Re: Washington Post Article
From: Michael Mariner (mykanofone.net)
Date: Tue, 9 Jun 1998 09:00:37 -0500
First, let's consider the source, the author -- a 20-something New York 
Gen-Xer who has written for the Village Voice.  What's the article's 
slant? She's recounting her visit to a "neo-counter-culture" community in 
the hinterlands of Wash. State. She's speaking to her audience of hip, 
jaded, alienated, urban friends so she's reacting with some condescension 
but she also admits to being somewhat touched by her Uncle's lifestyle. 
Maybe, just maybe, someday she might go for that lifestyle herself - when 
she's too old to care if she's hip!

Second, will this article damage cohousing's reputation to where it will 
matter five years from now?  Nah.

Finally, how fallacious was her reporting? My answer:  Very hard to pin 
down because it was such a highly subjective, highly personal approach.  
It reads more like fiction or a diary rather than journalistic reporting. 
At one point she calls the common house a "communal" house.  Same thing 
to a hip 20-something Gen-Xer. She's not a cohousing insider and could 
care less about some subtle distinction like this.

I agree with others who said this is more of a personal essay about her 
Uncle rather than journalistic reporting on cohousing.

Mike Mariner

San Juan Cohousing, near Durango, CO, where we're looking for a few more 
folks to join us on 240 acres of beautiful land. Check us out at:  
http://shell.rmi.net/~ganesh/ or email Mac Thomson at ganesh [at] rmi.net

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