Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Describing Diversity

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

> On Sep 18, 2016, at 4:27 PM, carol collier via Cohousing-L <cohousing-l [at] 
> cohousing.org> wrote:
> 
> I do feel it is disingenuous to dismiss someone else's reality based on one's 
> "research." I will offer my opinion, that's all I can do,  that racial 
> diversity is one thing cohousing should look at when considering a diverse 
> community. It sounds as if there are many who disagree with this approach, 
> and in the free country we live in, they have every right to do so.

I find raising other perspectives to be helpful. Actual statistics put the 
world in a new perspective. One we often don’t see because we live in a small 
world. What happens to each of us personally is still heartening or 
infuriating, but when it is placed in context it changes. Barbara Sher teaches 
that all those things that you thought were personal accomplishments weren’t 
personal either. They were a product of supporting helpers, your age, your 
appearance, the ambitions of others, your time in history. The same is true of 
disappointments. 

Unhappy teenagers can handle life better when they realize there is a bigger 
world out there. And this age is temporary. Women who are  underpaid and 
excluded may see it as a personal failure. Arrows are pointed at them. To 
understand that it is a pervasive problem — doubled for women of color — and 
has nothing to do with an individual woman can change feelings and direct 
people to look for other support. Understanding that doesn’t mean you aren’t 
hurt by discrimination, but it can change how you deal with it.

That we are all discriminated against in some way doesn’t mean to dismiss any 
of those discriminations.

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