[Noisebridge-discuss] Jorgen, drama

[Duncan]

Jorgen is a dues-paying member of Noisebridge, having joined several months
ago by following the rule to becoming a member and being admitted by the
consensus approval of Noisebridge.  He has been an integral part of the
regular "on-site" members community and has good intentions.  However, we
all have our moments, and your shared experiences do resonate.  Alcohol
most definitely stifles and does not in any way bring out his best.
Nevertheless, he is a hacker and a member and, given the lack of comment
here, I think that speaks volumes.  Laurent, the curmudgeonly Belgian guy
has slept in the cave corner of Church every night for at least the last
six months.  Nobody seems to mind, so he stays.

Beyond any specific people or situation, I have observed this unfortunate
fact:  When it comes to the problem of homeless people sleeping at
Noisebridge, Noisebridge as a community is, sadly, NO MORE more inclined to
face and deal with it any more directly than the rest of our society.

There is no limit to what Noisebridge can do when it decides to do
something:  build walls over a long weekend, launch spacebridge balloons,
find and created the space that is Noisebridge, put on and host hacker
meets, plan and host an awesome prom, and even send some random hacker to
Singapore and back for the price of a couple months' rent in an SRO.
Noisebridge is beyond words in what it provides to the world around it in
terms of hardware, infrastructure, goodwill, and people who care and, at
least for the most part, are open-minded and willing to share.  Above all,
Noisebridge cares.

Without Nosiebridge, I would not have been able to get myself out of
depression, homelessness, or hopelessness.  I have serious doubts as to
whether I would even be alive today.  Thankfully, a  voluteer at Homeless
Connect last spring saw me making wallets as I sat in line, talked to me,
then slipped a folded 3x5 index card in my hand as she went on to help the
person after me in line.  "Read it later, don't give up. You still have a
chance." were her only words as she looked back at the hundreds of others
behind me and pointed me to my next stop.  The note was scrawled quickly
and simple:  "Noise Bridge-- on Mission nr 18th.  3rd flr.  Mitch or
Danny.  Peace."

And so I came to Noisebridge, bringing me, my best intentions, and faith
that I was where I was meant to be.  The people I've met have been
outstanding, caring, and open to sharing thoughts, ideas, plans, and
feelings.  Not unexpectedly, I managed to bungle my entree by using an open
area near the sewing corner and when I unexpectedly crossed paths  in a
misunderstanding, did what I *thought* was the right thing by having it
discussed at a weekly meeting.  A huge faux pas in its prematurity, but I
persevered, learned, and gladly and willingly supported in every way I
could in making the place, the space, and my interactions better and
better.  I never lived at Noisebridge-- my sleep space was near Castro and
20th Street on a cardboard box-- but Noisebridge became my family and one
that I care very deeply about.

I've read in the latest minutes about the new "Hacker Quarter", but-- and I
may be mistaken in this-- it doesn't particularly seem to be a project
aimed at helping to address the problem of providing affordable,
sustainable housing for members of the Noisebridge community.  I inquired
several times through Gavin indicating a willingness and desire to find
living arrangements with other Noisebridgers, but nothing ever came of
it... until I read in last week's meeting notes after the fact  that it was
a done deal.  If someone could post more information about this project --
assuming it's not a clique thing -- that would be awesome.

I've got a 6 month lease out here in North Beach, but while safe, warm,
dry, and home, I do feel rather alone and a bit isolated way on this side
of town.  Nevertheless, please, no one get me wrong:  Noisebridge is still
my family and we are definitely blessed!  :-)


Peace.








On Sun, Dec 4, 2011 at 9:12 AM, rachel lyra hospodar <rachelyra at gmail.com>wrote:

> Jorgen lives at noisebridge in the darkroom, gets so drunk he is
> incoherent, and would not leave me alone this morning.  I am curious if
> other people are interested in discussing the growing problem of his
> behavior and misuse of the space.
>
> Tl;dr
>
> Last night I was at a MAPP party and the host repeatedly asked jorgen to
> leave because he was drunk and being loud after everyone else had gone and
> it was quiet time. Jorgen refused to go. Eventually I was able to get him
> outside of the house, and went back in for a while.  I went to noisebridge
> and cooked a meal. Jorgen showed up and I gave him a plate of food.
>
> He then followed me back to the kitchen and hung out injecting
> incoherencies into the conversation I was having with someone else. He ate
> some of that person's food, ate the rest of mine off my plate, and kept
> being incoherent and interrupty. I asked him to leave me alone and he
> wouldn't.  I kept asking and eventually was yelling pretty loud.  There
> were other people in the space and they came over and tried to help him
> walk away from me (I didn't demand he leave the space, just not hang out
> right by me). He kept coming back over to STARE at me and try to talk to
> me.  Eventually he started 'looking for his jacket' and then went into the
> darkroom and fell asleep.
>
> I think this behavior is a big problem and it made me too angry to behave
> appropriately or to continue dealing with it directly.  I would appreciate
> some discussion around this issue.
>
> I used to like jorgen but I believe his level of functionality has
> deteriorated a LOT and I reluctantly believe that he now needs a different
> sort of place to be than noisebridge.
>
> R.
>
> mediumreality.com
>
> _______________________________________________
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> https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
>
>
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