Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Consensus [Was new article on blocking]

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

On Jan 21, 2004, at 1:09 PM, Eris Weaver wrote:

> If we are trying to decide how to
> proceed on an issue, taking the temperature of the group in this way 
> can
> help us figure out where we need to go next to craft a solution that 
> will
> work. If the strawpoll shows us that most of the group supports a
> particular course of action and just a few don't, we can work more 
> closely
> with the smaller group to find out what their objections are and how 
> the
> proposal can be crafted to address them.

Again, this raises a "majority" issue. Why assume that the majority is 
right and that the smaller group needs more work? Those who agree with 
the proposal may need the work because it is a bad proposal!!!!!

Given that many people have little tolerance for sitting through 
discussions on issues they don't care about and will go along wtih any 
proposal, why not ask the question, do we need to go to a small group 
discussion on this? Then people who care about the issue can do more 
work rather than just "those who object." You need all the people who 
really care in that small group, not just those on one side of the 
proposal.

Lots of things work in lots of situations, but the deeper issue is what 
are you setting yourself up for when things get tough? Are you really 
building a strong group that weather a big storm or are you coasting 
with what is really a majority rule situation?

Sharon
-----
Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org

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