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

Sun Mar 4 06:48:41 UTC 2012

bizzump?

On Sat, Mar 3, 2012 at 5:09 PM, Rachel McConnell <rachel at xtreme.com> wrote:

> 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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-- 
Ronald Cotoni
Systems Engineer
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