Reply to Can anyone think of a society that doesn't value community?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I live in the Pacific Northwest and the broader culture here does not value community in the way I have experienced in the American Midwest, the east coast, NYC, Texas, London, and much of Asia.

It’s a very interesting phenomenon that has been well-studied locally. Some believe it has to do with the area’s early Nordic immigrants, and others think that tech wealth and libertarian politics have sustained it. It affects socializing here and definitely affects civic engagement and government effectiveness.[/quote]

This is interesting, I’d love to hear more about it. How does it manifest? What is it like in your neighborhood?[/quote]

So it manifests in both large ways (city problems) and small (1:1 interactions);

-if I nod my head at a passerby on the sidewalk, they are more likely to cross the street midblock or look away than to return my nod

-I have neighbors I’ve lived 30 feet away from for 15 years, been introduced to, and wave at when walking my dog, and they look right through me

-if someone ditches you in a public place like the drugstore and you’re in other places, people will intervene (NYC), make commiserating eye contact (Midwest) or speak up politely but in a bless-your-heart way (south). No one does anything about it here and everyone just looks down uncomfortably and lets it happen. Extreme culture of non-confrontation.

-if you walk into a school event and there is seating, people will sit quietly alone and not chit chat. I like to mess with people by saying hi and introducing myself.

In the big picture, it means that problems fester for longer than they should because everyone assumes it’s not their business, there is lots of virtue signaling but little actual work or support to fix problems, and there’s a strong feeling that if someone goes wrong, it’s one family or one neighborhood or one school’s problem and that they probably brought it on themselves vs a problem that everyone could band together to solve. It also means we have fewer parks, rec centers, swimming pools, etc than almost any other city of similar size because people don’t like the idea of spending for a greater good. Philanthropy is hard- I serve on a nonprofit Board and there isn’t the social pressure to make donations that creates non-profit success in other parts of the country.

I lived in the Midwest and while the politics of my area were not a great fit for me, the way people acted on a more local level was really energetic, generous and effective.[/quote]

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