[Noisebridge-discuss] Parking meter at noisebride

[rachel lyra hospodar]

Hi Adrian. I don't think we've ever met in person.

Does airing my opinions come with a requirement for documentation of the
actions I have taken to back them up?

The irony of your one-line attempt at invalidating my opinions and beliefs
is that I have, many times, played bouncer at the 'bridge. I have tackled
thieves, confronted madmen, placated angry people, and called out assholes.
I have cleaned and bandaged wounds, scrubbed surfaces, picked up feces,
confronted drunks, and helped to mediate disputes. I have done these things
publicly, in aid to my fellow hackers, when help was needed.

I am mostly saying that if YOU don't also do these things, if we don't ALL
take responsibility for maintaining the culture we would like to see,

We won't have one.

We don't have one, and I am describing why. Here's a hint - i'm not the one
failing to step up. I have stepped up. I step up. Where the fuck are you?
If you are afraid, that's OK. Ask for help.
On Jun 9, 2014 6:26 PM, "Adrian Chadd" <adrian.chadd at gmail.com> wrote:

On 9 June 2014 19:14, rachel lyra hospodar <rachelyra at gmail.com> wrote:
> A significant portion of the noisebridge community views the police as
armed
> thugs-of-last-resort and I personally would strongly recommend speaking
> directly with individuals over invoking the enforcement body of a violent
> white supremacist system.
>
> 'Nobody' willing to step up is symptomatic of an ailing community. The
> legality of the parking meter is actually functionally less important than
> the fact that our community is ailing, and I'll tell you why.
>
> Remember when someone called the city inspectors as part of the NoiseMeme
> wars? This is symptomatic of social strife, but it is a very real threat
to
> our existence. Social strife, escalated, produces conditions that threaten
> our existence. Our goal should be, where possible, not to escalate, but to
> hold ground through our unity of purpose, and to achieve a safe and
> comfortable space through the shared labor of implacably firm but kind
> hands.
>
> When our community relies on violent physical force and the authorities to
> solve our internal conflicts, we *throughout the space and community*
> reinforce class distinctions that inherently privilege some of us over
> others. Class and race background heavily determine what your previous
> interactions with the police might have been like, and also deeply
influence
> how the police treat you when they encounter you. Upon entering the space,
> the police must determine who is 'legitimate', who to believe. There are
> some members of our community who would not be viewed favorably in this
> measure, because of who they are and the prejudices the police are proven
to
> hold. There are enough members of our community who have had enough
negative
> interactions with the authorities in the past (often, being beaten, caged,
> or abused) that inviting the police into the space will radically change
the
> nature and accessibility of the space to others.
>
> I want to be clear that I am not advocating for a lawless state, but
rather
> that anarchism, one of our founding notions, provides mechanisms far more
> effective than force for achieving harmony. Additionally, this philosophy
> informs us that a reliance on force will divide and destroy our community,
> rather than uniting and healing the rifts that already exist.
>
> If you are uncomfortable initiating a conversation, seek the support of
> others. If others will not help you, and noisebridge feels filled with
methy
> tweaky thievery, think on this: without a community of people dedicated to
> working to create the space we would like to see, there is no way for
> external forces to create this for us. If there is a specific highly
violent
> or dangerous incident, where the police might be appropriate, they will
> still eventually leave and the circumstances that created that incident
will
> continue to exist.
>
> 'Enforcing peace' is not possible. Only creating it is. What the police
> enforce, my friends, is the status quo.

Cool, so are you stepping up to rally the troops and get this going?



-a
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