YES!!!
I know exactly what you mean!
The place you describe, monster trucks and christian, sounds so like
the place I live now. Libertarians with guns. Y'know the old saying
"The Moral Majority is Neither"? My new version is "The Christian
Right is Neither" This is not to knock all Christians, mind you. I
have friends who are very Christian and very loving and kind and
accepting. Suffice it to say that I fear rejection and have mixed
feelings about being surrounded by people who profess Christianity.
The communities I find myself to be most accepting and open seem to be
all affluent, white, highly educated communities. Of course, that is
the type of community I grew up in, and that probably defines me
fairly well too. Can communities really exist where people are really
different from one another? It is really hard to balance diversity
with people who understand you and accept you. Maybe fear is really
the barrier - fear that we will have to change ourselves if we are
exposed to the "other."
And while I love the connections I have to people thru technology, it
is really no comparison to meeting people in the coop and on the
street and in the library with whom I readily identify, or having
friends stop by and sit and drink tea with me.
I'd love to hear from other people on this....
Sometimes very lonely,
Heather
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>
> It seems to me that there are some elements in mainstream American
society
> that really get in the way of sustainable community ...
>
>
> ...and a main one is intolerance of difference, exceptionality ... i
really do
> think it's a big deal that just wanting to control one's appearance,
for
> example, is such a big deal ... if you have different colored hair,
or like to
> dress differently, or if you're gay, or if you're pagan, people make
it really
> really hard for you to get along or fit in and thusly you have to
reach
> outside your "community" (snicker) to other "communities" (snicker)
for those
> who are different there, and thus maintain phone, car, and email
relations
> across local channels ... if I could be myself locally, find
companions
> locally ... but realistically, amongst all these monster trucks and
mainstream
> Xtian moralistic judgemental mediocre fools? *sigh* ... these
technologies
> perhaps are bandaid solutions to social problems which need to be
faced head
> on ...
>
> ...if there were widespread celebration of diversity, I could see
neighborhood
> gardens, regular weekly block parties, and car poolings, etc ... i
could see
> safe bicycling and public transpo ... but i don't trust enough, and
thus only
> reach out to those who seem to share something in common that they're
> different ...
>
> ... anyone else had any similar thoughts or troubles?
>
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