[Noisebridge-discuss] I got groped at noisebridge at hackmeet

[Danny O'Brien]

On Mon, Oct 22, 2012 at 9:30 AM, VonGuard <vonguard at gmail.com> wrote:
> Wow. Really Noisebridge? I am so utterly disappointed in everything
> about this email and the reaction to it that I am appalled and ashamed
> that I was every associated with the space to begin with.
>
> I sat down in front of the assembled membership 2 years ago and was
> almost in tears explaining why this sort of shit had to be taken
> seriously, and why Noisebridge could NOT tollerate this typoe of
> sexist behavior in the space. It was a fight to get ya'll to recognize
> it then. I see now my efforts were pointless.
>

Hi VonGuard,

I remember your seriousness, and it was appreciated. I think you need
to separate in reading what's happening here from people who are
actually using the space, and working on this stuff, and people who
are just on nb-discuss, throwing in their points.

Not everything is visible on this mailing list. Without going into too
many details because I think that's Susan's right to talk about these
things, several people offlist and on and connected with Noisebridge
stepped up to make sure she had a safe space yesterday and today, got
to talk  through what had happened and how we could make things better
for Susan in the future.

Hackmeet was an external event that had over 150 people I'll let them
chip in with how they're going to do things differently, but I'll note
that they had a whole session devoted to their anti-harassment policy
and so forth at the beginning of the day -- a system that clearly
failed in this case, but a sign that they were not unaware of the
problem.

I don't mind having arguments with people who don't take this stuff
seriously, or trivilize it. I see having that battle as being a part
of what makes Noisebridge what it is. You can throw your hands up in
the air and say it's all shit and walk away to build a place that you
think is safer and better, and I understand and applaud that. But
please don't dismiss what we try to do and call us shit for working to
make things better where we stand.

d.

> I apologize to you Susan for the awful behavior of people in the space
> and on this list. You're very right in not ever wanting to come back.
> Noisebridge has changed. Noisebridge is pure shit now.
>
> This reminds me of Reddit, where rapists are protected and normal
> people or accusers are ostracized. Good job people, you fucked up
> Noisebridge with your privileged male-ness.
>
>
>
>
> On Sat, Oct 20, 2012 at 7:19 PM, Susan Werner <heinousbutch at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I went to hackmeet today, tried to join in a few conversations, and got told
>> to fuck off because I don't already know people. As I was crying and talking
>> to someone on the Internet about how these kinds of events are intentionally
>> hostile to people who don't already have significant social connections, some
>> guy walks by me, and rubs his hand on my right breast, and calmly walks on as
>> if nothing happened.
>>
>> I got groped while I was crying at noisebridge, during an event with lots of
>> people at it, and nobody did anything. Nobody spoke a word to me. Nobody
>> offered any kind of help whatsoever, and lots of people walked by me, as I was
>> there for about half an hour after that happened.
>>
>> I'm done with noisebridge, done with its community which enables sexual
>> assault, done with events which are intentionally hostile to newcomers, done
>> with all the bullshit about it being an "anarchist space" where nothing can be
>> said about entitled jerks who make the space hostile for others.
>>
>> Until someone works on the whole "hostility to newcomers" bit of hacker
>> culture, harassment will be endemic. As long as newcomers are seen as people to
>> be excluded and hazed, no amount of non-harassment policies or codes of conduct
>> will do anything substantial.
>>
>> Kicking out the people who grope isn't enough and won't cause systemic change.
>> Change the culture which encourages treating newcomers and outsiders like shit,
>> and ignores anything anyone does to newcomers, don't just kick out people who
>> further this sort of culture.
>>
>> Have fun with your hackerspaces and your shitty-ass subculture based on
>> exclusion and abuse. I don't even need to talk to people like y'all and I'm not
>> going to spend a moment of extra time with a bunch of people who can't even
>> look at me after I get groped in front of fifteen people.
>>
>> I have a key to noisebridge. If anyone wants it, let me know.
>>
>> --
>> Susan
>>
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