degree, a co-housing community must/will have some
cultural consistency.  Two general reasons, one - its a group and groups have 
some commonality, therefore, some consistency.  Two - as a group, it develops
a shared space for living together and in part, that develops consensus
about some issues and expands the awareness of members to include some of 
the perspectives of the individual group members.  Again, group consistency
is increased over time.  The group members and the process determine
whether this is a positive force in members lives.

I seem to remember that in Minneapolis, MN a couple of years ago there were
several co-housing groups that got started and they split into at least
three groups.  If I remember correctly, there were an "urban", "suburban"
and "science fiction" group.  (One of the local science fiction groups,
MnStF, is a VERY active community in a broad sense who just happened to
start because they also love Science Fiction.)  At some level, there is
obviously cultural consistency in evidence.  

I think a question or two to consider is:
1. Is the group open to interaction with the outside world or closing in?
2. Is the group's culture broad enough for an individual to grow through life?

So, with that in mind, my 'question':

I'd like to know how any groups have dealt with issues
like sexual orientation, religion, racism, ageism, *ism... as they might have 
come up in either forming a group or moving toward the completion and move 
in to a co-housing community.