Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Cultural Consistency

[Kevin Wolf (dcn00056]

After living in a successful co-op house for ten years and the N St 
Co-housing Community since 1988, I  think it is possible to have a great 
deal of diversity in age, color, race, sexual orientation, parents and 
singles, but wide diversity in creed and religion can cause problems.  

An avid Rush Limbough/Oliver North fan would not wear well in our 
community.  Even if they kept their view quiet, they would probably look 
down on us because of our views and opinions, just like if I knew theirs, 
I would start to lose respect for them.  This also depends on how fanatic 
they are, how willing are they to listen and consider anothers point of 
view.  

The same goes for religion.  Fundamentalists who believe that all of the 
earth including the highest mountainss were covered by flood for 150 days 
sometime around 5000 years ago have decided that they don't want 
rationality to invade into their belief system.  How accepting are they 
of unmarried couples living together, gays and lesbians, and a host of 
other issues that we accept and support?  

We have only had one case where someone of a different creed even wanted 
to live here.  She couldn't rent any of the rooms in her house because 
she would not accept anyone who might have a boyfriend sleep over.  She 
eventually left in part because of the strict restrictions she placed on 
roommates caused her not to be able to pay rent.  

I think that co-housers may become, over time, more like native tribes in 
which a clear cultural set of beliefs, philosophies, rituals, practices 
and tenets become dominant and eventually imbued in the subconscious 
fiber of all who live there.  May take 50 years but looking at tribes 
around the world shows a similar trend.  


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Kevin Wolf
724 N St
Davis, CA 95616
phone and fax: 916-758-4211