Photocollage by @stellabelle. This is how I feel when destructive people rip apart a good group of people with violence, hate and abuse of power.
I was raised in an intentional Christian community. Here's some photos of me as a kid (in the blue dress) and after the first houses were built:
I’ve been actively studying/living in online and other real-life intentional communities for many years.
The community I was raised in and which I currently live has a few similarities to the Amish, in that sharing and having close relationships is at the heart of life here. In some respects, I did not fit in very well as a kid due to my disinterest in religion, starting from early childhood and continuing on today.
I never quite believed what the fanatical Christian adults in my community wanted me to believe. It just never made much sense to me and most of it seemed utterly absurd. But the social pressure was enormous and I found myself just wanting to fit in. But at age 8 I ran a series of my own tests which disproved the adults’ assertions that God performed miracles such as moving stationary objects, etc. After running my tests, I came to the conclusion that the adults were making up random stuff based on their faulty emotionally-driven mental religious constructs. Each of these adults had a different story and none of them correlated.
I never quite believed them and because I sometimes questioned their ideas, I was routinely told that I was “going to hell.”
Their threats and use of brainwashing techniques on me never worked and so at an early age I came to the conclusion that religion is a failed attempt to answer questions too uncomfortable for most human beings to deal with. I’ve had the same ideas about this my entire life and the only time I “prayed to God” was when I thought my airplane was going to crash. That was it, the only time I felt weak enough to pray.
I moved away from my community when I became an adult. It was only fairly recently that I moved back. So for the vast part of my adulthood, I lived the way most Americans do: single, or coupled, in an apartment or house, isolated from others even though they are living right next to me.
Around 2011, I realized I needed to become more integrated into society for survival purposes. Being a single parent makes for a very vulnerable existence. I’m an atheist, so becoming a church member was out of the question. For the most part, I don’t really like groups, as I tend to disagree with the way they are run. I am fiercely independent in many ways, but I wanted to try something different that solved my problems of isolation and future survival. Most women in my situation simply go looking for another man, but in my case, I was so psychologically damaged, I wanted nothing to do with men, as they symbolized violence and pain to me. After a few years after leaving my abuser, I started to regain my old self as I applied various techniques to remove the effects of the abuse I’d received from my psychopath. I am pretty much over the bad experience, but I will never see people in the same naive way as before.
So, in 2011, I found and became a member of a group called Emerald City KC which had formed in one of the most racially-divided areas of my city. An area that real estate developers and politicians of the past had on purpose divided the whites from the non-whites. It was written into the law from the earliest days: “No non-white people shall live West of Troost.”
The road that separates whites from blacks is called Troost.
East of Troost is black, West of Troost is white. The city is still divided, but no one talks about it. Most of the poverty and most of the violent crime is East of Troost. Many homes are abandoned, foreclosure rates are high. Schools are being closed. It looks like a war zone in certain areas.
Image: Franny and her husband
Emerald City KC sought to bring new perspectives to a racially divided area. It was essentially an urban ecovillage that was led by a visionary white female entrepreneur named Franny Knight. The group members were mostly creative types, free thinkers, artists, visionaries, eco types, basically anyone who rejected mainstream, religious, corporate lifestyle. Soon, the community grew and creative expression was the central focus of the group. Artists flocked to the area, people moved in, the vibe was good and shit was getting done. Anarchists became attracted to Emerald City too, and soon joined up. There were no rules actually, no codes of conduct, no religious affiliations, nothing. Emerald City was an open slate and evolved according to a voluntary structure. If you had an idea, you presented it to see if anyone from the group liked your idea, and if they did, your idea got traction and became a reality.
Image Source: EC house is on left, the house on right sprung up as an artist’s cooperative.
Due to the visionary and creative nature of the leader, Franny, things happened super fast. This is Franny and she usually had a big smile on her face:
Image Source: @stellabelle
She and her friends bought a house on Troost that became the central hub of Emerald City.
