Discrimination (for any reason) | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: sbraun (sbraungmavt.net) | |
Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 17:18:01 -0700 (MST) |
<<I don't believe it's defensible to bar people from cohousing for *many* reasons...>> [emphasis mine] [and I agreed with the majority of the post I'm taking this quote from, so sorry to be persnickety about one little side issue.] I keep coming back to this thought: In the US, it isn't defensible to bar anyone from housing for *any* reason having to do with race, age, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc. It's illegal. This stance against bigotry seems like such a fundamental accomplishment of the age in which we live, that it shocks me that cohousers, who in many (not all) cases feel themselves to have tumbled to a superior way of life, do something illegal (not to mention immoral) and don't even feel ashamed of it. This is the same crowd that has a problem with republicans (the people usually accused of discrimination) and that constantly bemoans the fact that there isn't "enough diversity" in cohousing. I believe that many supposedly liberal cohousers don't want diversity, not when it is in their own neighborhoods. Differences in skin color are perfectly okay with cohousers, but other differences are just not okay (again, not in all cases). I have heard people say things like, "If that person isn't very good at saving money, then we probably don't want them in our community anyway," or "Does she have children? How old is she?" "Do we really want to end up taking care of a bunch of old ladies?" or "I would really like to live near like-minded people. Does this person/family have the same focus 'we' do on ecology, simple living, and no tv?" "Doesn't that family's kids play with guns?" "We really want to check people out before we let them join." "Do they eat meat? I'd rather have more vegetarians in our community," or (and this one is more obviously a shocker) "If we lower the prices on our houses too much and build with disabilities in mind, we may end up with people with disabilities. Do you really want to raise your children around people with disabilities?" Why do cohousing groups tolerate statements like these? Substitute skin color for the above bigotries and you have somebody who can never be the majority leader of the house (at the behest of many cohousers, even). I have come to believe that the cohousing crowd, in its worst corners, is just as bigoted, prejudiced, and narrow-minded as the worst Archie Bunker I've ever met--but about different issues. Maybe it is human nature: maybe we should "allow" for people to seek out sameness in their neighbors. But we ought not ever, ever deny housing or access to housing, either overtly or covertly, to somebody because they are different from us. And I believe we ought to work very hard to expand our tolerance for differences to include meat-eaters, tv-watchers, grease-cookers, public-schoolers, beer-drinkers with pot bellies, addicted sports-watchers, video-game junkies, juice-box consumers, perfume-wearers, smokers, advocates of the war in Iraq, and people with smelly armpits, not to mention the old and the young. Enjoying the discussion, Sheila [who loves debate in all its forms, so bring it on] > -----Original Message----- > From: cohousing-l-admin [at] cohousing.org [mailto:cohousing-l- > admin [at] cohousing.org] On Behalf Of TR Ruddick > Sent: Wednesday, February 19, 2003 5:00 PM > To: cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org > Subject: [C-L]_RE: fifty plus cohousing > > > When I read these comments I am struck by what seems to be an implicit > assumption: > > Message: 3 > > Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 13:55:04 -0500 > > To: cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org > > From: "Sara A." <mabonwy [at] mindspring.com> > > Subject: Re: [C-L]_Fifty Plus Cohousing + ? > > Reply-To: cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org > > > > At 07:17 AM 2/18/03 -0700, you wrote: > > >I would also say that for me, personally, there is something very > > >disturbing in the fact that people want to remove themselves from any > > >segment of the population, which seems to be a growing movement in > > >American life. For people to want to make sure that there are no old > > >people around would be just as disturbing. > > > > My feelings exactly. > > > > Sara > > The assumption (or is it an assertion) is that everyone must live in close > proximity with all kinds of people, or else confess to having prejudicial > tendencies toward "removing a segment of the population" from their lives > as a whole. > > I don't see any reason to make that assumption in all cases. A person who > (using current example) doesn't want to live with children has not > necessarily removed that segment of the population entirely. Children > might be a big part of that person's life--just not someone that the > person > wants to live at close quarters constantly. > > I don't believe it's defensible to bar people from cohousing for many > reasons, but children do imply a particular living environment that, > frankly, is irritating to some (not me, I have six--not all biological). > Well, I would want my community to have a fair population of > children--others might not. To me, diversity does not mean that we can't > choose our living environment in terms of noise, space allocation, safety > considerations, responsibility, and all the other burdens that children > bring. > > > _______________________________________________ > Cohousing-L mailing list > Cohousing-L [at] cohousing.org Unsubscribe and other info: > http://www.cohousing.org/cohousing-L _______________________________________________ Cohousing-L mailing list Cohousing-L [at] cohousing.org Unsubscribe and other info: http://www.cohousing.org/cohousing-L
- Re: Fifty Plus Cohousing, (continued)
- Re: Fifty Plus Cohousing Raines Cohen, February 19 2003
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RE: fifty plus cohousing TR Ruddick, February 19 2003
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Re: RE: fifty plus cohousing racheli, February 19 2003
- Monoculture sbraun, February 20 2003
- Discrimination (for any reason) sbraun, February 19 2003
- Cohousing Principles and the Contradictions of Practice Greg Dunn, February 19 2003
- Re: Cohousing Principles and the Contradictions of Practice Sara A., February 19 2003
- Re: Cohousing Principles and the Contradictions of Practice Art Gorski, February 20 2003
- Re: Cohousing Principles and the Contradictions of Practice Christine Johnson, February 21 2003
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Re: RE: fifty plus cohousing racheli, February 19 2003
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