“Draining the Life
From ‘Community," New York Times, September 20th, 2013
For a number of reasons, this is an article that makes a lot of
sense to read for this class. Yes, it is ultimately about communities,
which would be the easiest connection.
However, that is only the start: the article deals more with the
evolution of the word “community” which we have discussed in class.
We all know that community is not geographically tied to people,
you are not only a community when you live in and around the same place
that other people live.
You may use this as a definition for community, but it is not the single existing explanation.
Rather, communities are tied together based on a tied together set of ideals and values or some other kind of connection.
This article seeks to see if this is still relevant.
Our readings for this week began the discussions of social change
within communities and did a wonderful job of outlining what needs to
be done by the person or persons that are introducing change into the
area.
This made me think of what might be counterproductive to the process and this article grabbed my attention.
The author of the article, Anand Giridharadas, discusses at
length a number of different “communities” that can be found both
physically and on the internet, basing these definitions off of what the
“community” describes themselves as (the main criteria
being that they use the word community to define who they are).
He argues that instead of linking people together with values and
morals that would make people work towards a common goal as once was
that we are seeing a shift in the term being used and ultimately what is
becoming of our communities globally.
Again, the class readings showed how to build up a community,
whereas this article discusses how a community is now synonymous with
consumer.
That there is a potential shift to use this word to tie people
together when they do not have much in common except what they are
getting from another source; ie, a company, so now the consumers are a
community.
This made me think about what is being considered a community now and if it is an accurate description.
I think that any people that are tied together for mutually
beneficial thoughts on what is right morally and strive to same end are a
community, but I did not consider what this article is discussing.
If the definitions of a community are changing and becoming more
blurred, than any small connection could make someone think that it is a
community.
For instance, we all sued Instagram to post our pictures earlier
this semester, does that make us a community because we all used it to
the same end?
Are all people on Instagram a community?
Is this enough to link people together? Arguably, anyone
could say that yes, this common connection amongst all of those users
deems them a community of people, but I wonder what might happen if
there was a social problem
that affected these people. Would there be anything done to prevent the issue and to what degree would these users work together to solve the problem?
I’m curious as to what you think at this point.
What defines a community in a growing technological age where
there those who telecommute to work and never have to see anyone else
unless they choose to.
After seeing what others think about the change in the term
community, it has gotten me wondering what might the next change be, and
how will these communities be able to solve the issues that traditional
communities must face.
I think that there needs to be a certain amount of interaction to be considered a community. I do belong to an online homeschool group, and though I've never met any of those parents in person, we are definitely a community and know everything about each other's lives.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that just because we use a particular product makes us a community can be true - some who use a particular product can be fanatic about its use. (Some health remedies come to mind) But that goes back to the interaction - you really have to have interaction to be a community.
It is interesting to think about. For example, I love living in Tower Grove. Do I consider myself a part of the community? To an extent; I enjoy the park, go to the Farmer's Market, the Botanical Gardens during their summer concert series, etc. However, do I know a lot of my neighbors? Not exactly. I know the people in my building, but as far as the people outside of that, I couldn't tell you one person's name. I doubt many of them would be able to as well. We're considered a community based on proximity, but we haven't built up or maintained anything together.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, the theater community is spread all over the St. Louis area, yet I feel more strongly connected to it than any other community that I have been in. It seems that after college, community is no longer just the person across the hall. We lose track of our neighbors after we wave "Hi" to them getting in and out of the car. I love Tower Grove, but I don't feel that I am truly a part of the community.
I think it's a matter of interpretation, much like the term "family". It is what you feel it is.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jeri about that fact that any community needs a certain amount of interaction, whether that be in person or online. This class has really changed my view about what a community really is. Like others in the class, I would've associated a community according to where people live in proximity with their neighbors. But since my view of communities has evolved, I see how there are so many other types that exist to bring people together.
ReplyDeleteI think for a "community" to exist for someone there must be a sense of belonging. This can be people we know face-to-face, such as the theater community that Rachel spoke of, and those we don't, like Jeri's online homeschool group. However, in the case of geographical communities its necessary for residents to have a sense of community. Otherwise, solidarity breaks down and political efficacy can be diminished. This, of course, does not address the many positive aspects of "knowing" the people who live in your community.
ReplyDeleteNot sure if anyone will still check in here, but.....
ReplyDeletehttp://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/bernie-miklasz/bernie-what-it-means-to-be-a-cardinal/article_afc4c8db-5d9d-5815-9c14-e3e77721a50b.html
For the baseball fans - this was the front page of Sunday's paper. (Yes, I just got to the Sunday paper today....) "The Cardinal Way" made me think of this blog. It explains that the Cards win consistently because they are very intentional about making a community. They never actually use the word community, but they say "The Cardinal Way is about trusting each other, working together, and always pulling in the same direction." Sounds like community to me.