Franny was an open communicator, a tolerant creative thinker and a catalyst for action. People began helping to clean up neighborhoods, move into abandoned houses, etc. I invited the EC members to help me clean up a huge pile of abandoned wood and materials in my community so they could use them for building:
Image Source: @stellabelle
Soon, a retired teacher bought a building across from EC, started up a neighborhood preschool with volunteer help from the Emerald City folks. We all helped lay down tiles and clean up the interior. The preschool was designed to help parents who couldn’t afford the costs of childcare. Then a center opened for community groups next to the neighborhood prechool.
A community and EC garden were started along with a compost bin.
Image: EC member working on EC garden
And then a well-known anarchist bought up another nearby building and a monthly neighborhood arts night event was established at the Emerald City house. People were helping to clean up areas, move into abandoned houses, etc. Shit was getting done and the vibe was really good.
Here’s a video I shot at the art hop during the height of the Emerald City movement:
Fun street parties flourished, artists were active even though there were some power struggles and disagreements, at least the art hop event was gaining traction and thriving. Racial tension always existed but in the early days people were free to create their own community projects and establish their own houses. It was the golden era of community life, free from control and coercion.
Image Source: Emerald City KC
Here’s one of the early, most active, prominent members who bought up empty lots and put his sculptures in them:
This group was not religious. It accepted everyone and it didn’t ask questions or have any defined rules about how to deal with violence, criminals and abusive people.
Then, about one year after it was started, trouble started. Power struggles ensued, hardcore. Weird, violent stuff began to occur.
The first thing to happen had to do with human sexuality. One of the most prominent male members started sleeping with two different women in the group. He would be with one for a long time, then he’d switch to #2. Well, it turned out that #2 was as mentally insane as you can get. She was also a poet, a very passionate person, creative, and absolutely mad to the core. Some think she had multiple personalities.
I saw her on many occasions and one day she was normal and the next she was ready to rip someone’s head off. She verbally and viciously attacked people and I believe this was fueled by being rejected by her man, who was sleeping with another woman. On another level, she was just insane, no doubt about it. She was a white woman and I believe in many ways, she hated her own whiteness. She started dividing the group into white vs. black. Her attacks, many of which emerged during Emerald City meetings also made people wary and uncomfortable. People began wishing to avoid her.
Over time, through her insanity and violence, she divided up the EC group into 2 warring factions.
At this same time, the neighborhood gang presence began to show itself at the neighborhood art parties. Soon, there was talk that guns were being hidden in the back yard of the Emerald City house. Some of the young neighborhood guys who had dabbled with EC began talking about carrying out retribution murders. One guy I talked to told me about how one of his friend’s had been killed and how he intended to go and hunt down his killer. Gang members began coming to the parties and sizing up women, sort of claiming their territory like rabid wolves.
About this same time, the well-known anarchist, for reasons no one knows, slashed the tires of someone’s car.
It also leaked out that he had attempted to rape a woman in his building on Troost. It was rumored that this anarchist had some dealings with people in the past that went sour and that he was currently at war with them.
Another thing that had been happening was that the neighborhood black Christian leaders, who were mostly male, didn’t like the idea of a white woman running a non-religious group in their turf. The most ironic thing about this is that Franny, the leader of EC was married to a black man. These leaders began spreading the rumor that Emerald City was the devil’s work and that it needed to be destroyed as soon as possible. Franny on many occasions welcomed these leaders and invited them to learn about her group’s mission. I think they were really upset when Franny wouldn’t allow them to do a group prayer at one of Emerald City’s meetings.
To add insult to injury, the locals began cracking down on people smoking weed in the community garden and they took away funding from the primary gardener who mostly created and maintained the community garden on her own.
This gardener was an amazing source of community spirit, caring and knowledge. Karma doesn’t get any better than the kind she had. Here she is during that time:
Image Source: Emerald City KC
So, basically, when you add up all these things together, the complete dissolution of the group happened pretty fast.
I dropped out of Emerald City when the gang members started hiding guns in EC’s backyard.
At that time, I had a 2 year-old daughter and it just wasn’t worth it to me to find a solution to the prospect of gang violence infecting our group.
