Have you ever been to an intentional community that doesn’t vet new members?
No. Because they don’t last long. I’m down with the oneness of existence and beings. Most people aren’t, though. Many people are a hot mess and don’t know how to deal with themselves or others.
And I promise you that the vast majority of the world does not want you showing up there. For real, test this by moving to rural Texas, or a Mormons-only area of Arizona, or Cairo, or rural DRC without cultural entree or any value provided to a suspicious community and see how that goes. Yes, people might chill out after months or years of you proving not a threat, but as a species, we’re pretty paranoid.
I’ve not met that level of hostility in my travels. But I also never moved to bumblefuck nowhere. I’m guessing if people have never left their town, having people come into the town is a big deal.
Hostility isn’t the right word. It’s more just wary suspicion of an outsider. Which can easily and quickly escalate. But in small towns, it can without an outsider as a scapegoat.
Generally, you want someone to host you and provide some sort of cultural landing pad. Even as a tourist if you’re only there to look at stuff.
Have you ever been to an intentional community that doesn’t vet new members?
No. Because they don’t last long. I’m down with the oneness of existence and beings. Most people aren’t, though. Many people are a hot mess and don’t know how to deal with themselves or others.
And I promise you that the vast majority of the world does not want you showing up there. For real, test this by moving to rural Texas, or a Mormons-only area of Arizona, or Cairo, or rural DRC without cultural entree or any value provided to a suspicious community and see how that goes. Yes, people might chill out after months or years of you proving not a threat, but as a species, we’re pretty paranoid.
I’ve not met that level of hostility in my travels. But I also never moved to bumblefuck nowhere. I’m guessing if people have never left their town, having people come into the town is a big deal.
Hostility isn’t the right word. It’s more just wary suspicion of an outsider. Which can easily and quickly escalate. But in small towns, it can without an outsider as a scapegoat.
Generally, you want someone to host you and provide some sort of cultural landing pad. Even as a tourist if you’re only there to look at stuff.