¿How Will Structure Help (and if it won't help, what is the answer)?
As long as I can remember as well as stories I have heard right up to the very beginnings of the BPC there have always been strong factions. There have always been groups and individuals who have extremely dissed other groups or individuals. I have always heard people say, I am not going to that ritual because So-and-so is running it. There has
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… a code of ethics…
Our current code of ethics is the Federal, State, and local laws as well as the ideologies that come with being an American, a New Yorker, and a Binghamtonian.
What additions do you think should be added to this?
… a more consistent way of bringing people into community…
This is one of my soapboxes, and I like to bring it out and get up on it every once in awhile. I think things have gotten better, but there are still a lot of different ideas and new variations are constantly being introduced.
One idea I just thought of is to have the person volunteering to maintain the postal mailing list to send an accepted “Moon Manners” document (the one we have is mostly accepted I think) to anyone they add to the list.
What do you think of this idea? Can you think of any others?
… a way to deal with grievances… & … removing [people] from community if needed
As I see it, we deal with these by “popular opinion”. When someone does something which affects the community we know about it pretty quickly. (Think what you want but for me the “grapevine” is mostly an asset. Although it can also be destructive, it is only as much so as those contributing to it allow it to be.) Minor upsets fall out of the collective consciousness of the community quicker then major ones. Folks talk and attitude gets around from those who have been upset. The more people confront (directly or indirectly) those who upset them the less welcome they feel. Those who feel unwelcome enough leave. I have seen this work well, and I have seen it work poorly.
What other ways would you suggest of dealing with these?
…we need some kind of coherent leadership…
I have heard it said many time, “The same people step up again and again to volunteer for the BPC.” This refers to the current leaders of the BPC. They are our leaders by popular opinion and because they continually volunteer to step up to be heard. Mostly we have agreed to follow who ever is facilitating a meeting of the BPC. Those who do not agree to follow these leaders for the meeting they are currently attending are rarely disruptive of the meeting (though it has happened in the past). Those who do not agree to following a specific leader are more often not even in attendance for that meeting. Thus for the most part, everyone in attendance follows the current voluntary leadership.
How would you suggest we change this and what would we change it to?
…and rules.
Here are some of the rules currently established in the BPC:
Do not move rocks
Do not leave cigarette buts on the Glenn’s land nor put them in the fires
Contain ALL candle wax do not let it drip (this goes for all rituals inside and out)
Clean up after yourself
These are in addition to the laws of the land and local social paradigms.
What others would you suggest?
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I do think there is a lot of truth that there is not a sense of the self to community. Grab 15 people at random and they are all going to give you completely different reasons why they are there at anyone ritual. Ask them to define community and they are all going to give you completely different definitions. Ask them for a perfect vision of what community should be and you will get different answers.
Hell, we can't even agree if what you posted above are "guidelines" or "rules" - and each word has very different meanings. And then some people will argue vehemently that for them, they are guidelines - but for others they are rules! Its bloody crazy! (Lets look at the rule about no illegal drugs on the land as an example, hmmmm?)
The fact is that we can not have "rules" unless we have some means by which to enforce them - and that means that we have to have some type of structure. Perhaps when the community was nothing more then a group of friends - a social network - rules could be enforced by sheer force of social will. But we have passed that point. We have simply gotten too big. And will that size we have lost that sense of cohension. I am not saying its bad in and of its self, nor is it to be unexpected - its a natural force of growth. But we have to accept that change - and change accordingly. We can not expect to solve issues and challenges the same ways that used to work 10-15 years ago when its the same community it was then.
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