Image Source: @stellabelle
So, #2 woman was literally destroying the harmony of the group and dealing with her psychological warfare was draining the energy from everyone.
The destruction of Emerald City KC can be distilled into the following:
No one had put in place a plan to deal with members who were violently insane and who attacked others. Emerald City had no rules of membership and no formal code of conduct. It also had no official way of banning members.
Religious, racial and gender intolerance. Many of the black church leaders in the community began attacking our group saying it was the devil’s work. Christianity has a long history of intolerance of atheists. And Emerald City was considered an atheist group since it had no religious affiliation. Black leaders also wanted us out because we were mostly white and they lumped us together with slave owners. Even though we were doing volunteer work and assisting locals with many things, our presence was not welcome. Misogyny also played a role as many male leaders hated a female-run organization.
Gang presence and violent criminal activity. The area that EC was in was near gang-controlled regions. Gang leaders began showing up to the EC parties and there were reports that guns from the gangs were being hidden on the grounds. The EC parties were reminiscent of a different time before the gangs showed up. Young people had creative art shows, played music, danced, talked about revolutionary new ideas, etc. We set up a communal garden, helped build a school, supported each other, and welcomed anyone no matter what their background. I got to know a few neighborhood kids who were on the fringe of either joining a gang or becoming an artist. Our community supported the arts and free expression so I feel we were a force of positive change. But me being white, I think this phrase applies: “sometimes the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Gangs quickly moved in on the action at Emerald City and began exerting their control and dominance over people, places and things.
Here’s what I learned from this experience:
-For the formation of any group, recruit core members who are mentally stable and who know how to resolve conflicts peacefully. You don’t have to be perfect, you just need to have social skills that enable you seek solutions that exist outside of violence. These people have to be carefully selected and these people are the ones who should be given more power and resources. If the wrong people are given power, then the results will be disastrous.
-The existence of a group of highly committed people who are not filled with hate brings about a peaceful environment that is able to withstand the stress of open discussions, disagreements and the cultivation of new ideas. Innovation thrives.
-After this core has been established, and the group is functioning pretty well, then some groundwork needs to be created in order to deal with those who are mentally unstable who enter into it. A conflict resolution specialist group needs to be formed who can be counted on to sort out personal disputes. This main person must be as neutral and helpful as possible.
-If one person stands out as a violent and abusive person over a fairly long time and they have not worked out their disputes, then the group needs to come together and decide if the group is being divided by this one individual. If it is, then measures need to be put in place to shun this person and potentially ban them. This is a last resort action, done in order to preserve the health and cohesion of the group. I've studied this one aspect extensively in intentional communities and all the successful ones which are still in existence follow this guideline.
Because the Emerald City group had never considered how to deal with the things that eventually destroyed it, it was unable to function and survive.
I’ve seen a few terrible people ruin an entire organization over and over again in life. I’m very familiar with the signs of a dying ship. Preparing for challenges and having a clear vision for a group is the start of creating true community. If the top tier of a group is warring, then the cohesion and strength of a group is greatly weakened, thus making it unstable.
Stability can be created by recognizing a faulty power structure, redesigning it and addressing personal conflicts.
It sounds easy, but it’s one of the most difficult things to accomplish. Humans have not evolved very much in this arena, compared to technology. Free and open discussion is paramount to the success of any organization, online or offline. If people do not feel free to speak openly and challenge the existing power structure, you will see collapse eventually.
I had to read that a couple of times, but glad I did. This does inspire me to post about growing up in Detroit and some of the wild stuff that happened then. I'm not sure I would ever come out of that particular rabbit hole if I did though.
I used to drive a truck into canada. One option was to go thru Detroit into windsor...the other option was to go way north thru huron. Detroit was shorter and thus cheaper. I went thru detroit ONCE. Damn war zone. (This was in the early nineties). Never again. I'd spend the extra few hundred dollars go the long way. I considered it insurance.
Oh do it! I visited Detroit after the recession and stayed at Grace Lee Boggs Activist house which is located in the worst area of Detroit. It was so insane, I could barely recognize it as the US. Crazed people were at convenience stores, lots of handicapped people, it was absolutely like an apocalyse. Write about it!!
