Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Covid protocols

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

> On Feb 28, 2021, at 11:16 AM, Melanie G <gomelaniego [at] gmail.com> wrote:

> And no, it is not accurate to ask people to "socially" distance.  Social
> distance is very likely to be heard and misperceived as shunning of
> others.

While this could obviously be inferred, I can’t imagine this happening. Words 
have connotations as well as definitions. They have different meanings 
depending on context.

“Social” means in groups of people, in community. "A social" is a social 
gathering — a party, dance, tea, etc.

So the whole context is a gathering, a social event.

“Distancing” alone means to put distance, space between one thing and another, 
it isn’t necessarily negative, though it often is. And it isn’t necessarily 
related to human actions. Distancing playgrounds from shooting ranges, for 
example. “Distancing” means keeping a space between things.

“Social” immediately reminds people that the subject is about people in groups. 
That is the concern. It furthers the pandemic.

Physical distancing is a whole other thing. Like playgrounds and shooting 
ranges.

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