Word: communalism
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...dining hall, a small number of Jewish students objected at a house committee meeting. They felt that the tree was also a sectarian symbol, and perceived a double standard at work. Their numbers were insubstantial, however, and the tree went up in the dining hall as a non-sectarian, communal symbol. Hence, the P.C. "X-mas" as the wording of choice...
...Christmas tree a "communal" symbol? I certainly don't think so. After all, you can't expect a Jew from New York to overflow with "holiday spirit" when confronted by a 15-foot fir bedecked with glittering tchochkes. In fact, the tree in the dining hall of my own house, Leverett, makes me rather uncomfortable. Does that mean I am not a part of the Leverett community...
...condoms. Ironically, the perceived sterility only goes so far. The dining experience is actually rather unclean by our ethnocentric Western standards; there are neither napkins nor silverware for the patrons, and with two of our guests affected with mysterious sniffles, your reviewers were somewhat uneasy about picking at a communal platter with pieces of injera--spongy, sour, pancake-like bread...
...This is a communal regime but the rules haven't been made," says Howard Rheingold, a WELL member since 1985. "We have people with different degrees of sophistication participating." Until the affairs of Mr. X came to light, users could more easily overlook the potential for the abuse of the network. The illusion of safety promoted intense on-line intimacy -- all behind the safety of a computer screen. Says Preston Stern, an ally of Mr. X, "The incident exposed in a very immediate way how the medium facilitates deception -- emotional manipulation because of the absence of physical cues...
...sure all of this has been a nightmare for Sheldon," says a friend of 25 years. "It plays to every weakness he has. He carries a classic load of communal Southern guilt on racial issues. He has always had a hard time with the notion that members of a minority group can misbehave...