I agree with Michael, the way in which it was promoted was fine.  I think we should stop apologizing to the people who are acting completely in bad faith, and certainly, I don't want to get lumped in with everyone else when they apologize.  This is drowning out my opinion the same way these ass-wipes are drowning out our opinion in the media. 

SudoRoom could easily submit 3 or 4 different responses, or anonymously represent responses in one letter, but it shouldn't carry a single tone, and especially shouldn't make us look like we want to lay down and die every time "crime-watch" people post a stupid comment on a board somewhere.  

Side Note: where do these people get their money?  Could it not be from hackers who invent all the shit that drives a secondary economy in the Bay Area for them to have sit down jobs where they can post on local media blogs all day about how their world isn't safe enough from all the people in Oakland, who don't ride the backs of hackers and then take them to the mat whenever possible.  I'm  sure they jumped on facebook the minute they were done with that news site tho. 

The kicker is that they even talked about how it's someone's whole life force to unlock things for them when they break.  Why would THEY need to know how to do something like that, when someone will just come by and do it for them?  Fuck that.

Now, take a trip over to yelp, and read all of the comments about the sketchy locksmiths in the Bay Area... Same people complaining about how the "locksmith bot" wasn't programmed correctly, because they didn't get what they wanted.  Fuck that too. 

The loudest voices on the interwebs are the stupidest... at least in the hacker community, you don't get judged for being loud, you get judged on your work, and so it stands to reason that maybe, in self preservation of mind and spirit I still submit that we STOP laying down for people who don't care about us, so we respect ourselves in the end. 

-Rusty

On Fri, Mar 1, 2013 at 11:27 PM, Anca Mosoiu <anca@techliminal.com> wrote:

On Fri, Mar 1, 2013 at 6:35 PM, Michael Scroggins <michaeljscroggins@gmail.com> wrote:

The sentence implicitly draws a difference of kind between the lock picking class and the other Workshop Weekend classes. Doing so invites the question: What is the difference that makes broadcasting this workshop (in the way it was) regrettable?  In an environment where the mayor, the chief of police and the media have all given the same answer - the class breeds criminals - allowing that question is regrettable.

It's regrettable because it gave some easy pickings for the people who want to portray Oakland, and the current administration, in a certain way. Many of the people who are upset about the workshop aren't upset about lockpicking, they're upset that Jean Quan appears to encourage crime in her newsletter.

It's regrettable because it sucked up airwaves and mental effort that might have been better spent.

Drafting a reasoned and reasonable response lowers the blood pressure of the people who are up in arms just because they aren't informed.  Some of them will come around, especially if they understand the actual intent of the class.  

Eddan, I'd like to participate in writing a statement. I was really taken aback when I read some of the emails and talked to some of the people who were actually upset.

The media storm will blow over with the next foot-in-mouth opportunity from a local politician, but we have a great opportunity to reach out while the world is looking.    

Anca.

 
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Anca Mosoiu | Tech Liminal

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Cheers,

Rusty Lindgren