On Coexistence.
Whether different things can coexist within the same space depends on the properties of that space. First, its size; how large it is. Secondly, the way it is structured and organized, its pattern of boundaries, means of provision, transport and communication, and the like: mountains, rivers, plains, roads, walls, carpeting, the local convenience store, and the like. There are some office environments in which people can barely coexist while ostensibly trying to do the same job. Conversely, a person who likes loud music and one who prefers silence can coexist quite well in a building with thick walls and good acoustics.
This factor is often ignored. Coexistence is sometimes touted as a universal ideal regardless of the logistics thereof, whereas it is dependent upon very specific local and particular conditions. Sometimes it makes sense not to coexist, but to get the hell out (or, if you were there first, refuse to accept additional entrants.) Heresy, perhaps, nowadays.
It is astonishing that people ignore such obvious things; or maybe not so. The current mentality tends to moralize everything: when there is a problem, the knee-jerk reaction is to look for somebody at fault, somebody to blame. Looking at something as emotionally-neutral as the physical environment does not get people into a moral frenzy (unless, of course, it is turned into a buzzword: "The Environment", which has a become a shibboleth as big as any other in some sectors.) What is needed is calmness, logic and genuine tolerance: tolerance for the entire panorama of facts and interactions, the simple, nonjudgmental accepting of what is. But this is not something that comes to most people by default; it is a skill that requires quite a deal of learning.
This factor is often ignored. Coexistence is sometimes touted as a universal ideal regardless of the logistics thereof, whereas it is dependent upon very specific local and particular conditions. Sometimes it makes sense not to coexist, but to get the hell out (or, if you were there first, refuse to accept additional entrants.) Heresy, perhaps, nowadays.
It is astonishing that people ignore such obvious things; or maybe not so. The current mentality tends to moralize everything: when there is a problem, the knee-jerk reaction is to look for somebody at fault, somebody to blame. Looking at something as emotionally-neutral as the physical environment does not get people into a moral frenzy (unless, of course, it is turned into a buzzword: "The Environment", which has a become a shibboleth as big as any other in some sectors.) What is needed is calmness, logic and genuine tolerance: tolerance for the entire panorama of facts and interactions, the simple, nonjudgmental accepting of what is. But this is not something that comes to most people by default; it is a skill that requires quite a deal of learning.