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Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

nytimes.com

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Re: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

#11

Post by calvin »

culley wrote: post #6

It's been more than a year since I helped an elderly neighbor put out his recycling. Not that he asked me, and Not that he didn't vigorously refuse any help. We ended up talking for 2 hours well after dark there in the street. I've always wanted to have a bachelor's dinner at my house where I invite all the neighbors over for some food and coffee and drinks. this article has inspired me. I'll try it this weekend. Wis…

Definitely do the bachelor dinner!

After a recent trip to Charleston, I experienced first-hand some excellent hospitality w/ gracious hosts. I realized that it's something that's been largely missing from my life and I want to be more intentional about encouraging community growth and real relationships through hospitality.

I'm already diving in and am going to have several people over for dinner on Thursday night. It's mostly bachelors, but this is a low-key way for a bachelor like myself to start out. All that's needed is a large pot of spaghetti and some games and we'll see how things go!

The biggest realization I've had regarding community and hospitality is that you can't wait for somebody else to start it because if you do most of the time you'll end up lonely and waiting when you could be having a great time instead if you start it up yourself.

Re: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

#12

Post by Hexstream »

"Why is it that in an age of cheap long-distance rates, discount airlines and the Internet, when we can create community anywhere, we often don’t know the people who live next door?"

This question is its own answer... We formely didn't have much choice over who we communicate with because distances were a real impediment. Now that we can communicate with "anyone", the opportunity cost is that we'll necessarily communicate less with the only ones we could communicate with before.

Re: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

#13

Post by edw519 »

Why is it that in an age of cheap long-distance rates, discount airlines and the Internet, when we can create community anywhere, we often don’t know the people who live next door?

OP forgot the biggest anti-neighbor invention of them all: air-conditioning.

I knew every single family on the street I grew up on. We all knew each other. In the summer, every single door and window was open; people had screen doors and front porches. If you wanted to know what anyone was up to, all you had to do was go outside. The kids were playing in the street and the adults were visiting on their porches.

Today, on my same street (and every other one it seems), all the doors and windows are closed, the A/C is on, and when people want to go outside, they use the fenced-in backyard instead. What a pity.

Re: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

#14

Post by wallflower »

culley wrote: post #6

It's been more than a year since I helped an elderly neighbor put out his recycling. Not that he asked me, and Not that he didn't vigorously refuse any help. We ended up talking for 2 hours well after dark there in the street. I've always wanted to have a bachelor's dinner at my house where I invite all the neighbors over for some food and coffee and drinks. this article has inspired me. I'll try it this weekend. Wis…

Good luck with the dinner! The most successful businessman I know, when he moved into his well-to-do suburban neighborhood immediately organized a block party. He mailed out over 250 invites. 100 neighbors showed up. That was the first year. The second year, even more. Take the lead. Neighbors started scheduling vacations around the annual block party. It's not a coincidence that he is probably also one of the most networked connectors I know (real network, not Facebook). The type of people who lived in that million-dollar+ house neighborhood... He's moved many times and always done that. Makes an impact in the sleepy suburban castle-doms where he lives. It's usually the first block party/large-scale gathering ever in those cul-de-sacs.

Re: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

#15

Post by shaunxcode »

I think this is prime for hacker news. Between this and the article recently calling into question broader goals for technology (you know solving world problems rather than just scratching niche itches and hoping you make some ad revenue along the way) I am really inspired again. Though this article only briefly touches on the impact of technology on community it must be said that the advent of online "community" is definitely either making the lack of real community more apparent or having a detrimental effect on it.

This is probably thread jacking but I wonder how many other posters also read the works of stafford beer, macluhan, debord, zerzan (select * from social_critique order by nihilism asc) and derive inspiration for their hacking/startup projects? Identifying and grappling with the domination and separation/alienation of daily life is one of the hardest aspects of living let alone being a proponent of technology when it seems to be the driving force in alienation.

Staying inspired and absorbed by technology while at the same time abhorring it for what it seems to be doing to our culture is the closest thing that I have to faith. What is killing us could also be our cure. In what ways could technology actually help build bridges within communities? How can we increase autonomy, security and solidarity on both the micro and macro levels?

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