Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Anti-Social Americans

[King Collins (greenmac]

>So I fully understand your notion of "Anti-Social":
>- Do you feel all Americans are anti-social?
>- Or are all Americans anti-social except those people interested or living
>in cohousing?
>- Or a transformation automatically happens to anti-social people when they
>move in or become involved with a cohousing group?
>- Or because of special skills certain people are able to change those
>anti-socia folks to pro-social folks?
>- Or folks hanging out on your porch are really anti-social but are
>pretending to want to socialize by hanging out on your porch?
>- p.s.  were you old enough to be involved in the sixties?...or did you miss
>it?
>
>Harry


Dear Harry,

I saw your message and had some feeling myself so I am responding rather
than lurking as I usually do.

For me, the point is that neighborhood living for most Americans is very
limited, not much communication, few shared potlucks and meals, almost
never shared projects of any size.

Except during disasters. In times of extreme stress and disaster,
neghborhoods suddenly come together and people share everything and express
their thoughts and feelings clearly and passionately to each other.
Suddenly life becomes more soical, more real and for most people, those
share moments of disaster are high points in their lives.

It seems to me that life in other times was more interactive (more social),
and that the modern industrial world has encouraged isolation and
dependency upon outside institudions, rather than upon other people thru
cooperation.

I'd like to see our lives become more social in this sense of cooperation,
shared communication, the tidbits of live, and of greater projects like
barn-raisings.

What do you think?

King Collins
greenmac [at] pacific.net