[Noisebridge-discuss] Cynthia and "Asian" Reference

[Anthony LeTigre]

You know, years ago in Portland, my Cousin worked at a nuthouse. It was 
either a nuthouse or an Assisted Living Facility for Mentally Disabled 
Adults, I can't remember which. Regardless, one of his charges was a man 
who liked to kiss cockroaches because, as he averred, "cockroaches have 
nice lips!" That man was, to borrow Jake's charming sobriquet, a 
wingnut. Now, wingnuts are a class of people I know a thing or two 
about. (Hush.) I like wingnuts, generally speaking. They amuse me. They 
say the damnedest things. Their imaginations are out of this world, and 
at the risk of sounding a bit "loose in the Wingnuts" myself, I find 
that inspiring -- providing the person in question doesn't cross a 
certain line where they cease to be a Wingnut and become something more 
like a genuine threat, or a problem that requires attention. Since we're 
talking openly about these things, I can see why one might deem it 
appropriate to include our very own Cynthia in the "Wingnut" category. 
(Although this report of her availing herself of one of the Noisebridge 
sofas for a "long winter's nap," if true and upheld in Noisecourt, would 
seem to indicate dangerous proximity to the "Muppet" category -- which 
is only one half-step above straight-up Noisetroll.)

I was introduced to Cynthia by a Noisebridger of respectable experience 
and reliable judgment as "The Queen of the Noisebridge Kitchen" - partly 
for her expertise and omnipresence, and partly (as I have come to learn 
over time) for her fearsomely territorial attitude toward the 
Noisebridge "Recology" (garbage, recycling, compost) bins, as well as a 
host of unusual and somewhat persnickety habits, such as the unexplained 
tendency to seize and remove any number of food products, condiments, 
dishwares, tupperware containers, oversized rolls of plastic wrap, and 
assorted and sundry other items at any given time, from the space to an 
undisclosed other location, apparently when some threshold is reached in 
the curious and unguessable system of inventory with which she appears 
to regulate - did I hear "dominate?" - the Noisebridge kitchen. Her 
conversation with me has often revolved around a certain Dr. Dimsberg (I 
think I'm spelling that wrong) who, if I understand correctly (and I 
rarely do) doesn't believe in AIDS, or doesn't believe that AIDS is 
caused by HIV, and also doesn't particularly care for gay people. Well, 
I could say that I don't particularly care for barmy micromanaging 
busybodies, but what's the point? We are what we are and we're all 
locked up in this same space, so we might as well accept that and try to 
get along. In a word: Cynthia is a jolly old wingnut all right, nutty as 
the day is long! She may not be a cockroach-kissin' crackhead by a long 
measure, but she's nothing to take home to mother.

Now it would seem, judging by Pearl's letter as appended to Jake's 
original post, that Cynthia's recent behavior has been such as to cross 
the line from wingnut to Serious Problem Requiring Attention. It's 
always uncomfortable when this line is crossed, because dealing with 
problems requires energy and effort and will most likely involve 
conflict and disruption and hurt feelings and anger and all those sort 
of things that tend to make it difficult to kick back with a cold brew 
and your fishing rod in the water and peacefully catnap until you feel 
something tug at the line. And having followed me so far through this 
mass of high-falutin jibberjabber (if anyone has), you might expect me 
to finish with a genuinely helpful or insightful suggestion for how to 
deal with this matter. Well.......the juvenile, jokey side of me 
(currently ascendant) wants to suggest that we inaugurate a new 
tradition called "Wingnut Wednesdays!" The one night of the week when 
the wingnuts rule the roost! (The other six days of the week, they have 
to bow to the will of the non-wingnuts.) The serious, genuinely helpful 
and insightful side of me, on the other hand.......well, shit, I really 
don't know what to do about it, but I suppose a large group of people 
should sit at a large table somewhere and talk it over or something. 
Maybe we could get Charlie Rose in to mediate. In any case, the 
/sincere/ side of me (rarely ascendant, but so delightful) wants to 
thank Jake for the Excellentest and most socially responsible and 
grownup-like post I've seen on Noisebridge Discuss in a month of Mondays.

And you know what they say about Mondays.

Also, I think I'm starting to understand the importance of discussing 
interpersonal relations - not to say "drama" - on the Discuss List, and 
I hereby retract my previous objection to the airing of social 
grievances on here. What a neophyte I was!

Lastly, in case any wonders where I've disappeared to (and so far no one 
has), I wanted to say that I have /not /been away from Noisebridge, in 
fact I've been there every day for the past two weeks, in fact I'm there 
/right now/ - it's just that I'm going through this invisible phase. So 
you can't see me. I guess I should've disclosed that invisibility is my 
mutant superpower when I first started hanging out at Noisebridge.

That was unexcellent of me, and I apologize.


xo



Tony


PS for Jake: As for the other person you mentioned - Roger was it? 
Robert? - I can't comment. I don't believe I know that person.
-- 
*TLongshanksLT*
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