Re: ecovillage and sustainability

   > Problem People must be dealt with swiftly and decisively. We must all
be >more than happy to put these offenders out the door in a heartbeat
before any >real damage is done. - T  
<http://sustcomm.com>http://sustcomm.com    

Wow, how very old testament! Irreperable damage is done as soon as "we all"
put somebody out the door. Do you think the offender stops being a person
or falls instantly off the earth's edge? Not long before someone elses
offender come knocking on your door...or all the outcasts band together in
the forest or mountains between your community and the next & start
pirating.

In the new testament Jesus had a thing about casting the first stone.

Ecovillages are about healing relationships-between people and the land and
between people and people and between people and all our relations. Helping
people heal is expensive, just as healing land and growing food is
expensive. The present paradigm fails to the extent that we pretend food is
cheap and that putting people in a jail, mental institutions, ghettos, etc,
solves our social dilemmas.

Justice, yes, but tempered with compassion and hope. Bannishment is a
morally bankrupt and ultimately cynical solution.

At EarthSea have collectively asked people to leave, but with a loving
process that helped move the people towards something more positive for
them and left them feeling good enough to want to return for visits after a
while.

I've lived in regular towns where the people are quick to judge and
decisive in their rejection. Not very pretty. Usually very white and narrow.

davidC



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