[Noisebridge-discuss] Lack of due process when Cynthia forced to leave

[Matt Joyce]

While I open myself to comparisons to Hitler.  I do not enjoy the
company of the insane.  I simply do not.  Most people don't as it
turns out.  There's a reason for this.  The insane are by their very
nature unstable.  And that is a cause for concern.  It's a distraction
in every meaningful way.

In the specific case of Cynthia she has been largely benign in her
delusions. However, in the entirety of her time at noisbridge what has
she done that sets her apart from every other oogle that has been
thrown out?  She is not for all intensive purposes a part of the
community.  She's simply not.  She just takes up space and causes
issues for people.  More to the point she's insane.  Not omfg that guy
has a funny hat insane.  She has real issues.  Noisebridge is not a
hospital.  It's not a community outreach center.  It's a community of
hackers.  And here we have a person who is unstable, unwell, and not a
member of this community through her own action / inaction.

I see no issue here.  I would have called the authorities if dealing
with an increasingly unstable individual who was refusing to leave.
Allowing someone who is delusional to hang out at noisebridge puts
them at risk as well as others.  It's negligent.  And it's stupid.

Going beyond that, yes people who are hacking ( loosely defined ) do
have a priority over those who aren't in a hackerspace.  Seriously
it's not classist it's a community of by and for hackers.  It's not a
kitchen in the mission.  It's not an occupy tenement.  And it's not a
methadone clinic.  It's a hackerspace.  That's a hell of enough all on
its own.

-Matt

On Fri, May 4, 2012 at 10:40 AM, Corey McGuire <coreyfro at coreyfro.com> wrote:
> I resemble these remarks.  As much as I would love to spend time with my kid
> in a drama free zone, I'll have to see if someone can watch him while I
> attend this Tuesdays meeting to defend Cynthia.
>
> Look, Noisebridge is full of the social awkward.  Cynthia is, presently, the
> most socially awkward person in the space.  Who's next?  We're all only a
> small cluster of braincells away from being in Cynthia's state, or worse.
>
> I have communicated to Cynthia, accurately and respectfully, the times when
> I need my brain and the subjects I am not willing to discuss.  She has
> respected these without fail.
>
> I don't see how anyone else here is different.
>
> As soon as we start excluding people, I wince and wonder when it'll be my
> turn.  I will not take, "Corey, you are this valuable" as a guarantee.
>
> On Thu, May 3, 2012 at 7:42 PM, jim <jim at well.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>>    As to me, if I know a meeting will involve something like
>> banning, I make an effort to make it, despite wanting to be
>> in bed before 8 PM.
>>    It seems that such issues may arise without "benefit" of
>> meeting. What to do?
>>
>>    Also, some of us conflict-averse hand-wringers worry about
>> the affects of these events on people both in and tangential
>> to our community. That there has been a sequence of events
>> with a similar "taste" and "smell" has had an amplifying
>> negative affect on a fairly large number of people. The
>> reputation of Noisebridge is increasingly stained. What to do?
>
>
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