[Noisebridge-discuss] Patrick being banned

[VonGuard]

Just one more thing here:

Noisebridge is a place that should be safe. NO ONE should feel as though
coming to Noisebridge endangers them. This si the core issue. Please accept
that we all discussed this extensively and felt immediate action
was necessary.

Let me state that again, it was DECIDED THAT IMMEDIATE ACTION WAS NECESSARY.

I don't want to speculate about what Patrick might or might not have done,
but those of us at the meeting felt that it was time to do something, and so
we did.

It is entirely inappropriate to put a decision like that to committee and a
week-long observation period. It was felt that Patrick was actively engaged
in extremely unexcellent behavior that set off warning flags in all of our
collective heads. As I said in a previous email, this was not about a dood
being creepy, this was about an active role he was taking in pursuing women
who has expressed to him the fact that his attentions were unwelcome.

Immediate action was called for. I am not saying Patrick would have raped
someone, but I am saying that I FUCKING WELL WAS NOT GONNA LET THAT HAPPEN
BECAUSE OF OR AT NOISEBRIDGE. OK? Fuck committees and discussion. If yer
butt-hurt, I am sorry. Blame me. I will rest easy tonight knowing my female
friends are now safe at the space. If that safety comes at the cost of
respect people have for me, or the decisions we made last night, so be it.

Noisebridge must be a safe place. Many people at Noisebridge have crossed
boundaries like this in the past, but talking it out has always resolved the
situation. In this case, it did not and his behavior was not corrected.

Please, stop this thread, wait until next week. This is absolutely not
something we'll be doing on a whim, or because we all feel like castigating
someone. This was done to protect our female members, whom Patrick was
making feel not just uncomfortable, but unsafe.

Come next week. I guarantee that after you see the evidence and talk to us,
you too will agree with all of us.

Noisebridge is a do-ocracy. When I see someone threatening another members'
safety, I'm gonna make that stop, and I'm going to do it without fucking
consensus. Somethings have to happen, and they have to happen right fucking
now.

I am sorry for the harsh tone here, but society at large often allows claims
of stalking to fall on deaf ears, and I am not gonna let Noisebridge ignore
REPEATED claims of his abuse. I absolutely deplore men who make women feel
unsafe in an attempt to manipulate them into bed. It is disgusting, and it
happens all the time. So, kindly, with respect, will all the men on this
thread shut the fuck up and trust we're doing the right thing? You, very
likely, do not understand the scope of this problem, and your continued
requests to change our actions are insulting to the women who were brave
enough to let us know about these problems.

And, finally, if and when there is someone at Noisebridge who's very
presence negates the ability of multiple others to be at the space, I say
that person has to go. If we didn't ban Patrick, we were banning multiple
ladies who would never have come back. And as we keep pointing out, never is
a long time.

If you feel sorry for Patrick, contact him offlist and open your own therapy
service. Noisebridge is about hacking, not about fixing completely broken
people.






On Wed, Feb 23, 2011 at 2:30 PM, Jason Dusek <jason.dusek at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Wed, Feb 23, 2011 at 22:01, Frantisek Apfelbeck <algoldor at yahoo.com>
> wrote:
> > If Patric is being banned it should not be "for ever". Things
> > change and people does too.
>
>   "does" -> "do"
>  "for ever" -> "forever"
>
>  I agree. A saying I like, from the founder of Aikido:
>
>    True budo is the loving protection of all beings with a
>    spirit of reconciliation.
>
>  I think we all would prefer it if Patrick were to choose to
>  reconcile, offering apologies and mending his ways. To
>  participate in this reconciliation would gladden our hearts
>  and we must not close ourselves to that (although we needn't
>  hold out much hope for it, either).
>
>  I asked for the wording "until further notice" or
>  "indefinitely". Forever is a long time.
>
> --
> Jason Dusek
> Linux User #510144 | http://counter.li.org/
> _______________________________________________
> Noisebridge-discuss mailing list
> Noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net
> https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.noisebridge.net/pipermail/noisebridge-discuss/attachments/20110223/165bd548/attachment-0003.html>