What do you understand by the word ‘community’?

Some food for thought before Thursday’s 11am session…

Here are ten answers from passers-by on Exmouth Market (between 2.30-3pm on Tuesday 10 May) in response to the question: What do you understand by the word ‘community’?

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‘Togetherness.’ (pensioner)

‘People stabbing each other in the back.’ (shopkeeper)

‘It’s about the people who live in that specific area and what they do on a daily basis, their shops, their lives.’ (Community Support Officer)

‘Not enough solidarity, just a shame, too much individualism.’ (tourist)

‘It’s an overused word. It’s meaningless. It’s overused in the context of community leaders. Particularly with minorities. If you hear somebody say ‘this is the community leader for …’ when it comes to talking about Muslims or any other small ethnic group, all you mean is that you’ve managed to get hold of somebody who is of that ethnic group and is willing to be quite articulate about it. Meaningless.’ (journalist)

‘I tend to enjoy feeling connected to the people in my environment. So I make an effort to do that, the environment responds to that by embracing me. That has been my experience of community.’ (young professional)

‘Quite positive associations somehow. An environment where people… When I think of the word community, I think of people who have some sort of consensus or they have something in common. You think of the Hasidic community, the Bangladeshi community. Not necessarily the same ethnically. But there’s some sort of common denominator.’ (Amnesty International employee)

‘Not a lot. I’ve been a gypsy all my life, haven’t I?’ (pensioner)

‘It could be absolutely anything, an extension of commonality, either people physically or emotionally, or in their own interest.’ (young professional)

‘The people. Together. When people come together. That’s a community, that in itself.’ (father & son)