Why communes fall apart..

[terry]

Mortos  Donating Member  (1000+ posts)  Journal  Click to send private message to this author  Click to view this author's profile  Click to add this author to your buddy list  Click to add this author to your Ignore list      Thu Sep-09-10 12:55 PM
Original message
Any of you damn hippies live in a commune?
   
I just bought an acreage and I am seriously considering starting a small commune. I have tons of questions and wanted to know if anyone who has done it can give me some pointers.

Thanks

Warpy  Donating Member  (1000+ posts)  Journal  Click to send private message to this author  Click to view this author's profile  Click to add this author to your buddy list  Click to add this author to your Ignore list      Thu Sep-09-10 01:29 PM
Response to Original message
11. The only one I ever saw that worked well
   
was an SDS commune with 13 people plus guests and only one bathroom. I was there all the time and I never heard a single fight over bathroom space.

While many were the type of Marxists who had never read Marx, I honestly do believe with that sort of skill level, they really could have ruled the world. Alas, they weren't receptive to my telling them what the rest of the country was really like, so they didn't have a chance.

Usually communes break apart because some people are lazy and some are greedy, usually the same people. Co-ops have a better track record, with each person buying a share and membership a little more fluid, shares being bought and sold as people come and go.

hmm.. imagine that.  When everyone is supposed share everything, some people get lazy and greedy and take advantage of the people that work hard.  When people actually have some ownership then it works better.

link

[Ballygrl]

Mortos  Donating Member  (1000+ posts)
Thu Sep-09-10 12:55 PM
Original message
Any of you damn hippies live in a commune?
   
I just bought an acreage and I am seriously considering starting a small commune. I have tons of questions and wanted to know if anyone who has done it can give me some pointers.

Thanks

Well wouldn't that be funny as heck if it was invaded by conservatives LOL.

[DumbAss Tanker]

Well, even aside from that, there is the basic problem that all the important decisions have to be made by a committee of idiots who have no idea what they're doing and little if any concept of applied economics.

[BlueStateSaint]

a committee of idiots who have no idea what they're doing and little if any concept of applied economics.

If ever a better description of the DUmp has been given, I'd like to hear it.  DAT, 

[JohnnyReb]

hmm.. imagine that.  When everyone is supposed share everything, some people get lazy and greedy and take advantage of the people that work hard.  When people actually have some ownership then it works better.

link

....and at that point you have to call home and have mom & dad put some more money in your debit card account.   

[AllosaursRus]

I've only known of one "commune" and that was back in the early 70's. There were about 7 couples as I recollect, bunch of spoiled rich kids, and the ranch they were living on was some Hollywierd producer's. It lasted about 2 years. The reason it broke up was more jealousy than anything else. That sleepin' with each others partners has always been a bad idea. That and mommy and daddy got tired of supporting them.

[dutch508]

Well, even aside from that, there is the basic problem that all the important decisions have to be made by a committee of idiots who have no idea what they're doing and little if any concept of applied economics.

Ever watch the TV Series "The Colony"?

Funny as hell.

[thundley4]

Communes fall apart because they are founded by DUmmies. DUmmies take no responsibility for anything and believe that someone else should do all the heavy lifting.

[vesta111]

It seems it worked in Israel, the Kibbutz?    The farms where everyone had a job to do.

The kids were housed in centers where they lived most of the week, also given jobs after school.   The parents lived apart and held day jobs and also spent 2 hours a day in the kitchens or on clean up detail.

Come Friday the kids would go to live with their parents, have family time and then on Monday morning return to the children's housing.

Sounds great to me, from the desert of sand and waste, trees grew, remember the Plant a tree in Israel, the land turned into gardens to grow food, the huge amount of trees planted some how changed the weather, the trees brought in in the rain and little by little this piece of sand became a garden of Eden.

Enemies now came in looking with lust at what these people had managed to to do in just a few short years.    They wanted to claim the spoils of hard work for themselves.   These people now demand that this land is their land, a land that they never considered but a waste land before.

Now came the time when children learned to field strip a machine gun blindfolded, now came the time that the next generation would know that they had to protect their way of life.

 No mambo jambing for them as is done in in the US for the farmers who live on the Mexican border,  these people were locked and loaded 24/7 against the enemy.

I have to give a high 5 to the Israelis, they make the the rest of the world look like idiots.

[terry]

Well, even aside from that, there is the basic problem that all the important decisions have to be made by a committee of idiots who have no idea what they're doing and little if any concept of applied economics.

Sounds like our current government.

[dutch508]

It seems it worked in Israel, the Kibbutz?    ...additional doofus ramblings...

Hmm...I wonder what the difference was between a kibbutz and a marxist commune...


 

[AllosaursRus]

It seems it worked in Israel, the Kibbutz?    The farms where everyone had a job to do.

The kids were housed in centers where they lived most of the week, also given jobs after school.   The parents lived apart and held day jobs and also spent 2 hours a day in the kitchens or on clean up detail.

