In my opinion, the letter is overly apologetic. Neither Workshop Weekend
nor SudoRoom has done anything that needs to be apologized for.
Apologizing for the way the workshop was advertised implies there is
something wrong with the holding a public lock picking workshop, which
there is not. I wouldn't cede the rhetorical high ground on this point.
I love the TOOL statement. I think it strikes exactly the right note. If
there is to be a SudoRoom statement (does there need to be?) I think it
should be in line with the TOOL statement.
Michael
J.D. Zamfirescu wrote:
For those interested, Workshop Weekend (that is, my
brother and I)
prepared the following statement on the lockpicking issue. We fully
support Sudo Room having its own statement on the issue too.
===========
Over the past two days, Workshop Weekend has received complaints from
concerned citizens of Oakland about the upcoming "Introduction to
Lockpicking" workshop being offered as part of Workshop Weekend on
March 2, 2013. The workshop will run as scheduled, but in response to
community concerns, lock-picking tools will no longer be offered for
sale at the event.
As Oakland residents ourselves, we have felt Oakland's crime problem,
and we appreciate the community's concerns that offering a
lock-picking workshop appears to encourage crime and sends the wrong
message. We recognize now that it was insensitive to have the workshop
listed and broadcast in the way that it was, and we regret doing so.
To provide some background, Workshop Weekend invited The Open
Organization of Lockpickers (TOOOL) to run a workshop about
lock-picking and lock mechanisms this weekend.
Exploring lock-picking and understanding the limitations of locks is
valuable for everyone who relies on locks for physical security, and
in kids it can spark an interest in mechanical engineering and complex
systems.
We would also like to share the following note from TOOOL, the group
offering the session: "We in TOOOL are of course sensitive to the
concern that occasionally surrounds our lock-themed workshops. We can
only hope that the atmosphere of openness, information sharing, and
strong ethical standards which is a part of all TOOOL meetings can
assuage some concerns. Knowing about the weaknesses in certain locks
protects the public; it does not aid criminals. Please visit our
website -- toool.us <http://toool.us> -- for more information."
We hope this note makes things clear to everyone; our goal is provide
an educational and inclusive experience for everyone in Oakland who
would like to be involved with our events.
/Workshop Weekend is a two-day celebration of hands-on learning taking
place in the heart of downtown Oakland, bringing together kids and
adults from Oakland as well as the rest of the Bay Area. The event
encourages exploration of new interests and passions by offering over
40 workshops in subjects not typically taught in schools, including
aeroponics, electronics, and 3D printing. For more information, visit
workshopweekend.net <http://workshopweekend.net>/
We welcome your thoughts and comments at feedback(a)workshopweekend.net
<mailto:feedback@workshopweekend.net>
===========
On Thu, Feb 28, 2013 at 6:44 PM, J.D. Zamfirescu <zamfire(a)gmail.com
<mailto:zamfire@gmail.com>> wrote:
Michael, you're not missing anything -- we haven't finished
drafting the workshop weekend statement yet. :)
On Thu, Feb 28, 2013 at 6:43 PM, Michael Scroggins
<michaeljscroggins(a)gmail.com <mailto:michaeljscroggins@gmail.com>>
wrote:
I must have missed something in the email chain as I am
unaware of the Workshop Weekend letter. Of course, you are
right that the two letters should match, especially in front
of the media. I can't help to think, though, that this is an
opportunity to drive home the broader point that neither
curiosity nor association is a crime.
Eddan Katz wrote:
Seems to me like sticking to correcting
the misuse of the
word unconscionable can be respectful to the police chief and
informative about the difference between skills and criminal
intent.
If Sudo Room does a separate statement, it should follow on
Workshop Weekend's letter and support its posture and position.
There'll be TV cameras there this weekend - we can feel
pretty confident about that. It would be very useful to share
a common understanding in order not to have our purpose
misrepresented.
sent from
eddan.com <http://eddan.com>
On Feb 28, 2013, at 6:07 PM, Michael Scroggins
<michaeljscroggins(a)gmail.com
<mailto:michaeljscroggins@gmail.com>> wrote:
> I think a statement is well and proper. I also think arguing
> the right to disinterest inquiry is the proper line.
>
> To the earlier back and forth about "known gang members" ...
> one of the differences between the people at SudoRoom and
> "known gang members" is simply that to be classified as
> "known" is to be stripped of your right to disinterested
> inquiry. All of your actions having been prejudged as
> interested and malicious.
>
> If the letter is worded right we can make a statement about
> the lock picking class and about the direction policing in
> Oakland has taken.
>
>
> Michael
>
>
>
> Eddan Katz wrote:
>> J.D. - do you think there should be an additional statement
>> from Sudo Room?
