I've just realised that we are not actually a co-op.
A co-op is a raft, with members kneeling with paddles on all sides.
Unless everyone has some commitment to paddling in a shared direction,
the raft will drift and spin and run aground.
We are not a co-op because we behave like tenants. A co-operative shares decision-making. We have forgotten that we all have the responsibility to put in our pennyworth of decision-making.
We don't want simply to accept decisions someone has made for us, we are not children. We want someone to decide for us so we can bitch about the decisions. Unfortunately, we have expert and committed volunteers who will make decisions for us. They are accused of sitting on their hoard of experience and knowledge, but the system leaves them no option if decisions are to be made at all.
At the 20/2o meetings and in conversation afterwards, I discovered that democracy actually works, and a consensus can be found, or at least approached, through free discussion.
Ideas floated up out of nowhere, were polished and organised within the group, and a detailed brief was prepared to tell the Board what we think is important. We were enormously helped by the facilitator, but we knew the views were our own.
I hope this blog will be a place where people feel they can bring information and concerns, so that the community can grow. Posting is anonymous, behind your own blog name, and you may find that you have more support than you thought possible, or that someone has already dealt with the bind you find yourself in.
The blog is not an official Co-op project, it is the electronic version of the laundry room rant, where until now all that energy solving longstanding problems has been wasted.
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