As an anarchist organizer and activist it's lovely to see people discover this phenomena naturally. Welcome to discovering an affinity group and building a mutual aid network. lol Thanks for sharing!
As an anarchist organizer and activist it's lovely to see people discover this phenomena naturally. Welcome to discovering an affinity group and building a mutual aid network. lol
Happy to! It's really anyone you have a shared focus, goal or common interest with. It could align along the line of class, gender, sexuality, geographic location, ideology, hell even your first...
Happy to!
It's really anyone you have a shared focus, goal or common interest with. It could align along the line of class, gender, sexuality, geographic location, ideology, hell even your first name.
Simply put, you have something that matters to you, and it matters to someone else. This creates an opportunity for organizing utilizing this point of interest. Could be something as loose as a book club, organizing a school LGBTQ+ pride march, or forcing your employers' hand when it comes to wages. Really what the affinity group does is up to them but the concept is centered around some shared experience or identity.
Always happy to answer questions so if you've got anymore ask away or you can always send me msgs, I don't mind.
This is a fantastic article! I'm also a bit bummed by the lack of community in a lot of America. I feel like I lucked out with my neighborhood. We're good friends with three families on our...
This is a fantastic article! I'm also a bit bummed by the lack of community in a lot of America. I feel like I lucked out with my neighborhood. We're good friends with three families on our street, to the point I've joked for years that if we moved we'd need to find four houses for sale on the same street. And now we're actually moving away, and I'm just sad at the loss of even this tiny community. We're only moving like five minutes away, but it's not the same as walking across the street to hang out for a few hours.
Funnily enough, the pandemic brought our street closer together though. People started having weekly get-togethers in driveways with folding chairs to socialize at safe distances, so we got to know even more of our neighbors. It was basically the same as "stoop coffee" but without the coffee. It never escalated to full-blown events like the pancake party, but we do have a few more parties now compared to before.
Just downsizing and preparing for the future. My mom's original idea was to find a house to rent out for a couple years before moving in ourselves, but this new neighborhood doesn't allow rentals...
Just downsizing and preparing for the future. My mom's original idea was to find a house to rent out for a couple years before moving in ourselves, but this new neighborhood doesn't allow rentals and the house was just too good to pass on. Good layout, a decent sized basement (which we have to finish ourselves), and conveniently close to some stores so we can actually walk there instead of driving.
Moving is bittersweet since we've lived here for over 20 years now, but the new neighborhood is nice and seems to have nice people. I saw people talking in their yards last time we went over, so I'm hopeful it has a decent sense of community too!
Happy to hear it sounds like it'll retain some of the same character. We've made some decent friends in our neighborhood too, to the point where it's a factor preventing us from moving five...
Happy to hear it sounds like it'll retain some of the same character. We've made some decent friends in our neighborhood too, to the point where it's a factor preventing us from moving five minutes away ourselves. In the end, you still spend the majority of your time in your own house no matter how much you like your neighborhood, so it sounds like you're making a sound choice.
As an anarchist organizer and activist it's lovely to see people discover this phenomena naturally. Welcome to discovering an affinity group and building a mutual aid network. lol
Thanks for sharing!
That's a very interesting thing to be involved with. Can you elaborate on what an affinity group is?
Happy to!
It's really anyone you have a shared focus, goal or common interest with. It could align along the line of class, gender, sexuality, geographic location, ideology, hell even your first name.
Simply put, you have something that matters to you, and it matters to someone else. This creates an opportunity for organizing utilizing this point of interest. Could be something as loose as a book club, organizing a school LGBTQ+ pride march, or forcing your employers' hand when it comes to wages. Really what the affinity group does is up to them but the concept is centered around some shared experience or identity.
Always happy to answer questions so if you've got anymore ask away or you can always send me msgs, I don't mind.
This is a fantastic article! I'm also a bit bummed by the lack of community in a lot of America. I feel like I lucked out with my neighborhood. We're good friends with three families on our street, to the point I've joked for years that if we moved we'd need to find four houses for sale on the same street. And now we're actually moving away, and I'm just sad at the loss of even this tiny community. We're only moving like five minutes away, but it's not the same as walking across the street to hang out for a few hours.
Funnily enough, the pandemic brought our street closer together though. People started having weekly get-togethers in driveways with folding chairs to socialize at safe distances, so we got to know even more of our neighbors. It was basically the same as "stoop coffee" but without the coffee. It never escalated to full-blown events like the pancake party, but we do have a few more parties now compared to before.
What's the reason for moving five minutes away?
Just downsizing and preparing for the future. My mom's original idea was to find a house to rent out for a couple years before moving in ourselves, but this new neighborhood doesn't allow rentals and the house was just too good to pass on. Good layout, a decent sized basement (which we have to finish ourselves), and conveniently close to some stores so we can actually walk there instead of driving.
Moving is bittersweet since we've lived here for over 20 years now, but the new neighborhood is nice and seems to have nice people. I saw people talking in their yards last time we went over, so I'm hopeful it has a decent sense of community too!
Happy to hear it sounds like it'll retain some of the same character. We've made some decent friends in our neighborhood too, to the point where it's a factor preventing us from moving five minutes away ourselves. In the end, you still spend the majority of your time in your own house no matter how much you like your neighborhood, so it sounds like you're making a sound choice.