I do have some good halloween stories might be just the right timing :) It always seemed to get freaky then.
do you still live in detroit?
Las Vegas currently. I have a house here in Nebraska too, which is where I'm staying till after Halloween.
HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
post it, whatever the fuck it is!
As a fellow detroiter you'll have to explain what Devils night is if you are going to bring up halloween. Once I moved out of the city I was surprised to learn that devils night isn't a thing anywhere else in the country really.
It was supposed to be the night before Halloween and not be quite as destructive as we made it be. Toilet paper in the football coaches tree was a classic bit most everyone did. Sometimes it was a night for revenge too.
I'm so lucky to have seen this post, and I registered to upvote it! I have lived in a handful of similar communities, although usually with some agreed-upon guidelines, which have gone a similar route.
I feel the ideas of transparency, consensus, and cryptographic permanence that found the blockchains could be a great help in real world communities.
I imagine areas that are publically recorded, such that any may review what happened there. Organizational meetings occur in these spaces, and people may live in them if they feel or are considered unsafe.
Those proven to have behaved unsafely are warned and asked to leave for a time after second offense.
Thoughts?
well, more than two offenses actually......some people like to start wars, others just have little fights. The ones who start and maintain wars need to leave.
@stellabelle
Basically what happened in your group is what happens in every single group. A micrography of the outside world.
I avoid groups for all reasons you mentioned plus some more. The formation of the "group" rather indicates a problem with those forming it.
ha! ha! That's hilarious! I tend to avoid groups for the main reason that after I'm in it, i begin to feel fake. I have an aversion to FAKERY! I can't look at myself in the mirror if I've been fake, so I try my best not to do it! Great answer.
I've worked in many Buddhist Sanghas and organizations. I've seen crazy people ruin a sangha unless there is a strong healthy teacher who is there all the time and a steady, wise group of elders that are there for the group. When there is a lot of money involved the psychopaths and their enablers surround the teacher and drive the weaker members with influence out of the sangha. Usually that's when manipulation and abuse starts happening coupled with power struggles. The healthy groups I've been in have a teacher that cares and is aware of the dynamics of power and control and surrounds himself with people who cannot be infected.
There is money involved here, there are crazy people here that feed off of fear and chaos...I do not know who the owners of this place are, maybe they are in this to harvest a bubble. If so the harvest is over and we are fighting over leftovers... If they, the architects, whales, and miners are interested in long term success, listen to Stellbelle.
Monks might be the craziest of all. When i was in Japan at age 23 I met a Buddhist monk who forever ruined my image of all religious monks/priests. I'm thinking of making this into a post actually since I still have the memories so vivid.....anyway, this buddhist monk went with me to a bar. When we got there, he turned his monastery symbol to face downwards. I asked him why he did this, and he said he didn't want to infect it. It was like he was sinning or something. Then he told me about the orgies that the nuns and monks in Japan had. I think this monk was trying to seduce me, but at that time I was completely oblivious to sexuality. I had no idea, but he seemed to be desiring me in some ways. Nothing happened, but it was then I realized that most humans are really incapable of restraining themselves, and indeed are just animals in disguise. There are some swamis I have found who have already lived a full life and now are truly more englightened.....but those are so rare.
This is common everywhere but especially in Japan, the Buddhist temples are used primarily as funeral homes now and they are inherited by the son. Buddhism in Japan, the Monks are allowed to marry. There is a long history of Japan forcing Korean celabate monks to marry and killing them if they declined during the war between Korea and Japan. Korean Buddhism was taken over by the mafia when the Korean monastics asked them to kick the married monks out of their Buddhist temples after they won their independence from Japan. The mafia found being a monk was a cushy job and moved into Koream monasteries. My first teacher was a celabate Korean monk from the Seon tradition. He taught me about karma using the example of the Mafia and corruption of the Korean monastic institutions. Theravada Buddhist institutions have the same problem and so does Tibetan or Vajrayana. I don't know about Ch'an or Zen in China, but I bet they're having corruption issues too. It is Kalyuga, the dark ages of a cycle the world goes through. I've been lucky to have some of the best teachers, kind, honorable and master degrees in their area of study. The dynamics in religion play out in any institution or group....it's the way of samsara, we can educate ourselves, stop being naive like you've done and learn to be proactive, stop the spread of power grabbing psychopaths and their enablers before the take over and move their buddies in to our organization or group. Our government is an excellent example of psychopaths taking over and moving their buddies into top positions.
