Re: [sudo-discuss] Telling Oakland stories in Sudo space: my own part 1 of (?)

Oh. Lol. Then again it wasn't because you didn't understand Ebonics, it was because he didn't understand pool. Maybe I didn't read the story right, what was the Ebonics part about? On Wednesday, November 20, 2013, Pete Forsyth wrote: > Ah sorry, I was unclear. He was completely oblivious that any discussion > of significance had happened at all. There was talk all through the match > -- but this was actual disagreement about the substance of the game. For > somebody interested in competition, this is an interesting thing -- > something to take note of if you are aware it's happening. A disagreement > about a shot that engages nearly all the players present is unusual and > significant. (I discussed this with my teammates afterward as well, who > were similarly surprised and amused that he hadn't noticed that there was a > disagreement.) > > In general, what you suggest is accurate -- I do, often enough, find > myself surprised and uncomfortable with heated discussion (generally it's > when I don't fully understand what's going on, I'm usually fine with it if > I have a good grasp of things.) But in this case, that wasn't the issue -- > something significant happened, and there was exactly one person present > who wasn't aware of it. > > Pete > > > On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 9:51 PM, Sonja Trauss <sonja.trauss(a)gmail.com>wrote;wrote: > > It's passed him by, or he said, oh yeah, 'a disagreement,' but didn't > think it was remarkable? > > I'm trying to understand which "it passed him by" you mean, I imagine you > must mean that you both obviously saw the same thing - people playing pool, > a disagreement, a resolution, but that you thought it was serious or tense, > but thought it was unserious and unremarkable. Is that right? > > If it is, I don't think it's because you don't know Ebonics you didn't > understand that. Are you a WASP? More people will get mad at me, but > cultural heritages are real. Are you infrequently around people that yell a > lot for no reason? > > > > > On Wednesday, November 20, 2013, Pete Forsyth wrote: > > Sonja -- I'm glad my story captured your imagination, but sorry to > disappoint! :) > > Unfortunately I'm not sure how to capture the interesting discussion we > had after that -- it was a discussion between good friends, with reference > to past conversations and shared experiences and such. I gave him the > backstory I provided here (much of which I'd already told him) and we > shared our amazement that something so intense could happen while he was > paying close attention, and yet completely pass him by. We agreed that the > cadence of communication in that community can make it difficult for an > outsider to distinguish between mere animated, performance-like, boisterous > speech, and actual conflict. > > I'm sure there will be more stories coming out of this league -- > hopefully with a grand *victorious* finale in a few months ;) > > Pete > > > On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 12:18 PM, Sonja Trauss <sonja.trauss(a)gmail.com>wrote;wrote: > > What's the rest of the story - > You: "What did you think of that?" > Eugene: "of what?" > You: ????? > What did you say, "the fight"? > Then what did he say ? > > > On Tuesday, November 19, 2013, Pete Forsyth wrote: > > All: > > In the spirit of Rhodey's recent message,[1] I'd like to share an Oakland > vignette of my own, about a pool league I recently joined. But first, > here's why: > > I began to get especially excited about Sudo Room when I started to > realize it aspires to be more than just a bunch of computer geeks coming > together to hack computery stuff (awesome enough in itself) -- that it also > wants to be a community that hacks *life* together. Meeting chefs and > filmmakers was the first wave for me, and then I started hearing heatlfelt > and inspired talk about stuff like social change and engaging with local > government. Yeah! > > Many of us, though, are new, or newish, to Oakland. And we are people who > want to have a positive impact on the world around us. But Oakland is a > place with deep history and culture, and on a pretty basic level, it would > be...impolite...to come to a party and immediately start trying to change > what it is. So the desire to get to KNOW Oakland is one that resonates very > strongly with me, as an important first step before contemplating ways to > INFLUENCE Oakland. I think sharing stories is a powerful way (among others) > to get to know something complex and multifaceted. > > Anyway, enough of the philosophizing. I want to tell you guys a little > bit about the pool league I joined a couple months back. > > Apparently, there have been several Oakland/East Bay pool leagues over > the last 30 years or so (where each team has a home bar, and competes > weekly over a scheduled season). Right now, there's only one league (or at > least, only one connected with this community). It's coed, it's a 30 week > season (we're about 9 weeks in), it's run by a woman who has run an > all-women's league but just started this one, and it will culminate in a > trip to Reno for all participants. By now, having played against all the > other teams, and can say I am truly the only white person in the league;[2] > and I think I'm also unique (more or less) in my connection/familiarity > with Internet/hacker culture. > > I've played in a pool league before, but it's been 10 or 15 years. > >