Stand Aside
From: Mac Thomson (machappyvalley.com)
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 1995 11:15:01 -0500
I've been doing some research of late on consensus and have run across an area
that's not clear to me.  Maybe some of you have had experience with this and
can shed some light on it for me.

Most of the resources that I've read state that when someone chooses to Stand
Aside in a decision, consensus is achieved, but the minutes reflect the
person's decision to Stand Aside and they are not required to help implement
the decision, only not to interfer with the implementation.  I can somewhat
understand the rationale of allowing a member to not participate in the
implementation of a decision that they don't support, but what about helping
to implement the decision financially?  I would assume that all members would
have to contribute their share financially.

If,by consensus decision, the community decides to buy a roto-tiller at a
cost of $600 ($30 per household), it would only seem fair that all members
would have to share the cost equally.  A consensus decision is after all a
community decision and the community should act as a whole in its
implementation.

Under that logic, however, a member who Stands Aside should also be expected
to do his/her share of work to help implement the decision.  Doesn't spending
one's money on a decision one doesn't support place a burden on a person
comparable to spending one's labor on that same decision?

I think that in either case though, a decision made by the community should
be implemented by all members of the community.  If an individual member
feels strongly enough in opposition to a decision, they can always Stad in th
Way rather than Standing Aside.

Looking forward to other perspectives on this.

    Mac Thomson                         San Juan Cohousing
    Mac [at] HappyValley.com           Durango, Colorado

  "I must reduce myself to zero.  So long as a mans does not of his own free
will put himself last among his fellow creatures, there is no salvation for
him."
                      - Ghandi


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