So the elephant in the room is if you see the same things happening in the Steemit community that you experienced as a member of EC. Do you fear Steemit is going down the same road? If so, how do we implement the things you mentioned in order to stop the process and hopefully reverse it? Or is it too late?
The main issue right now is that we are all in a central party with lunatics who like to destroy others for the fun of it. I'd like to branch off and start my own party with free thinkers and those who really want to get shit done. I need this site to be more interactive. I need the evil whales to lose their power and go away. Even whales who are slightly evil are fine, it's the violent and abusive ones who are ruining the integrity and quality of this growth. It's still new so there is time. What I am most worried about is the centralization of power. Everyone who has half a brain recognizes that the centralization of power is a HUGE problem. Your boss cannot also be your jailer and judge. This is currently how Steemit works. It is closer to fascism than anything else. So, there needs to be a major die off so that the natural readers, curators, creators and others can start to run this thing. The whales also occupy a very narrow demographic which is problematic as well. This ship needs a shake up and power needs to be flushed out. I believe that the only ones who will really thrive here long term are really tough. There are a number of stubborn writers, creators and hardcore thinkers like @kyriacos, @papa-pepper @kaylinart @l0k1 and others who are just too determined to be frightened off. Your regular user, though will be so negatively affected by the zero or $.01 payouts, that they will get the fuck out of here fast. No one likes to imagine that their contribution is worthless. We've never been confronted with such a horrible reality.
Me, well, I've been through hell and I chew glass every day. As long as people don't get sick of me writing, I'll continue. I'm very much influenced by @kyriacos and is unrelenting, tireless approach to writing. I currently view steemit as a publishing platform. It will grow and flourish or die if not handled properly. No one has the answers. It could go either way actually. I have gut feelings but nothing more. My gut feelings are generally 90% accurate since I have been in and out of many intentional groups, startups, communities, etc. I can tell you the one thing that people don't like: abuse of power. There's your answer. There's plenty of that shit here. But there's more good people than bad, but more sheep than I'd like to admit......
I really enjoyed your post, @stellabelle. Two questions about this comment though:
1) How do you define violence?
2) Who are the "violent and abusive" whales you're describing?
You mention @kyriacos, but I've had conversations with them which were verbally abusive, full of cussing, personal attacks, and the like. From a non-violent communication standpoint, it was full of jackal language, not giraffe language.
I'm having trouble reconciling what you're describing. I see no physical violence of any kind on steemit, from whales or otherwise. It's kind of impossible unless we're talking about doxing which leads to violence IRL. I do see some abusive language and emotionally-charged personal attacks, but mostly from non-whales, many of whom thankfully are ignored and have either gone away or changed accounts to be ignored again. Maybe flagging is the violence you're describing? I'm not sure. I want to better understand what you mean. Thanks.
1). Abusing power. For example, let's say a whale is doing things that he wants to hide. Well, there's no real hiding on here because anyone can see what anyone else is doing. Let's say it's not exactly against the rules, but it's something that most people would find disgusting. Now let's say that a writer begins digging through this whale's activity and bringing forth that data. This writer is not accusing the whale of anything, but merely pointing out the data, the actions and the behavior. Well, if the whale was smart, he would do nothing. But when a whale is not so smart and full of vitriol, hate and anger, he's going to try using force of flagging to silence him, and anyone else who challenges anything associated with his power. He will try to destroy reputations, and will also take away rewards. All of this actually draws attention to the data that he wishes to bury. In fighting and trying to crush people, he shows his guilt, especially when the ones who report such data do it in a neutral way. Especially when free speech is something that some of these whales don't believe in. This type of behavior is fascist.
