no.

you pay co-op fees so the co-op can exist in our society in the first place. things like a space to operate the co-op out of or advertising the co-op cost money.

people still have to show up and share the labor, ya know, cooperatively, as the name implies…

you seem to think a co-op is something you just pay dues to and get to use like some sort of service. that’s not what a fucking co-op is and i guarantee everyone at your co-op who puts actual work into it fucking resents your attitude about the whole thing and probably think you’re freeloading, tbh. those people pay dues too. but if they just sat on their ass demanding things like “redoing the entire front curb” for three years straight just because they “pay dues,” guess what? there wouldn’t be a co-op to make demands of.

your dues don’t entitle you to “demands” with a co-op, they entitle you to fucking participate. and participating in the co-op isn’t all fun, it’s a lot of hard work.

EDIT: I know i’ve been pretty harsh and abrasive towards you so far but you genuinely seem to misunderstand mutualism and what a co-op fundamentally is and why it isn’t just a store with fancy leftist branding.

think: if i pay money to a restaurant i expect the food to be cooked and served to me for that money in exchange. if i paid money to go to a potluck, that payment doesn’t entitle me to demand that nancy next door makes the thing i’m bringing to the potluck for me - no, that’d be fucking absurd. in this case, your payment merely is so you can participate in the first place, you still have to go to the store and make a dish to bring to the potluck.

also… i’ll be real i’m kinda rude to you when i see you sometimes bc the thorn thing is supremely dumb and grinds my gears, i do ML/AI as a career so it’s always upsetting to see people entirely misunderstanding my job and what it is or how it works. it happens all the fucking time recently and you get tired of it. but otherwise i can tell you seem to have your heart in a decent place and probably want good things for this world - i don’t hate you and if anything i’ll be a big enough person to say that i’m sorry for anytime i’ve just come at you with rude diction or tone.

we probably agree about a lot more than you think. i hate big tech and what they’re doing right now. doesn’t mean the engineering they’re using to do it is itself evil, though. as non-condescendingly and genuinely as possible; if you’re ever interested in real ways to protect your personal data and be proactive against the big tech panopticon hmu, i know what im talking about.

i understand if you don’t trust me because i seem like im “in on it” or “one of them,” but seriously. even if that’s how you feel… sun tzu once said to know thine enemy!