[Neighbors] Some Ideas on our email list and our work as a neighborhood

[Gary Eyster]

Friends and neighbors, This email list has huge value. This is where we put
our ideas on the table and all can discuss them.

I offer a couple ideas that might help us keep it effective. At our face to
face meetings people agree to standards of conduct that make our meetings
respectful and productive. A couple of those are: We discuss ideas, not
people. We focus on our common ground: our love of Nob Hill.  Individuals
who post on our email list generally observe standards like this. We've seen
hundreds of posts where we learn and develop solutions.

 

When we focus on people or engage in harsh rhetoric instead of ideas we pay
a price. People leave the list. People who have stepped up and worked, when
they come under harsh criticism, they pull back. People who are considering
getting involved, when they see harsh rhetoric, say, "Why would I want to be
part of that?" In each case we lose their contribution. We lose
opportunities. 

Neighborhood associations have very real limits on power; no employees, no
police power, no authority over city resources. What we have is soft power;
advocacy. Nob Hill's board and neighbors are good at this. But a handful of
people can only do so much. A larger body of people can do more. Keep
stepping up. We can address problems on our own too. 3,000 households are
stronger than a few dozen. We can each do our part. We can treat one another
well. That's the kind of community I want to be part of.

 

#VivaNobHill

 

Gary Eyster

 



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