Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Is the term Cohousing hurting us?

[Fred H Olson WB0YQM (fholson]

LF [at] ISR.HARVARD.EDU Lynne Farnum
is the author of the message below but due
to a listserv problem it was posted by the COHOUSING-L sysop (Fred).
****************  FORWARDED MESSAGE FOLLOWS *********************

On Thu, 3 Aug 1995, Stephen Farley wrote:

> I was struck by how most of the people in Panguitch, predominantly
> conservative in many ways, seem to be living the ideal of cohousing in 
> most aspects of their lives. Farmers help each other with tasks for free,
> in the expectation that someday they, too, will be helped in return.
> Mothers in the community often act as mothers for children not their own.
> (snip)   > And yet, if you told these Panguitch citizens of "cohousing", 
> you would likely be met with a blank stare, uncomfortable shifting, or 
> suspicions that you harbored communist leanings. 
> 
If I spoke to these folks about cohousing, I'd say, "We want to build
a neighborhood that's like your town, where people know each other, work 
together, and look out for each other ... where you don't have to be 
afraid to leave your door unlocked or let your kids go down the street to 
play ... and if somebody's old, or sick, or gets laid off, people help out."
I don't think any of them would consider this a Communist plot.  In fact,
most people in rural areas or small towns are proud of their way of life,
and would tend to respect someone for rejecting the fast lane, anonymous
suburbs, and conspicuous consumption.

> Why can't we ... show Americans that this is a form of living 
steepd in American traditions and, yes, in many ways very conservative.

We can, and it is.

> Perhaps we should be talking less in the language of academia or leftist
> intellectualism, and more in the language of everyday people?

I try to avoid the former at all times!

Lynne Farnum