Cohousing-L Mailing List: Pet policy and sharing policies,

[Becky Weaver (beckyweaver]

I have been struck by the overwhelmingly negative reception that the recently 
posted pet policy has gotten. Mostly I've thought, whew, see if I ever let any 
of my community's policies get posted here. 
   
  Why did people rip something to shreds that was posted with a note saying 
hurrah, we did it, it's done, we're happy with it, thank you for your help? 
   
  Most of us don't know the history of this policy, the people who wrote it, 
why it took them years to write it, or what caused it to be written this way. 
Why didn't we ask about those things first, rather than immediately jumping to 
"this is a bad idea, and this, and you should've done it this way?" Do we 
really think that nobody at Trillium Hollow thought about those points in the 
years they took to write this policy? 
   
  Funnily enough, I think the reason for the policy's tone is clearly 
illustrated by some other reactions it got on the list, ranging from "if you 
are advocating treating pets this way you must be awful people" to "if you are 
treating the allergic this way you must be awful people" (Of course I'm 
exaggerating, nobody says "awful people" on Cohousing-L and gets away with it 
<g>.)  
   
  The only other issues that routinely get this kind of reaction are parenting 
and sex. 
   
  Maybe we could think about that fact for a bit, before we jump in and 
denigrate how other communities are working with this emotional, personal, and 
sensitive topic. I for one am interested in the experiences Trillium Hollow 
residents must have gone through, to find such a detailed and complicated 
policy necessary. Maybe we'd learn something from hearing the story. 
   
  Becky Weaver
  Kaleidoscope Village/Central Austin Cohousing
  Austin, TX (currently in Belfast, ME)
   
  Where our development is proceeding apace and we are almost half sold out