Homesteading Types: Social Groupings

Sonshine · #21 08/07/12, 09:46 AM

My group is pretty varied too. We have an elderly couple. He use to fly private jets for many well known people. When he retired he played around with buying his own small planes. Was in a plane wreck a few years back in an experimental plane he was planning to buy. There was a malfunction with the plane, it went down and he went through the windsheild of the cockpit. He's now pretty dependant on his wife. They are both very devout Catholics. She's quite a worker and we work together in the garden. We have a gay couple, one is an ex army ranger, and was raised Mormon. They have goats, chickens and ducks (goats and chickens they got from us) They are learning homesteading skills from us, but the ex army ranger has a lot of useful info as far as protecting the area. Knows alot about chemical reactions, both for weapons as well as medications. Also with his Mormon background has a lot of info on storing food. We have a guy that use to process wild game for hunters. He no longer processes them, but has kept all the equipment. We have a ham radio operator. A black single mom with 4 kids, all love gardening and are hard workers. Then DH and myself, who know a little about a lot of things. Jack of all trades master of known. DH has knowledge on security, woodworking, electronics, ect. I have more of the domestic type skills, cooking from scratch, preserving foods, growing foods, ect. Plus I have some medical knowledge and skills. Grew up with my Mom who is a retired nurse. Worked medical admin in the USAF, plus my own studies in alternate remedies.

emdeengee · #22 08/07/12, 12:48 PM

I just spent yesterday afternoon wasting time well. Because it was a holiday here there was a special presentation of a show called Million Dollar Neighbourhood. All the espisodes. I would have loved to watch them all but of course did not have the time. However what I did watch was extremely interesting. A real study of how people - who have more in common than not - deal with each other when they have to work together. NOTHING involving people is ever simple. You would think that working through common problems would really pull people together even though they are mostly strangers to each other. Apparently not. Quite eye opening.

Paumon · #23 08/07/12, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by InvalidID

.... I've also found people are very much less tolerant of each other than you seem to give them credit for... .

Well .... I only asked you a question, I didn't express any personal opinions or comments in my post. You don't know me or anything about me relative to this topic so it's probably not a good idea for you to jump to conclusions about me or about how much tolerance I may or may not give other people credit for.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wayne02

They do judge you of course, they just don't find those particular attributes important in their relationship with you. We all judge each other, though some will not admit it.....

.... I think the tendency is to look at other groups like they are the one with a problem, not my group, my group is ok. I believe that we tend to allow the 24/7 media information overload to unduly influence how we think things are for others. If one were only to use the information fed to us by the media and other sources it's not surprising we think there are a majority of groups out there who don't get along. I believe there are many other groups and sub-groups of people who exist with the same relative functional cohesion that you have described, we just never hear about them.

I agree entirely with this and if I had been going to express an opinion it would have been along the same lines as this. I don't believe that most people want to homogenize the world.

InvalidID · #24 08/07/12, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paumon

Well .... I only asked you a question, I didn't express any personal opinions or comments in my post. You don't know me or anything about me relative to this topic so it's probably not a good idea for you to jump to conclusions about me or about how much tolerance I may or may not give other people credit for.

You'll notice I used the phrase 'seem to' so as to not assume you did 'in fact'. I try to be careful in my choice of words for just this reason, though I admit I sometimes fail to be as clear as I should.

Tracy Rimmer · #25 08/07/12, 06:03 PM

I wish there were more people like me in my community! I'm... eccentric, I suppose

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of older farm types here -- even a few crunchy granolas (not many of those -- big farm country, not little farm country!) but for the most part, people grow stuff, sell it, and buy their frozen entrees at the grocery store. Few could be called "homesteader types".

There is one couple we know who are VERY "homesteady". Not in terms of log-cabin-wearing-furs-in-winter, but in terms of self-sufficiency. They raise much of what they eat, and farm for income, as well. They guide far-north hunting tours every fall, and raise a big garden, and hunt, and process their own meat. Even they think I'm nuts

Again, I wish we had people like me around here. Those of you who have neighbours who "get" you -- count yourselves lucky. My neighbours are, for the most part, wonderful, supportive, encouraging people -- it's just that few of them do what I do, and even fewer understand my world-view.

#26 08/07/12, 06:24 PM

Sounds to me like the OP is the one who is becoming intolerant.
Just beacuse i don't have the same life policy's as your group does, doesn't mean, I see any thing wrong with your group. I may not want to be a part of it though. But isn't that OK?

Heritagefarm · #27 08/07/12, 06:26 PM

I know plenty of homestead people around here. Some of them I like to visit, because they can talk to me, and others I don't, because half of what I say just flies over their head. Other times I get irritated by most homesteaders tendencies to not be environmentally conscious. But I'm accepting, and try to see things from all angles. I can effectively talk to a broad range of people in this manner, ranging from homesteaders to computer geeks to spiritual folk to city folk. I cannot, however, communicate with completely city consumerist people. I generally dry a blank there, unless they can talk about chemistry or phyisics or some such topic more common in the city.

Oma2three · #28 08/07/12, 10:02 PM

I think you are very lucky to have such a bunch of nice people as friends.And for some reason I did not picture you as a cursing, smoking, drinking, Harley riding savage

Marilyn · #29 08/07/12, 10:57 PM

I don't have an answer for you InvalidID, but I sure wish I lived in your neighborhood!

Awnry Abe · #30 08/07/12, 11:17 PM

I will confess that I had a preconception (stereotype) about homesteaders. I thought they were all just like me. In my carefully selected scientific sampling of my neighbors, I validated that preconception. Then I googled 'sick goat' one day several months ago and found HT. Now I am pleased to report that my stereotype has been shattered. I love it when that happens.