[Noisebridge-discuss] Response to Tom's personal statement

[Rachel McConnell]

bump

On 3/2/12 5:09 PM, Anthony LeTigre wrote:
> *On 3/3/2012 1:03 AM, t l wrote:
>
> Intolerance against the less fortunate, pushing Occupiers around,
> bullying on our forums, and increased denial of access, all make for a
> crummy social and work environment for your average NBer. Indeed, if
> someone wanted to help NB rip itself apart, these are just the kind of
> tactics they'd employ: spreading fear and denying access. anti-Occupy
> crusaders turn people off at least as much as the homeless do, if not
> more. It isn't easy to tolerate diversity, or those whose understanding
> doesn't seem to match our own. But we must tolerate it and projects like
> Occupy. The real Occupiers aren't lazy or just out for a handout.
> They're working to make things better for themselves and everyone else
> by demanding change from the system that keeps so many down. They want
> to stop the hate and increase access for the people - exactly what NB
> believes in. Some people want to hate on Occupy, others are hating on
> gays, and that's "doing their thing." Tom *
>
>
> Sorry for the text-compacting there.
>
> I have a mixed reaction to your post, Tom7879 (there sure are a lot of
> Toms, I guess!) On the one hand I'm in sympathy with some of what you've
> said. The recent discussions about closing the space at 11pm from now
> on, and hints that the kitchen's current AWOL status could become
> permanent, have put a bad taste in my mouth. As a lifelong night owl and
> supporter of "Tastebridge" despite its occasional shortcomings (I want
> it to be more than a glorified soup kitchen), I feel some of the
> measures currently in place or being considered are not the answers to
> our problems. Also I just gotta say - sorry, I know lots of people put
> time & thought into this - but the constant door buzzing drives me nuts.
> I'm almost always focused on something I'm working on when at NB, and my
> concentration is so easily shattered by a persistent door buzzer that I
> have to get up and answer if no one else does. Then again I realize what
> an insufferable hypocrite this makes me, since I'm always grateful when
> someone buzzes me in lately, and I can't necessarily suggest a better
> solution to the door policy at the moment. So that is what it is.
>
> Bellyaching aside, I want to add that for the most part I think there's
> been a great deal of positive change in the space lately and it seems to
> me NB is on the road to recovery after dealing with what might be called
> the Occupy Problem. (Now hold on - I'm an Occupy supporter and consider
> myself part of the movement - keep reading.) When I've come to NB over
> the past couple weeks or so it has more of the feeling of
> industriousness and happy hackers at work and less oogles, trolls, orcs,
> kling-ons, opportunists, what-have-you. It's encouraging enough that
> I've made a decision that after the second issue of our zine (ZiP) comes
> out at the beginning of April, barring an unforeseen onslaught of
> suckitude at Noisebridge, I'm going to pony up my $40/month, jump
> through the necessary hoops, file the necessary papers, kiss the
> appropriate asses, to become a genuine, card-carrying Noisebridge Member
> (unless I am denied...) At last, commitment! And not to an insane asylum
> (yet).
>
> You, Tom, have drawn a correlation between the homophobic outburst of
> someone in the space - someone who may well not be a legit part of the
> NB community - and the recent crackdown on parasitism and abuse of the
> space by people whose primary objective is not hacking. I don't think
> this comparison stands up very well. Your suggestion that hate-mongers
> have been drawn here because rumor has it NB is now a hive of hatred and
> bigotry is kinda silly, dude. I'll wager the majority of NB members
> responsible for the recent crackdown would also have opposed the
> behavior of the Unidentified Gaybashing Guy (UGG) you describe. I
> certainly would. Taking steps to safeguard a hackerspace in order to
> ensure its resources are used for the intended purpose is not equivalent
> to hate speech or prejudice! That is straight up disinfo.
>
> I'm gonna be a pain in the ass for all the malcontents, because you're
> going to have a hard time accusing me of being an Occupy hater, or
> anti-homeless, or proponent of a strict closed-door, Members-only
> policy. I was an active participant in OccupySF last year (before I ever
> came to Noisebridge), recently spent 6 months living more or less on the
> street, I'm currently a squatter (as I continue to say, to the annoyance
> of many), Homes Not Jails member, homeless advocate, and outspoken
> critic of the Sit/Lie i.e. Harass the Homeless ordinance and other
> discriminatory legislation. I'm going to trial in September to contest a
> bullshit infraction that a Police Inspector Guy (PIG) gave me for
> napping on the Civic Center lawn at 4pm (They're hoping I'll chicken out
> or just give up & pay the fine - they don't know what a royal pain in
> the ass this tiger can be!) But I'm also a responsible adult (part of
> the time....I'm working at it), which is why I've never slept at
> Noisebridge, and why I support the efforts of members to clean up the
> space, which had gotten a bit out of control - let's face it.
>
> In short: thanks for your post, your heart seems to be in the right
> place, but I would question some of your thinking. Btw, I'm going to be
> @ NB this afternoon to partake in a new homebrewing project
> (shit...wait....is the kitchen back in operation yet?) and also tomorrow
> to catch part of the fascinating Ayahuasca forum before I have to cut
> out for the Agency Salon at Langton Labs (which I am also very much
> looking forward to). See you around I hope.
>
>
> Tony
>
>
> PS We want ongoing coverage of Occupy and related protest movements for
> our Zine in Progress (ZiP <http://zine.noisebridge.net>) and need
> someone to write it! I did a shitty job of it last time. Contact
> *zipzine at riseup.net*
>
>
> --
> *TLongshanksLT*
>
>
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