<div dir="ltr">Randall, sorry, that wasn't meant to be directed at you specifically. And if you think excluding registered sex offenders is a necessary step to make your space safer, by all means do it. But, apply it evenly. If the problem is that they're on the registry, it doesn't make sense to allow some people on the registry and not others. If the problem is the specifics of their offense, spaces need to do more to address people who aren't on the registry.<br><br>I just want to see us as a community doing a better job of informing ourselves and standing by our principles, even when that's inconvenient.<div><br></div><div>-Ed<br><br><br></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Feb 18, 2015 at 11:55 AM, Randall Arnold <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:randall.arnold@texrat.net" target="_blank">randall.arnold@texrat.net</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><u></u>
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<p>Not sure why you addressed that overwrought bit to me, Ed. I simply expressed my feelings on the subject. I stand by what I said and take offense at it being labeled "security theater".</p>
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<p>As for the ACLU article, something tells me that won't be the final word on the subject.</p><div><div class="h5">
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On February 18, 2015 at 10:35 AM Edward L Platt <<a href="mailto:ed@elplatt.com" target="_blank">ed@elplatt.com</a>> wrote:
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If, like me, you care about protecting minor members in your space, you should be focusing on making sure minors are supervised. The unknown sexual predators are far more of a risk than the know ones.
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If you care about avoiding litigation, make sure to apply your decisions evenly. If you ban some people and not others, you are effectively endorsing everyone you don't ban, and again, registered sex offenders are not the most likely people to commit abuse and assaults. Also, as I mentioned before, if you receive any public funds, banning sex offenders is a civil rights violation:
<a href="https://www.aclu-nm.org/10th-circuit-upholds-aclu-challenge-to-albuquerque-sex-offender-ban/2012/01/" target="_blank">https://www.aclu-nm.org/10th-circuit-upholds-aclu-challenge-to-albuquerque-sex-offender-ban/2012/01/</a>
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If you're putting more effort into this email thread and addressing specific registered sex offenders than you are into implementing and evaluating safe space policies for minors, you're doing little more than puffing your own sense of moral superiority. It's sad, but hilarious to see so many hackers reinventing and fervently supporting security theater.
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On Wed, Feb 18, 2015 at 10:01 AM, Randall Arnold <
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<p>The point's been made though: hackerspaces are not equipped to solve problems of mental illness. Who among the leadership is going to judge whether or not the offender will repeat, and accept the liability? How do you tell if he's "still a creeper"? Is the determining factor for "kicking his ass out" another molestation, this time in your hackerspace?</p>
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<p>Sorry for risking What If recursion.</p>
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<p>Anyway, like Matt said, there are mistakes and then there are 'mistakes'. One has to draw a line somewhere, and I go with the thread consensus on this one.</p>
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<p>Randy</p>
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On February 18, 2015 at 1:48 AM Derek H <
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I'm really happy for you and I. We're lucky, Matt. We aren't afflicted with a mental illness that causes inappropriate sexual attraction to those who are incapable of forming consent. That's fantastic for us, but I recognize that some are not as lucky as I in that matter. Perhaps, Matt, the only reason you haven't molested a child is because you're not mentally ill in that particular way? None of us can know for certain how we would behave if we were in someone else's shoes.
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<br>At any rate, my only point is that the guy may well have gotten his life together and his mental state under control. As we are all just collections of flaws in a roughly bipedal shape, maybe we can be human even to those who have screwed up?
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<br>That said, if he's still a creeper, kick his ass out. Nobody has time for that kind of disruption and risk.
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</div></div></div></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr">Edward L. Platt<div><a href="http://elplatt.com" target="_blank">http://elplatt.com</a></div><div><a href="http://civic.mit.edu/users/elplatt" target="_blank">http://civic.mit.edu/users/elplatt</a></div><div><a href="http://i3detroit.com" target="_blank">http://i3detroit.com</a></div><div><a href="http://twitter.com/elplatt" target="_blank">@elplatt</a></div><div><br></div><div>This electronic mail message was sent from my desktop personal computer. Please forgive any long-winded, overly-prosaic ramblings.</div></div></div>
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