Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Homogeneity v. Neighborhoods

[Shava Nerad (shava]

> I am distressed to hear from so many people in the coho movement who feel 
> they cannot live in a community with people who do not share their 
> "spiritual" or political or other  preferences.
> 

*disclaimer*  My [future] community is not exclusive.  We are asking for 
participation from pagan and pagan-friendly folks.  This is to say, anyone
who's happy living with pagans is welcome.  If it's exclusive to say "we
only take religiously/spiritually tolerant people, or people who are
willing to live with a community that may be dominantly of another 
religious/spiritual orientation" then so be it...

In case you were thinking of us...

As a note, part of this comes from past experience, like the apartment
in Boston that we got evicted from because we made our Catholic neighbors
uncomfortable.  Not by anything we *did* (well, by putting bumper stickers
on our cars?  By spitting a goat for a renfair feast on the kitchen floor?
They thought we were sacrificing it...), but by who we were, we excited
sufficient fear in our neighbors to get them to get the authorities to
"find reason" to drive us out.

We're looking for an environment of tolerance.  Many of us haven't found
it in the larger society.  

> I recently visited Florida and New Mexico where I was shocked to see the 
> proliferation of walled-compounds, designed to make "us" feel comfortable 
> and to keep "them" out.  The rationalization for these private enclaves was 
> that it encourages a "feeling of community."  Where does this lead?   I have 
>  visions of Balkanization of the country.

They are called "burbclaves" in some slang.  You don't need
fences and security guards.  You just need local police who
arrest or hassle people who look like they don't belong.  That's
how they do it in parts of suburban Boston.

Shava