Come Friday the kids would go to live with their parents, have family time and then on Monday morning return to the children's housing.

Sounds great to me, from the desert of sand and waste, trees grew, remember the Plant a tree in Israel, the land turned into gardens to grow food, the huge amount of trees planted some how changed the weather, the trees brought in in the rain and little by little this piece of sand became a garden of Eden.

Enemies now came in looking with lust at what these people had managed to to do in just a few short years.    They wanted to claim the spoils of hard work for themselves.   These people now demand that this land is their land, a land that they never considered but a waste land before.

Now came the time when children learned to field strip a machine gun blindfolded, now came the time that the next generation would know that they had to protect their way of life.

 No mambo jambing for them as is done in in the US for the farmers who live on the Mexican border,  these people were locked and loaded 24/7 against the enemy.

I have to give a high 5 to the Israelis, they make the the rest of the world look like idiots.

Slight difference........they were building a country! Dummies just want to be coddled.

[miskie]

Mortos -- Here are some pointers.. A book full of them.

Essential reading for primitives

[true_blood]

From above;
Warpy  Donating Member  (1000+ posts)  Journal  Click to send private message to this author  Click to view this author's profile  Click to add this author to your buddy list  Click to add this author to your Ignore list      Thu Sep-09-10 01:29 PM
Response to Original message
11. The only one I ever saw that worked well
   
was an SDS commune with 13 people plus guests and only one bathroom. I was there all the time and I never heard a single fight over bathroom space.

While many were the type of Marxists who had never read Marx, I honestly do believe with that sort of skill level, they really could have ruled the world. Alas, they weren't receptive to my telling them what the rest of the country was really like, so they didn't have a chance.

Sounds like a great time/place to live. BUT,....I think I'll pass.

[I_B_Perky]

I recall some colony back in early American history where they tried the communal BS and it didn't work... until the leader of the colony decided to ditch the communal crap and go with a more capitalistic society. Then it worked.

Can't remember the name but Jamestown comes to mind. Too lazy to look it up right now... watching Auburn and Miss State and it is a good game. 

[BattleHymn]

I recall some colony back in early American history where they tried the communal BS and it didn't work... until the leader of the colony decided to ditch the communal crap and go with a more capitalistic society. Then it worked.

Can't remember the name but Jamestown comes to mind. Too lazy to look it up right now... watching Auburn and Miss State and it is a good game. 

You are correct, it was Jamestown.  It is a very interesting story that hardly anyone knows.  I only learned about it from my college history teacher.  Here is a good write up by  American Thinker on it:
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/06/americas_socialist_past.html


Both of my aunts were involved in that commune BS during the sixties. 

[I_B_Perky]

You are correct, it was Jamestown.  It is a very interesting story that hardly anyone knows.  I only learned about it from my college history teacher.  Here is a good write up by  American Thinker on it:
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/06/americas_socialist_past.html


Both of my aunts were involved in that commune BS during the sixties. 

Wow. I learned it in 9th grade American Studies. Couldn't exactly remember the name cause that was a loooong time ago. Only reason why I thought it was that was because my granddad, my dad, and my brother are all named James.

Funny what you remember from school and what sticks in your head.

As an aside... I went back to college in 99 to get another degree and a lot of the 100-200 level classes I had to take over because it was so long ago when I had them. (don't ask me why cause I have no freaking clue)

Anyway... American history was one of them. So here is old Perky, sitting in a class with a bunch of 20 yr olds, with a very tough prof or so the conventional wisdom went. 9/10th of the stuff he taught I learned in 9th/10th grade American Studies. I missed like 2 questions on the tests the whole semester and he told me I could get a zero on the final and still have an A so I didn't have to take it.

I took it anyway just because I wanted the highest grade in the class. Aced the final and he asked me where I got my education in history. I told him, he shook his his head and said the schools just don't teach it anymore.

After sitting in all these 100-200 level classes, like American lit, etc, I was acing these classes for the simple reason I had it all in high school and I went to a government HS too. These kids had no clue and that is not their fault.

It depressed me.

[DefiantSix]

I recall some colony back in early American history where they tried the communal BS and it didn't work... until the leader of the colony decided to ditch the communal crap and go with a more capitalistic society. Then it worked.

Can't remember the name but Jamestown comes to mind. Too lazy to look it up right now... watching Auburn and Miss State and it is a good game. 

Plymouth was another one that tried socialism and almost starved to death as a result.

[I_B_Perky]

Plymouth was another one that tried socialism and almost starved to death as a result.

Starting to see a pattern here.

That's what gets me about these idiots from the dump. Many examples from history, some recent, and they think they can make it happen successfully.

I swear I think we should send all these people to North Korea and let them get an education from the school of reality.

[JLO]

From above;
Warpy  Donating Member  (1000+ posts)  Journal  Click to send private message to this author  Click to view this author's profile  Click to add this author to your buddy list  Click to add this author to your Ignore list      Thu Sep-09-10 01:29 PM
Response to Original message
11. The only one I ever saw that worked well
   
was an SDS commune with 13 people plus guests and only one bathroom. I was there all the time and I never heard a single fight over bathroom space.

