I agree 200% w/ yar and hope we can come to a conclusion that works for all of us (particularly for backspace). I can't come to this thurs meeting but my fingers are crossed double crossed triple crossed. Hoping Baps and backspace can team up to become champions of the commons <3

Xo

Scott

> On Oct 20, 2014, at 8:28 AM, yar <yardenack@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> On Thu, Oct 16, 2014 at 12:58 PM, yar <yardenack@gmail.com> wrote:
>> It's not your fault, it's not anybody else's fault either. I really
>> hope the confusion isn't interpreted as bad faith or a lack of
>> support. We all need to get better at that, of course, but also get
>> better at forgiving each others' mistakes, in the spirit of jubilee.
>
> I want to just reiterate this in light of the past few days of
> conversation. I have heard a lot of different narratives about what
> happened with Backspace over the past few months. I don't claim to
> know exactly what happened anymore, but it seems to boil down to a
> huge string of communication failures that resulted in Backspace
> paying for space to operate, yet having no space until now.
>
> At Thursday's meeting, the subject of past-due utility bills came up,
> but it seems apropos to mention that lots of Omni groups have not paid
> utility bills, or even rent, and one of the amazing potential things
> about Omni is our capacity to be a non-evil landlord - each according
> to their ability and their need.
>
> It's clear that most backspace folks are WORKERS whose primary concern
> is being able to see their clients and students and make a living
> wage. It's also clear to me that the primary benefit of having
> Backspace at Omni is NOT the money they'd bring in, but the new
> people, energy and perspectives. It would REALLY SUCK if we lost all
> that by fighting with them over money.
>
> Other than money, the only other concern I'm hearing about this
> proposal is about space. While I have expressed concerns about
> "enclosure" in the past, Backspace's plans for the den or "storage
> room" are NOT enclosures. They're stewardship of commons. This is
> exactly the model I always dreamed of for our building!
>
> Finally, there's BAPS. I think it might help to separate BAPS'
> pragmatic need to host many evening classes from BAPS' position as a
> roving "nomadic" group without dedicated space, and both from the
> concept of "enclosure". Because it seems to me like Backspace's
> pragmatic needs are similar to BAPS - to assemble in spaces and occupy
> them for a finite period, for classes and 1-on-1 sessions. So what are
> the ways we can frame this as a collaboration rather than a
> competition?
>
> I think these problems would get solved a lot faster if we were all
> able to trust each other, the best path to building trust is for
> Backspace to begin operating at the Omni ASAP, and the best way for
> that to happen is to show support and forgiveness all around. Thanks.