Around the table tonight we were discussing perceptions of our town.
In the past few months I have heard people say that the town is unfriendly. That we have a sense of ungratefulness and entitlement. That this atmosphere creates an aloofness pitting us against them.
And so, I’m wondering how we promote thankfulness in our town. Most of us do recognize the many things that a small town like Kindersley provides. But how do we let others know? How do we express this thankfulness in ways that the community notices and rallies alongside?
Any thoughts?
I find the people here very friendly, just very into their own extended families and careers. With the long time local ancestry of most of the folks I have met here there is certainly an US and THEM mentality it seems, but it isn’t nasty or deliberately excluding, simply generational. So many people here are 3rd and 4th generation who have never lived outside our area. I arrived here as a middle aged person with no family or career connections to the town, and no historical connection at all so it does take alot of work to get close to people. There is a fair amount of wealth in our town and like similar communities I have lived in, it isn’t ungratefulness so much as a lack of recognition that not everyone out there is “just like us.” Anyway those are just my own experiences here. Continuing to deliberately model verbal and written expressions of gratitude to people here who do nice things for us seems to help a lot, even though compliments are shyly accepted. I find people here very shy and sometimes it can be interpreted as aloofness.
Good points! Perhaps it is “prairie” shy – I find many people are quite open to helping but don’t want to be “shown off”. I did have someone yesterday – new to town – say how friendly the town is! Let’s keep at the work of gratefulness and hospitality.