While many were the type of Marxists who had never read Marx, I honestly do believe with that sort of skill level, they really could have ruled the world. Alas, they weren't receptive to my telling them what the rest of the country was really like, so they didn't have a chance.

Sounds like a great time/place to live. BUT,....I think I'll pass.

Ya know - I just bet the poster on the wall over the toilet said:

      "If it's yellow, let it mellow.  If it's brown, flush it down."

 

[BattleHymn]

Perky,

My last year of public school (9th grade) I had a history teacher who spent the better part of the year preaching to us the evils of capitalism and the terrible unfairness of the american way of life.  I remember from the beginning of the second semester into April, it was all Upton Sinclair, and required reading of "The Jungle", all the time.  Discussion of The Jungle, book reports on chapters of The Jungle, etc.  I was a vocal opponent of her  she was trying to pass off as facts set in stone, and needless to say, she failed me.  I had never failed a class before, and more importantly, certainly not in my favorite subject.  My parents were not happy, and pulled me back into home school again (I began public schooling in 2nd grade). 

I have a very, very low opinion of public school teachers, with history teachers being at the very bottom of the barrel. 

   

[I_B_Perky]

Perky,

My last year of public school (9th grade) I had a history teacher who spent the better part of the year preaching to us the evils of capitalism and the terrible unfairness of the american way of life.  I remember from the beginning of the second semester into April, it was all Upton Sinclair, and required reading of "The Jungle", all the time.  Discussion of The Jungle, book reports on chapters of The Jungle, etc.  I was a vocal opponent of her  she was trying to pass off as facts set in stone, and needless to say, she failed me.  I had never failed a class before, and more importantly, certainly not in my favorite subject.  My parents were not happy, and pulled me back into home school again (I began public schooling in 2nd grade). 

I have a very, very low opinion of public school teachers, with history teachers being at the very bottom of the barrel. 

   

Wow! I don't have any kids but my brother and sister both sent the kids to the local parochial school.

Of course my mom teaching 5th grade at said parochial school had a lot to do with it. Man I can remember thinking life sucked for the nieces and nephews cause "grandma" talked to their parents every night. Then I remembered that mom knew all my teachers from 1st grade to high school (she knew these teachers... she went to school with them) and they talked every night too.

I see her lesson plans and they teach the kids like I was taught. She usually gets me to come in and teach some math, hex, binary, etc for a week or two a year.  She does that for other disciples too.

Back in the day... politics never entered the classrooms. I think the parents would have drummed the idiot that tried that out of the classroom.


Things really went to hell when they banned spanking. Heh! My dad used to make the evilest paddles that ever was created. Plexiglass with 3 panes on them and holes in them so the teacher could get a good swing. Man those things hurt! <insert butt busting smiley here>

Not to mention the butt busting you got at home.

Mom has a good method (still teaching at 75!) though... she just makes the little brats call their dad at work and tell them they need to come down to the school because little Johnny or Janey has acted up. Daddy comes down, mom shows them the office, and a butt busting usually ensues. Of course the office is right next to her classroom so all the brats hear it... not to mention when little Johnny-brat comes in with tears in his eyes. That usually gives the class a "Brand New Attitude".

That is what she calls it. "Brand New Attitude". I guess when Daddy is paying for the education there are different priorities than in government schools. You couldn't pay me to teach and you sure as hell couldn't pay me to teach in government schools.

[crockspot]

Ever watch the TV Series "The Colony"?

Funny as hell.

There was a film a few years back starring Leonardo DiCaprio.. I believe it was called The Beach. So much like Skins Island it's scary.

[crockspot]

There was a film a few years back starring Leonardo DiCaprio.. I believe it was called The Beach. So much like Skins Island it's scary.

You can watch the film here for free: http://stagevu.com/video/mfqbpkxrvbyo

Required viewing for any serious DUmp watcher.

[jtyangel]

Perky,

My last year of public school (9th grade) I had a history teacher who spent the better part of the year preaching to us the evils of capitalism and the terrible unfairness of the american way of life.  I remember from the beginning of the second semester into April, it was all Upton Sinclair, and required reading of "The Jungle", all the time.  Discussion of The Jungle, book reports on chapters of The Jungle, etc.  I was a vocal opponent of her  she was trying to pass off as facts set in stone, and needless to say, she failed me.  I had never failed a class before, and more importantly, certainly not in my favorite subject.  My parents were not happy, and pulled me back into home school again (I began public schooling in 2nd grade). 

I have a very, very low opinion of public school teachers, with history teachers being at the very bottom of the barrel. 

   

You didn't go to school in Michigan at a school for troubled kids did you? Oh wait, you said it was a she. (sorry, only one other poster will get this and it was no slight on you, but of a public high school teacher of a similar ilk as the one you unfortunately came across...and he taught troubled youths to boot)