[Noisebridge-discuss] Safety (was: Re: Unwelcome person at noisebridge

Mon Sep 20 15:58:55 UTC 2010

In nycr,

We occasionally did goup trips to local subways.  Sometimes on a late night
hack session a quick escort to mode of transport is a more than chivalrous
act.

On Sep 20, 2010 8:51 AM, "Michael Shiloh" <michaelshiloh1010 at gmail.com>
wrote:
> Something else which you (we) all need to consider is safety. It's one
> thing to identify "Dr. Bobby" as "less balanced" or "not excellent",
> it's another to find yourself alone at the space with someone who weighs
> twice as much as you, seems to have no fear of physical contact, and
> makes you feel threatened.
>
> I think some discussion around this would be useful. E.g.
>
> * Call the police sooner rather than later
> * If you are one of the last two or three (or 5) people at NB, and you
> are about to leave, check in with the remaining people. Do they feel
> comfortable being the last one or two? Is anyone remaining making them
> feel the least bit uncomfortable?
> * MAKE SURE THE GATE LOCKS ON THE WAY OUT! I have found the gate closed
> but not locked on a number of occasions
> * Keep the front door locked,
> * Is there a way to lock the elevator entrance?
>
> Which brings up an interesting topic we've not discussed: How did "Dr.
> Bobby" get in in the first place?
>
> Discussion, please (not that one ever needs to invite this on this list)
>
> On 09/20/2010 07:32 AM, Shannon Lee wrote:
>> This sounds like the guy -- he identified himself as Robert "Dr. Bobby"
>> Owens. He was wearing shorts and a floppy camping hat when I interacted
>> with him on Friday.
>>
>> He's pretty obviously having some sort of manic episode; when I told him
>> that he was acting crazy, he said, "Yeah, some people say manic, but
>> really it's just powerful." He spent a good deal of our conversation
>> trying to map the rules and power structures of Noisebridge -- when I
>> got there, he was trying to eject someone else, whom he said "made him
>> uncomfortable." He asked a lot of questions about process.
>>
>> The trick to getting him to leave was, as Robert described, patiently
>> waiting out his delaying tactics (I also ended up waiting while he went
>> to the bathroom and looked under various pieces of furniture for stuff
>> he might have left -- he had a name for this procedure which included
>> the word "quantum" ("quantum air scrubbing?"). He was pleasant, if
>> incredibly chatty, and responded very well to simple expression of
>> authority ("You have to leave now").
>>
>> So here's the warning: I walked him out of the space and down the
>> stairs, upon which he followed me, still chatting; I thought, great, the
>> further from Noisebridge the better. My plan was to wish him goodbye at
>> the BART gate, but he had a BART ticket, and sat near but not next to
>> me, having a loud conversation with himself. When I got off, he was
>> right there with me again, still talking.
>>
>> I was meeting Andy for lunch, so I walked to his office, and used
>> building security as a filter to scrape Dr. Bobby off me. When Andy and
>> I left through the back door, he was engaged in a verbal altercation
>> with building security.
>>
>> Andy later discovered that he'd claimed that I had stolen his cell
>> phone, and insisted that the police be called; when they arrived, they
>> recognized him and took him away. I bought the security guard a box of
>> See's.
>>
>> So in conclusion: Dr. Bobby does respond to being escorted, politely,
>> firmly, and patiently out the door, but you are best off retreating back
>> inside once you've escorted him out; and so far, he comes back. Calling
>> SFPD seems to be the most expedient way to get rid of him.
>>
>> Oh, and by the way, on Friday Dr Bobby and I made a deal that he
>> wouldn't come back until Monday; you can see how well that worked out.
>>
>> --S
>>
>> PS, if you have the chance, ask him about his theory on the sentience of
>> water.
>>
>> On Sun, Sep 19, 2010 at 10:29 PM, Robert Fletcher
>> <lobatifricha at gmail.com <mailto:lobatifricha at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>
>> We kicked someone by a similar description out of Noisebridge
>> Saturday afternoon. He was climbing on desks, rooting through
>> boxes, ranting at no one in particular and generally making a
>> nuisance of himself. He was clearly beyond the level of imbalance
>> we typically see at the space and seemed to be a danger to himself
>> and others. He was wearing a hospital gown and a skirt around his
>> waist, neither of which hid much. I gather his name is Robert
>> (Bobby) Owens. Others said they have seen him at the space before,
>> though he seemed more subdued and sane on prior occasions.
>>
>> --Fletch
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Sep 19, 2010 at 9:45 PM, Hephaestus <hephaestus at antipunk.net
>> <mailto:hephaestus at antipunk.net>> wrote:
>>
>> As we were leaving 2169 tonight, a man was coming into the space who
>> was obviously unwelcome. Several members asked me to escort him
>> out of
>> the space, and when I tried he got very hostile, loud, and
>> disruptive.
>> Some members were obviously afraid of this man, and he was
>> behaving in
>> an agressive manner while following them around the space very
>> closely. When he failed to leave after several requests, we
>> called the
>> police. The police eventually arrived, exclaiming 'NOT YOU AGAIN!',
>> and quickly escorted him away.
>>
>> He is 5'9, approximately 160lbs, Caucasian, balding white hair
>> trimmed
>> very short, in his early to mid 50's, wearing an olive drab
>> jacket, a
>> yellow tie-died dress, brown cut off pants, flip flops, and a pastel
>> blue baseball cap with a pink flower on it. If anybody got a picture
>> it'd be helpful.
>>
>> He is the person Shannon had to remove the other morning. Is
>> he the
>> person who showed up this morning without pants?
>>
>> (p.s. Rubin, I fully expect you to carry out your threat to
>> 'punch the
>> next person who calls the police to noisebridge.' It was me.)
>>
>> --
>> Hephaestus
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>>
>>
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>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Shannon Lee
>> (503) 539-3700
>>
>> "Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science."
>>
>>
>>
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>
> --
> Sent from my ASR-33
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