Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Consensus, Majority Vote, "Blocks" [was Report on Survey of Cohousing Communities 2011. Just released. A must read!

[R Philip Dowds (rpdowds]

I agree that "blocking" (paramount objection) is mis-used and misunderstood 
under many circumstances.  And that tightening the rules of objection can help 
many groups do their work.

However, your particular formulation strikes me as having a fatal flaw:  After 
I explain, in articulate detail, why Proposal X is contrary to our vision and 
mission documents, and will have ill consequences for our community — but find 
I am alone in these views, and my community begs to differ — then what?  Should 
I go ahead and block in the belief that I know what's better for the community 
than the community itself knows?  Or, should I abandon my principles and firmly 
held convictions, and just get along?

R Philip Dowds AIA
Cornerstone Cohousing
175 Harvey Street, Unit 5
Cambridge, MA 02140
617.354.6094

On Oct 1, 2011, at 12:15 PM, drmaryann99 [at] mac.com wrote:

> At the same time we tightened up the requirements of a legitimate block. You 
> must frame your block in terms of the community's vision/mission or by able 
> to say how proceeding would harm the community. This eliminated blocks 
> because someone didn't 'like' the proposal.