>>
>> Before we proceed any further - does anyone have objections
>> to writing such a letter or signing on to it? What the
>> statement says is another matter for which Sudo member
>> objections should also feel empowered to raise. Comments
>> can be made anonymously on the etherpad or on IRC, if
>> someone isn't comfortable doing it on the list.
>>
>> sent from
eddan.com <http://eddan.com>
>>
>> On Feb 28, 2013, at 5:15 PM, "J.D. Zamfirescu"
>> <zamfire(a)gmail.com <mailto:zamfire@gmail.com>> wrote:
>>
>>> Yeah, we were hoping to publish it tonight. Let me try to
>>> draft something and send it on?
>>>
>>> Part of me is concerned about editing a public statement
>>> on a public list...
>>>
>>>
>>> On Thu, Feb 28, 2013 at 5:14 PM, Eddan <eddan(a)clear.net
>>> <mailto:eddan@clear.net>> wrote:
>>>
>>> J.D. - where were you thinking of publishing this letter?
>>>
>>> I think it would make for a stronger and more
>>> thoughtful response if there was a collective voice
>>> signing on to it either as a group or listed as
>>> individuals.
>>>
>>> With the help of the collective editorial prowess of
>>> the Sudo list, do you think you would be ready to
>>> publish it before tomorrow morning?
>>>
>>>
>>> On Thu, Feb 28, 2013 at 5:09 PM, Eddan
>>> <eddan(a)clear.net <mailto:eddan@clear.net>> wrote:
>>>
>>> I think the question is, rather - Can you get
>>> hired by a locksmith company without knowing how
>>> to pick a lock?
>>>
>>>
>>> On Thu, Feb 28, 2013 at 5:01 PM,
>>> <thadwooster(a)gmail.com
>>> <mailto:thadwooster@gmail.com>> wrote:
>>>
>>> I could be totally wrong on this, but I
>>> believe locksmiths are required to be bonded,
>>> fingerprinted and licensed.
>>>
>>> On Feb 28, 2013, at 4:59 PM, rusty lindgren wrote:
>>>
>>>> WTF #@*)DKLJ
>>>>
>>>> I sent an email to that newb at the
>>>> newspaper... UM, where do they think
>>>> locksmiths learn stuff? Should they have to
>>>> pay to become a locksmith???
>>>>
>>>> So stupid.
>>>>
>>>> On Thu, Feb 28, 2013 at 4:56 PM, Marina Kukso
>>>> <marina.kukso(a)gmail.com
>>>> <mailto:marina.kukso@gmail.com>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> ftfy!: THIS is unconscionable.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Thu, Feb 28, 2013 at 4:50 PM, Eddan
>>>> <eddan(a)clear.net
>>>> <mailto:eddan@clear.net>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Now, this requires a response. Has
>>>> anybody started drafting something?
>>>> If not, I will.
>>>>
>>>> ...
>>>> Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan
>>>>
<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=bayarea&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Howard+Jordan%22>
was
>>>> not pleased.
>>>>
>>>> "I'm in shock that people would
>>>> provide a class to teach people a
>>>> skill to violate the law," Jordan
>>>> said. "It's unconscionable."
>>>>
>>>> Lock-pick instructor Michael Fitzhugh
>>>>
<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=bayarea&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Michael+Fitzhugh%22>
is
>>>> a member of TOOOL (The Open
>>>> Organisation Of Lockpickers
>>>>
<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=bayarea&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Open+Organisation+Of+Lockpickers%22>),
>>>> a Netherlands-based outfit that
>>>> teaches and holds national and
>>>> international lock-picking events
>>>> annually. In their world, lock
>>>> picking is done for sport and
>>>> bragging rights. But, he says, it's
>>>> also a useful tool if you lock
>>>> yourself out of your home.
>>>>
>>>> Jordan has a more conventional
>>>> solution to that problem: "Call
>>>> a locksmith!"
>>>>
>>>>
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Quan-s-wrong-note-on-lock-picking-cla…
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Even worse than Quan, this guy's so
>>>> desperate to change the subject about
>>>> the incompetence of the OPD in news
>>>> story after news story.
>>>>
>>>> Unconscionable!?! This coming from a
>>>> police department that was about to
>>>> go into an unprecedented federal
>>>> receivership for its failure to
>>>> reform; not to mention a police
>>>> department seared with a global
>>>> reputation for brutality, racism, and
>>>> excessive means; and whose
>>>> fundamental miscalculations and
>>>> mismanagement of the response to
>>>> Occupy cost the city millions of dollars.
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>>
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>>>>
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>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>
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>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Cheers,
>>>>
>>>> Rusty Lindgren
>>>> **
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>
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