Cohousing-L Mailing List: "Like-Minded"

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

On 8/22/2003 1:49 PM, "The CoHousing Company" <coho [at] cohousingco.com> wrote:

> There will be an opportunity to ask questions and to meet like-minded people
> considering cohousing.

"Like-minded" was a code word in the 1950s for segregation. It was used to
identify those who politely but firmly protected the rights of whites
against crude black interlopers who did not know their station in life. It
was used by people who avoided the words "white Christian supremacy" but
that was what they believed and meant. For many of us who were old enough to
experience such things in the 1950s, this is not only an immediate red flag,
but a stab in the heart and a slap in the face. "Like-minded" does not feel
like a good thing.

I mention this here because I see the phrase so  often on cohousing
websites, etc.  While many people are not familiar with this history and
certainly do not intend it to mean "restricted -- no blacks or Jews
allowed", it still conveys a kind of thinking most of us do not want
associated with cohousing.

Perhaps we want like-mindedness in the desire for community or in the belief
that living in an old-fashioned neighborhood is a better way to live. Or a
like-mindedness in the design of residential architecture. Or
like-mindedness in wanting to live in an ecologically responsible community.

But cohousing is not really about "like-mindedness".  Even if we remember to
use this adjective more carefully and precisely, the point of cohousing is
not to ferret out those who think like we do and exclude those who don't.
While we could use this language more precisely, it still gives the wrong
impression of what "we" are all about.

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


_______________________________________________
Cohousing-L mailing list
Cohousing-L [at] cohousing.org  Unsubscribe  and other info:
http://www.cohousing.org/cohousing-L