Re: Diversity, what diversity? | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: Jerry Callen (jcallenaptinc.com) | |
Date: Tue, 2 Jul 1996 23:44:36 -0500 |
Tony Rocco writes: The appeal and advantage that cohousing (intentional communities, etc.) offers lies in its potential for breaking down the isolation and alienation of contemporary urban and suburban American society, and to replace it with community. I repeat: breaking down barriers by creating community among ALL kinds of people is the greatest single potential benefit of cohousing, in my view. To use cohousing as just another way for people to isolate themselves from one another based on class, politics, religion, or even more ludicrously, the food they eat, is a perversion of the spirit of cohousing and completely self-defeating. That's why I "go ballistic" when I hear all the exclusionary rhetoric that seems to get bandied about by cohousers and intentional communitarians. I absolutely can't stand it. While there's a certain idealistic attractiveness to this position, in my experience this denies a very real human need to "seek like kind." Remember that we're talking about our HOME. I think there's a real strength that can come from know where one's center is, respecting and caring for that center, and, yes, sharing one's home with like-minded people with whom a strong sense of identity can be found. This can provide a grounding that enables one to move among a very diverse broader community in an accepting manner. Should churches be force to admit all comers as members, regardless of beliefs, in a desire to be inclusive? Should we completely eliminate all opportunities for single-sex education in the name of equality? Living in a diverse society does not mean homogeneity. I don't see why chosing to live with people who share my values and beliefs implies that I am necessarily rejecting people with other values and beliefs. Having said all that, I find the particular community in question pretty unappealing, so I doubt I would want to live there. :-) -- Jerry Callen jcallen [at] world.std.com "The best lack conviction, given some time to think, and the worst are full of passion without mercy." -- Joni Mitchell (borrowing from W.B. Yeats)
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Diversity, what diversity? Tony G. Rocco, July 2 1996
- Re: Diversity, what diversity? Loren Davidson, July 2 1996
- RE: Diversity, what diversity? Rob Sandelin (Exchange), July 2 1996
- Re: Diversity, what diversity? Tony G. Rocco, July 2 1996
- Re: Diversity, what diversity? Jerry Callen, July 2 1996
- Re: Diversity, what diversity? Bob's Cohousing Mailbox, July 3 1996
- Re: Diversity, what diversity? Daniel Nachbar, July 3 1996
- Re: Diversity, what diversity? Loren Davidson, July 3 1996
- Diversity, what diversity? Evan A.C. Hunt, July 3 1996
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