Larry Harrison watches with alarm as noisy Brazilians invade his
peaceful island community of Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts,
creating mistrust between old and new residents. "We are in the
United States, not Brazil," the college professor recently
shouted at a group of immigrants who he said were among a new
crowd who blasted loud music "whenever and wherever." "They come
from a culture that is inconsiderate of others — captured in the
Spanish expression Que viva yo or 'Long live I,'" said Harrison,
director of the Cultural Change Institute at the Fletcher School
at Tufts University. "It's a human nature problem," he said. "We
are not comfortable with people who look, act and speak
differently. It contributes to loss of social capital." The term
"social capital" was popularized in 2000 by Harvard University
sociologist Robert Putnam, whose best-selling book "Bowling
Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community" noted a
drop in the social networks that allow civic engagement to
thrive. But in ano