@kyriacos is controversial because he doesn't kiss whale's asses. He delivers things in a brutal way, but if you carefully look at the content of what he says, it's generally based in facts. I don't agree with his delivery to people, as he seems to be lacking in empathy, but he calls out scam artists, and shitposts, whale shills and other fake people. I have a serious aversion to fakery, shitposts and the like, so his voice is clearly needed in a platform that is quickly shaping up to be a ship-full of sheep. People are selling out fast. I see a big flushout coming, as some of these stupid whales i've mentioned have been kicked off the witness list, because of their greed and war-mongering tactics.
Trying to silence others who are critical thinkers is a form of violence. It has happened.
Oh I can discuss some of this privately.
I'm not as familiar with that definition as I try to use the dictionary definition:
While also thinking about non-violent communication's definition of violent language.
I most often think of violence as an action against a physical body, not virtual one online or one that deals with someone's emotions or points of view or ability to share their opinion. I define abusing power as abusing power, not as violence. Violence may be a mechanism someone uses in order to abuse and maintain their power, but I don't see them as the same thing.
You use language like "fighting and trying to crush people" but these are just metaphors. There's no physical crushing or fighting going on and looking at it this way, IMO, escalates the fears, negative emotions, and drama unnecessarily. You're a good writer, so I'm surprised you use language so freely like this, unless your intention is get these emotions stirred up in others beyond what may be justified by the actual actions taking place.
I'm all for bad actors being exposed, in a respectful, constructive manner. I've also seen a few ridiculous witch hunts which attack individuals personally and make all kinds of claims about someone else's intentions and motives which, to me, is essentially an impossible thing to prove. You say things like "full of vitriol, hate and anger," but can you recognize those are judgements you're making about someone else and you have no actual evidence (other than their words and actions) to know what emotions and thoughts they are actually thinking? From a non-violent communication perspective, that's jackal language. NVC defines that as "violent language" though, again, I don't use violence so loosely. They describe violence as a tragic expression of an unmet need.
Either way, thanks for responding and helping me better understand your view of violence. From that perspective, it's a really violent, scary world.
Your comments are fascinating. Where can I find more information about NVC?
Honestly I would love to become more involved in this community on a more integral level, but I've seen and experienced firsthand - to lesser degrees - the same dismantling of communities that you have. It fills me with trepidation and anxiety, and that's held me back from increasing my involvement.
Despite that, I sincerely do believe in this platform and its transformative potential. Viewing Steemit as a publishing platform is absolutely right, I'm a freelance copywriter as well and the potential to earn a living by writing things other than fantastic fairy tales about washing machines is achingly appealing to me. Additionally, the amount of reward and recognition I've earned from posting my fiction on here is several orders of magnitude higher than even my biggest royalty check from my attempts at publishing my work through traditional channels, and that makes me want to become so ensconced in this community that you couldn't dislodge me with a crowbar.
There is a serious problem with the centralization of power on Steemit, which is irony writ large considering the entire concept behind blockchain-based technologies is decentralization. I have fears, like you, that the violent and powerful among us will wreck this place, simply because they can, and that has stopped me from becoming involved. I'm not ashamed to admit that I think it might break my heart.
Start eating glass then your fear will dissolve. You have nothing to lose by getting more active. Just don't count on anything though. That's the attitude I had on day one. Things have changed a lot, and I feel that they will change even more in the future. This is a fast moving train.
Nothing is too late until its ashes and everyone is spitting on the concept.
an inspiring story, interesting post a true professional writing congratulations and thank you for sharing real pleasure to have read this post
did you make it through? I know it's really loooooooong.
I've got a friend in kc.
Are you in the chat?
unfortunately I'm back in the chat. but i'm going soon.....to eat. I forgot to eat all day...
DM me?
Sometimes having a specific 'mission' n mind,is the damaging thing. to insiders who agree, it seems like their ideals are finally being met, to insiders who disagree, it seems like they've been duped. To outsiders it seems like a cult. Cultivate; root word 'cult'. 'Grow as you go' is the remedy.
do you have a specific life experience tied to your comment?
