Sense of Community in 4 Splinter Groups

The Amish are a true community. Even with some sectarian differences they still view themselves as being separate from the world and in need of each other. They have a broad set of rules by which they live and have the means of enforcing those rules (as with the threat of the Meidung or by basic means of social control such as gossip and ridicule). They also have a society in which everyone (except for the difference between the sexes) is basically the same. They deliberately exclude whatever might be a means of making differences apparent -- no display means no display of relative wealth, for example.

The interdependence of the Amish is almost complete and any exceptions from it (that is, turning to the outside world) is carefully regulated in the spirit of keeping themselves separate. The rest of the world is an evil place for the Amish and this makes home, the community, the only safe place for them.

The Gypsies do not usually occupy a definite physical territory but in every other sense they fit the definition of community. In place of a territory to occupy the Gypsies establish a kind of metaphorical territory with their own homes. Everything is centered around the home and no one from the outside is ever allowed in. Thus there is a territory in which only Gypsies can enter and it is as rigidly enclosed, maybe even more so, than an Amish settlement. Living a

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an they needed. And, in a similar fashion, working under conditions that could be alienating tended to make them cohere because they were working according to a set of standards that elevated their endeavors and made them special. 3. Describe how the gypsies use "movidas" to cope with circumstances in their daily lives. "Movidas" is the word Mexican-Americans use to describe interactional strategies they practice in their daily lives. The Gypsies are masters of adaptation and use movidas on a greater scale than most extraordinary groups. Whereas many groups withdraw from the larger society in physical terms, the Gypsies live in urban settings in the midst of millions of outsiders, or gadje. Many of the Gypsies were also travelers and this meant that not only would they be in gadje society they would be in different societies all the time. The principal means of dealing with this is simple adaptability at the most basic levels. As Kephart and Zellner point out, however, "they adapt without losing their cultural identity" (129). They adopt the religions of the countries where they happen to find themselves and, with minor exceptions, they adapt the clothing and food styles of the cultures where they are located. This adap
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Approximate Word count = 2899
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page)

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