Community
One of the places I go for internet is Ely Surf Shop. In their bathroom they have a poster for building a global community. Even as a tree hugger this annoys me to no end. I've read the thing because my bladder is the size of a dime. Really.
The list is all about honoring indigenous cultures, knowing where your water comes from -- and where your waste goes. Well, I suppose if there IS a good time to speculate on where your waste products go, it's when you are actually...
The poster is long and complicated...and sanctimonious.
People who truly understand community believe in karma. They might not use that exact word, but they understand that their actions have repercussions and they know that how they treat their neighbor comes back to them.
Ely has had an influx of thousands and thousands of tourists for the Blueberry Arts Festival -- it's a big deal event for many. Most of the tourists are pretty cool, but there are enough rude people to make it frustrating to be a local.
The rude people know they're leaving. They know they can be insulting and ignore manners and etiquette because they don't have to stick around for karma to bite them in their obnoxious asses. Ely is not their community so they feel no obligation to act like our neighbors. One can only hope they have more respect for their own neighborhoods.
The reason Ely is a community is because you see the same people again and again. You see them on your street, at the grocery store, at church, at the Blueberry Arts Festival... You know that if you're rude to that person you'll be meet them again and again. You know that you probably have friends in common, and you know that a quick loss of temper can haunt you for a long time. It's not six degrees of seperation, but more like two!
The true secret of a Global Community will elude many as long as they cannot feel contact to others who are merely across the state from them, or in only a different part of the same country.
The list is all about honoring indigenous cultures, knowing where your water comes from -- and where your waste goes. Well, I suppose if there IS a good time to speculate on where your waste products go, it's when you are actually...
The poster is long and complicated...and sanctimonious.
People who truly understand community believe in karma. They might not use that exact word, but they understand that their actions have repercussions and they know that how they treat their neighbor comes back to them.
Ely has had an influx of thousands and thousands of tourists for the Blueberry Arts Festival -- it's a big deal event for many. Most of the tourists are pretty cool, but there are enough rude people to make it frustrating to be a local.
The rude people know they're leaving. They know they can be insulting and ignore manners and etiquette because they don't have to stick around for karma to bite them in their obnoxious asses. Ely is not their community so they feel no obligation to act like our neighbors. One can only hope they have more respect for their own neighborhoods.
The reason Ely is a community is because you see the same people again and again. You see them on your street, at the grocery store, at church, at the Blueberry Arts Festival... You know that if you're rude to that person you'll be meet them again and again. You know that you probably have friends in common, and you know that a quick loss of temper can haunt you for a long time. It's not six degrees of seperation, but more like two!
The true secret of a Global Community will elude many as long as they cannot feel contact to others who are merely across the state from them, or in only a different part of the same country.
posted by Nicolette at 2:14 PM
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