[Noisebridge-discuss] How we deal w/ gendered violence at Noisebridge, or: Believe Women.

[Rebecca Valentine]

Hey folx. So recently a person was asked to leave Noisebridge because of
concerns that people had about them, namely, that they had been arrested in
2016 for violating a restraining order meant to prevent domestic violence.
There was some discussion about this that took a form that I feel compelled
to comment on because of a broader pattern. No one person is responsible,
it's a collective mood created by dozens of little, seemingly sensible,
things which cumulative suck, and that's why I'm writing this.

In particular, there is a not insignificant tendency for space-guardian
issues at Noisebridge to be treated with different amounts of skepticism,
incredulity, etc. depending on whether or not the matter at hand is one
that is broadly construed in our society as being violence towards women.
Issues like rape or domestic violence are treated with skepticism and an
instinctual need to ask if the accused is being treated fairly or not,
especially if the accuser is a woman. Asking someone to leave for these
things becomes an arduous process because often, someone in
#space-guardians will feel compelled to litigate a case to ensure Justice
is done. In contrast, extremely trivial matters, including things as simple
as treating Noisebridge as a place to get public internal terminal access,
is something that we can kick someone out for, and the conversation in
#space-guardians rarely, if ever, turns to asking if this is justified and
is this a big risk for overstepping things.

These are broad strokes patterns, but by my recollection, in the two years
I've been coming to Noisebridge, all-but-one-or-so
rape/DV/sexual-harassment issue has been subject to this hyper-focused
scrutiny. This includes one case where the aggressor confessed on his blog
of his own volition, and in spite of this the trustworthiness of the victim
was brought into question. This is in parallel with multiple cases of
violence towards men which were addressed and were accepted with no
questions as to the veracity of the people reporting the matters.

I will say in no uncertain terms that this is *fucking garbage*. When we do
this, we are making it very difficult to address violence against women,
and creating a space where this kind of gendered violence is tolerated.
We're telling people, in very clear words, that we care more about stupid
shit like people sitting at a Chrome machine all day that someone
committing literal rape, and that Noisebridge is not safe. Not only because
there are possibly dangerous people here, but because if anything *does*
happen, that people will not only do nothing to fix it but that they will
actively obstruct efforts to do something.

*The natural consequence of this is that victims of these forms of
violence, but especially women, will not feel safe at Noisebridge, and will
not come to Noisebridge out of a completely justified concern for their
physical safety.*

I understand that there is a desire to avoid "Drama", as people often take
to calling these issues. You just want to come and hack, not deal with all
of this community drama bullshit. But the people who are pushed out of
Noisebridge because they cannot be here safely *also* just want to come and
hack, but they *can't*. When approximately half the world would feel
unwelcome, unsafe, and potentially endangered, by being in Noisebridge, you
can't say honestly that Noisebridge is a place where people can just Come
And Hack. They empirically cannot. *You* can come and hack, because you're
not affected. If you truly want to have a space which is safe and welcoming
and which makes it so that as many people to Come And Hack as possible, you
have to commit to making Noisebridge a space where people's safety is
actually a concern.

- beka
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