When I moved to Malibu over seven years ago, I had never heard of Nextdoor. I quickly signed up for Nextdoor Kanan since my home was on Kanan Dume Road. I liked the small town flavor of it, the sense of community which attracted me to Malibu in the first place.
Nextdoor is described as “a private social network for your neighborhood. Whether you’re looking to get to know the people on your street, hire a local babysitter, find garage sale deals or sell your unwanted household items, Nextdoor makes it easy to talk with your neighbors.” For someone new to town, what could be better!
I was eager to be part of the community, and so when a neighbor asked on Nextdoor where she could get some free lemons, I was only too pleased to offer her some from my tree. I felt like I had returned to the 1950s and the days of “Ozzie and Harriet.”
But more recently, our Nextdoor “neighborhood” has been featuring posts by a handful of people who seem to have unlimited bile to disgorge. They have turned it into a political venue in which they attack, criticize, insult, accuse and just plain wallow in negativity. All of a sudden, our community has turned on itself with name calling and back biting.
Nextdoor proclaims that it wants “all neighbors to feel welcome, safe and respected when using Nextdoor,” and many who use Nextdoor in other parts of Malibu have enjoyed this civility, but this spirit is being violated on a regular basis on Nextdoor in the areas around Kanan.
Those who marinate in this divisiveness will most certainly ask whether they are entitled to free speech just like the rest of us, but they are asking the wrong question. The right question is whether Nextdoor is the appropriate vehicle to vent their spleen and to attack their neighbors. It most assuredly is not.
There are ample venues today for people who need to castigate their fellow citizens. We need to have a safe, secure place for people who are grateful to be here in Malibu and wish to help our neighbors. Nextdoor should be such a place. After all that we in Malibu have been through, it would be nice if Nextdoor could again be such a place.