Hey all, 

Shouldn't have posted this to the safe-hackerspaces@lists.riseup.net list, so instead I am forwarding this note to sudo-discuss and noisebridge-discuss:

cheers,
Matt

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Matthew Senate <mattsenate@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Feb 20, 2015 at 6:14 PM
Subject: Re: [safe-hackerspaces] Jeanine Otter asked to leave Noisebridge
To: Liz Henry <lizhenry@gmail.com>
Cc: Patrick O'Doherty <p@trickod.com>, safe-hackerspaces@lists.riseup.net


Liz,

Thanks for sharing, happy to hear where you're coming from.

All,

If I were a member of Noisebridge, I would ask myself about the ways that, as hackers, the NB community subverts the dominant culture, especially in the local neighborhood. The dominant culture in the bay area includes high-paid tech workers moving in from out of town (as well as VPs / managers / lawyers / etc flipping buildings and creating private services that subvert publicly-accessible ones). This exacerbates the ongoing displacement and dispossession of poor and working class people. If that's the case, then I would be interested in taking actions that demonstrate the NB community is not merely Techie Scum, and that it can rise above such rhetoric to strike at the root of the matter. Any opportunities to reach out to anti-eviction groups in SF?

Just my 2 cents...

// Matt

p.s. Note I dropped "gentrification" for "displacement and dispossession" which is what I believe is really happening...

p.p.s. I think everyone has the "Die Techie Scum" motto all wrong--it's a positive German exclamation for "The Techie Scum!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Npty9_ik-E8

On Fri, Feb 20, 2015 at 5:06 PM, Liz Henry <lizhenry@gmail.com> wrote:
I also hated it when we had "anti-science" people hanging out (years ago from the Public School")   As they would rail against tech in general.  Then why are you at a hackerspace? It is for technology using!  Broadly defined!  *headdesk*

Anyway, I get it if this person is just super obnoxious and a jerk.

- liz



- liz


On Fri, Feb 20, 2015 at 4:58 PM, Liz Henry <lizhenry@gmail.com> wrote:
I want to support Noisebridg'es kicking people out abilities, especially for people who are  annoying, destructive, and scary, but personally, as techie scum myself, do not think Die Techie Scum posters are crossing a line.  I would understand someone taking the posters down.  

My line is more around power dynamics and whether something is a specific threat.

This reads to me much more like hyperbole. Like, I can read and admire the rhetoric of the SCUM Manifesto, or as I hope others can, without actually supporting violence, and treat it as food for thought.

"if you're new to town and work in tech, leave" also just seems like slightly harsh political speech. It is angry and it's rude and it will be offensive to many people but hardly seems like oppression or a threat of violence or a terrible harassment campaign.

Not sure there is a way to be internally consistent, for example, I would think it fine to ban someone with a White Power tattoo on their face and yet would argue that Die Techie Scum is not so bannable.

Is this person also just generally annoying or not nice to have around?  

My 2 cents.

- Liz


On Fri, Feb 20, 2015 at 3:30 PM, Patrick O'Doherty <p@trickod.com> wrote:
Hey all,

Last night myself and Torrie asked Jeanine Otter to leave Noisebridge
and not come back.

Jeanine had been using Noisebridge to print hateful, offensive material
("Die Techie Scum" posters and the like) in large quantities. Many were
uncomfortable with her offensive material and attitude towards those in
the community.

I've added Jeanine to the Noisebridge 86 page.

p

--
Patrick O'Doherty
+1 (650) 701-7829



--
"Electric ladies will you sleep or will you preach?" -- Janelle Monae

"Without models, it's hard to work; without a context, difficult to
evaluate; without peers, nearly impossible to speak." -- Joanna Russ



--
"Electric ladies will you sleep or will you preach?" -- Janelle Monae

"Without models, it's hard to work; without a context, difficult to
evaluate; without peers, nearly impossible to speak." -- Joanna Russ