<div dir="ltr">I'm glad to see that the rev was able to get some support on addressing an issue to the space and pulling in others to help out. I would love to see this encourage other members of the community (paying/that thing where someone doesn't block/and otherwise) channel this mystical Pope aura and do something sooner rather than later.<div>
<br></div><div>...what would Lord Omar do<br><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sat, Feb 23, 2013 at 8:02 PM, Danny O'Brien <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:danny@spesh.com" target="_blank">danny@spesh.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">I got a call from the Reverend Mik asking me to come down to the space:<br>
he'd asked said Jnr to leave, because occupying the bathrooms[1]<br>
frequently in the last few days. He'd not left when the Reverend asked<br>
him to. Junior's a round-faced guy, black, with a black cap and who<br>
listens to music in the space. That does not really pin him down, I<br>
know.<br>
<br>
I don't have any magic powers in this capacity, but I had some time<br>
free. I came down and introduced myself as the Arch Pope of Noisebridge.<br>
Junior was at this point mixing some music on his netbook pretty<br>
determinably, but he looked really ill with red eyes. We talked. He said<br>
that he was diabetic, which is why he blacks out in the toileet. It was<br>
pretty clear he is homeless. I explained the deal with being asked to<br>
leave, which he knew about because he was around in the last meeting,<br>
except he thought that it was just members who could tell people to<br>
leave. I said that I didn't think that would work.<br>
<br>
He left, very very slowly, picking up a looot of stuff as he went. In<br>
the end, after we'd chatted at the bottom of the stairs for a long time,<br>
I took a picture of him. He got very angry at this. I agreed that it was<br>
rude, but getting him to leave had now taken over an hour, and the last<br>
few meters had taken an additional twenty minutes, and we were now in a<br>
public place. We cut a deal that if he left in one minute, I'd delete<br>
the pictures, and he did. The pictures weren't very flattering anyway.<br>
<br>
A few lessons:<br>
<br>
1) As ever, it's worth reminding everyone that YOU CAN DO THIS TOO. If<br>
you need practice, ask *me* to leave. We can role play it. It takes a<br>
bunch of time, but it doesn't usually escalate. If you need somebody who<br>
looks like they're in authority, anoint yourself or a friend an Arch<br>
Pope of Noisebridge. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discordianism#Popes" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discordianism#Popes</a><br>
Please don't fall into the error of thinking that someone else is in<br>
charge of this.<br>
<br>
2) The MAPS van, which was a resource for transporting homeless people<br>
(if they want) to a place where they can be treated, does not exist any<br>
more. If there's somebody who is really not on this planet, you can call<br>
<a href="tel:415-734-4233" value="+14157344233" target="_blank">415-734-4233</a>, which is the SF Homeless Outreach Team's number. They<br>
didn't want to deal with Junior because he wasn't in a sufficiently bad<br>
way. Here is a PDF that describes what they do:<br>
<a href="http://www.sfdph.org/dph/files/hc/HCAgen/2013/jan%2015/rev%20010713%20Announce_SFHOT_EST_-_Garcia_Goy.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.sfdph.org/dph/files/hc/HCAgen/2013/jan%2015/rev%20010713%20Announce_SFHOT_EST_-_Garcia_Goy.pdf</a><br>
<br>
3) I don't like taking pictures of people without their permission, but<br>
it's legal, and it turns out I can be pushed to do it if pressed. I<br>
always try to act in situations like this like I imagine a slap drone<br>
would behave in the Culture. I like the idea of surveillance being an<br>
ultimate sanction, rather than a persistent and universal state. I am<br>
happy to take more opinions on this.<br>
<br>
4) In the rest of the space, people were cleaning up, and organizing a<br>
hacking session for I think a civic project. It was quiet for a<br>
Saturday, like a library.<br>
<br>
[1] OCCUPY THE BATHROOMS. For hours, is how it was described.<br>
<br>
_______________________________________________<br>
Noisebridge-discuss mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Noisebridge-discuss@lists.noisebridge.net" target="_blank">Noisebridge-discuss@lists.noisebridge.net</a><br>
<a href="https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss" target="_blank">https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss</a><br>
</blockquote></div><br></div></div></div>