Just the memory of being idealistic, younger, thinking life would be more fulfilling if I could live with a group of people with shared values. The rest is from observation, that makes me cynical toward community building based on values, mission. Better luck getting people together based on the type of music they like; the only subcultures that really stand the test of time.
there was once, I fell through the ice on Lake Erie while on mescaline...
Excellent article. Interestingly enough it confirmed a lot of things I was thinking. FYI you might read the Cracked article entitled MonkeySphere. It discussing much the same information.
I'm increasingly more and more convinced that any organization larger than a hundred people are so is nuckin futz. The larger the more so and the more likely to be violent.
Oddly enough I was raised on the Belt Buckle of the Bible Belt myself...a small, dry (both meanings) town on the High Plains of West Texas. At the time the largest organization there was a Baptist College. You can guess what the town was like.
So I can relate...after a fashion.
Well, humans tend to destroy good things, at least a few of them will. So, it just needs to be properly dealt with and prepared for.......do we just let them destroy it? Or do we do something that limits their power to destroy?
I disagree.
"we humans" (individuals) tend to build.
mobs destroy
Groups larger than 200 (ish) begin to go insane.
MobRule, the insanity of crowds... religious pogroms, ethnic cleansing, the spanish inquistion, witch hunts, Riots... Wars...it's well documented.
Individuals do't do that....groups do.
it's a synergestic effect.
Super interesting! I've never heard of this place before. Perfect name too, eh?
You have such a beautiful handle on the English language @stellabelle I think this deserves far higher rewards. (I think that will happen as more advertising dollars come in and steemit grows and matures, but I also know there are some that are looking to leave because rewards are not as high as they once were).
You inspire me, and are the reason I stayed here. People like you who have a lot of wisdom and life experience are oh so valuable not only to steemit, but to all who are willing to listen.
I'm sure I could spend a week picking your brain and listening to the many amazing and difficult things you have endured throughout your life.
It's amazing how a community like the one you described fell victim to some very foreseeable problems. There is no Utopia on this earth that can escape the violence and greed that is inevitable. This is seen with David Karesh and is something that I don't believe is possible to achieve. The best intentions tend to be ruined eventually unless proper precautions are taken place.
It sounds like a quite interesting place to live and I like that races were joined together. I love all races and embrace the differences among us.
I think it would be fun to do some sort of "Steemit Cribs" and see some of the different ways people live. Not to brag about wealth like the MTV counterpart, but to connect on a different level and show some interests people have in a visible tour of their houses.
Always enjoy reading your work @stellabelle :)
Thanks for your nice comments. Things are built and destroyed over and over and over and over again. I like the building phase the best. Maintaining shit takes a lot of energy, and it's the kind of energy I don't have. I'm a starter.
Absolutely. Building and being creative are some of my favorite parts of new projects. Maintaining drains me as well, so I'm glad there are those that enjoy that aspect. It really only works if you have a lot of different skills working together as I'm sure you're more than aware.
I love to see the initiatives you've started. You have a list longer than my arm, which is saying something, because I have some long arms haha.
Thank you for your article, very interesting blog. Don't know if you read my comment or not-but you write incredible posts. Thank you for them
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Barriers .. People themselves create them, and then they themselves suffer, trying to overcome.
And violence - the barrier is not the right ...
Fascinating case study! Thanks for sharing.
This is really useful. It raises a question for me: how is an online community different, how can these non-cyber experiences inform what is happening here? Rather than equivocating over terms - violence, for example - let's find the ways that tolerance and compassion could be fostered online. Perhaps there is really very little difference with an online community, but I can't feel that that is the case.
And your post gives me an idea, because as well as laying out a useful example, it is an authentic episode in your life story, and so a huge chunk of validation. Maybe it is that this openess, more of This Is Who I Am posts, will help build a sustainable community of humans. Thank you.
Glad to be of service.
How many members did this community have? Did any smaller communities spin off of this one?
about 75 or so at its height. yeah, many subgroups formed as a result.