~ Opinion ~

Who doesn’t want our community to thrive?

Absolutely no-one.

It’s a given but worth remembering from time to time.

It’s particularly worth remembering when we see community division.

What we saw play out in the US might beggar belief here (no matter which side you’re on) but it’s a good example of where different parts of an individual’s community identity can both dominate or be dominated by one or a few factors.

Community isn’t one thing, it’s a composite, unique-to-us union of the different and disparate communities we each belong to or identify with.

Think about woman, mother, doctor, yogi and lead singer... or teenager, gamer, pilot, fashionista and advocate... or retiree, dance teacher, protester, grandpa and fruit grower.

At any given point in time, each of those characteristics will take precedence over others.

Take stalking for example.

The government’s proposed anti-stalking legislation was revealed yesterday (Sunday November 10), criminalising stalking behaviours.

Stalking behaviours would include recording, tracking, following or loitering nearby and any three of these activities within twelve months could lead to a conviction.

How you feel about that will, at least in part, depend on which community you most strongly identify with as you consider it.

A dad with a socially awkward son might feel differently about “loitering nearby” than a man with a vulnerable daughter.

Put them both in a pub and you’d hope it would lead to some shared perspective rather than division… and not just for them.

Our community context does impact on our decisions.

The North Otago women who have suffered unsolicited, unwanted and ongoing contact, cited community concerns as reasons for both reporting and not reporting the unwanted behaviour (not reporting because of not wanting to upset people in the community and reporting to protect people in the community).

Ultimately, a more connected community leads to more intersections in our unique-to-us community composites.

Those connections create more chances to see alternative perspectives, not as threats but as opportunities.

It’s harder to tolerate division where you see relatedness.

And since we are all a sum of lots of different bits of community input, one hobby, one cause, one passion could be the very thing that opens us up to a different perspective at one of those (myriad) intersections with someone else.

Our sports clubs and community groups are part of what keeps us as a community, thriving – physically, mentally and socially.

And they're struggling, so they need us to get connected and get involved.

That’s why we’ve worked with Real Radio to create Team Up Waitaki – a free-to-everyone community diary of local sports and social clubs and community group activities.

Imagine, all the local group activities, in one place, where everyone can find them.

That’s more members, more volunteers and an altogether more inclusive community.

Because inclusion is the opposite of division.

And who doesn't want our community to thrive?

No-one.

Get involved. Invite others to connect. Do it today.

Cara Tipping Smith is a director of The Business Hive & Waitaki App and holds multiple degrees including psychology and leadership for change. To get involved and add your club or group details to Waitaki App, go to MYwaitakiapp.nz/REAL.