It looks like most people in intentional communities and cohousing agree that shunning is not something they want anyone to do. It seems childish and against the idea of creating a community.
So what do you do when one or more people in your community do this?
Do we need lessons on how to treat other humans?
- Make eye contact
- Say hello (that doesn’t mean you agree with anything or everything they have done – it just acknowledges that they are a human)
- Make small talk or niceties if need be – even by email
- Answer their questions and emails – don’t act like nothing was said
It seems simple. You can work with your anger or reasons to push someone away later but just being polite can help build the community. It also can help that others won’t treat like you’ve treated them.