whom to trust
@Alberto, you said you have faith in yourself and the people you do work with. I don’t think that fits the way the unMonastery works, at least in my eyes.
We used to say that we trusted the process. It was such an easy way to justify letting things take their own path that it did not even seem important to analyse what we meant by it. In retrospect, I think what was trusted is the group, the whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. So, no I, and no other. Just an us. This us had to be brought to life and nurtured, which happened in the circles, at morning practice, and by eating together. Issues of any scale had a chance to appear within the group before they went public. And it was just right - having a conversation is a much more effective tool for facilitating different viewpoints and opinions than posting on the ER platform.
What I see as one of the key elements of the unMonastery is that it has the ability to create a community out of complete strangers within a very short time period. And in the last 4 months this has been constantly undermined by the different expectations for communication: the where and how of reporting problems, listing achievements and soliciting solutions. The details here matter, but I will not get into it now. In my recollection, the real crises started when the group as a unit was disrespected.
I understand that the Edgeryders, at least some of them, consider unMonastery as their own community. It is however really important to differentiate between members of the community who (at least temporarily) suspended their lives, moved out of their comfort zone, gave up their usual support network, their living, eating and sleeping habits, and moved into an unfinished building with a few strangers; and other members of the community who safely continued their daily lives and looked in from the outside. A very moderate version of giving up worldly belongings, but still, joining the unMonastery started with making oneself vulnerable and feeling somewhat powerless. No family members, no financial assets, no familiar situations, just a group of strangers and an obviously enormous amount of work to do. For each of us, becoming part of the group was essential, a natural human need to belong, to feel safe and competent to do the work we all pledged to do. And it had to start with becoming a group. The pleasantness of our days, the restfulness of the nights, and our self-esteem were hinged on our ability to fit in.This commitment to each other is what created the unMonastery in Matera in my opinion. And the group is a useful tool for overcoming problems - it has the ability to form a padding around each of our peculiarities and shortcomings. Some people jump into projects and rush forward, and they create a momentum for others who need more time to ease into action. Some people make connections with people quicker, and deeper, than others, even despite of language barriers, and so draw a social circle around all unMonasterians, which allows the less smooth unMonks to be understood instead of being rejected by the local community - we vouchsafe for each other. I find the idea of an identifier appealing, although I do not think the right way has been found yet. We are primarily present here in Matera as a group. It does not mean we have become uniform, or even similar, at the expense of individuality. In fact, trusting the process is trusting the differences within the group so that the consensus seeking process ends with the best solution.
Your picture of the unpoliticking Benedictine monks is too rosy to be true. Gossiping (http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674363366), and therefore scheming, or forging and severing of alliances, is part of what creates social cohesion. I assume the Benedictines were, on the other hand, more careful about keeping it in its place. A personal opinion or a fleeting idea should not have the chance to be read as a State of the Union speech. I remember the conflict about the inheritance of the building - when we were told that everything should be posted on the Edgeryders platform. I really completely disagree. I do not see too much politicking going on at the unMonastery - what I see is personal opinions, suggestions and ideas get blown out of proportion due their appearance on the platform, while others remain humbly by the kitchen counter. I guess it is the big task for Edgeryders after all, to figure out their relationship with the projects under their care. I recommend walking softly.
One more thing - I imagine that it was not a rhetorical move from Ben to mention alienation. The translator absorbs the trauma of both sides, and he is the person who understands the background for most of the different sides when there is a conflict. And is pretty much left alone to deal with the burden of comprehension.