[hackerspaces] In defense of Noisebridge (even if I was never there!)

[Naomi Most]

"Asking for diversity in hackerspaces as a whole is going to lead to
hackerspaces being looked down upon and will lead to Noisebridge-esque
jokes being hackerspace-esque instead."

You're saying that there shouldn't be diversity in how hackerspaces are run?

--Naomi


On Thu, Jul 3, 2014 at 11:11 AM, Randall G. Arnold
<randall.arnold at texrat.net> wrote:
> Ok, good point, "politics" is a broad term.  Let me qualify my statements by
> saying we avoid city/state/federal *electoral* politics.  Of course politics
> isn't completely avoidable in a generic sense.
>
> Randy
>
>> On July 3, 2014 at 1:08 PM Naomi Most <pnaomi at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>> Most of you are characterizing the issue of whether politics "belong"
>> or "don't belong" in hackerspaces as if it's a binary issue.
>>
>> You need to see politics as one of the difficulty level selectors in
>> the hackerspace game.
>>
>> Noisebridge plays on Nightmare mode.
>>
>> --Naomi
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Jul 3, 2014 at 11:03 AM, Randall G. Arnold
>> <randall.arnold at texrat.net> wrote:
>> > And I go back to my belief that it's possible (and highly beneficial) to
>> > craft maker Do Good missions that avoid politics entirely by sticking
>> > with a
>> > common, necessary goal that clearly cuts across political lines. In
>> > Texas,
>> > water is a huge one. It *used* to be politicized, but in recent years
>> > those
>> > artificial walls are crumbling. Water shortages don't care what
>> > political
>> > party you claim-- they fuck us all equally. The worse it gets, the
>> > easier
>> > it is to find common ground... and avoid the trappings of politics.
>> >
>> > Look, career politicians love to polarize. Many even get off on
>> > agitating.
>> > As an independent I've quite frankly had enough. So my goal is to climb
>> > out
>> > of the conventional trenches, quit playing their silly game and just Do
>> > Good. And seek out and surround myself with like-minded people. To a
>> > large
>> > extent that's working well. And when I run into provocateurs, I just
>> > grit
>> > my teeth, smile and say "bless your heart".
>> >
>> > ;)
>> >
>> >
>> > On July 3, 2014 at 12:42 PM matt <matt at nycresistor.com> wrote:
>> >
>> > Resistor has always had a 'leave the politics at the door' informal
>> > policy.
>> >
>> > We don't tend to get involved in political shit. I mean occasionally we
>> > all
>> > agree something is bullshit, and occasionally someone vents some
>> > political
>> > frustration. But for the most part we've made sure to be welcoming to
>> > all
>> > political positions.
>> > As someone who was christened by the divine paw of the bunny budha and
>> > anointed the one true ruler of the solar system and protector of the
>> > milky
>> > way galaxy, I often find myself at odds with others political
>> > situations.
>> > But I've always been accepted at Resistor in spite of my unique
>> > political
>> > perspective.
>> > We care more about hacking than any shared mandate.
>> >
>> > That being said, a community can form around many things. Including
>> > social
>> > and political causes. I could see no reason something like code for
>> > america
>> > couldn't become a community of like minded folks who cultivate a
>> > community
>> > promoting a social and political agenda. Would might maybe be great,
>> > even
>> > without the blessing of his divine hoppiness.
>> > -Matt
>> >
>> >
>> > On Thu, Jul 3, 2014 at 1:32 PM, Al Billings <albill at openbuddha.com>
>> > wrote:
>> >
>> > Is your space welcoming to people, regardless of personal politics or do
>> > you
>> > have to be a specific kind of lefty/socialist/anarchist/hippy/whatever
>> > in
>> > order to be welcome?
>> >
>> > I say this as a socialist but I don’t want there to be a political
>> > litmus
>> > test on whether people are welcome in a space. My space has members who,
>> > quietly on occasion, bitch about Obama and his “agenda” with an eye roll
>> > from some other members. We have a communist or two and probably more
>> > than a
>> > few anarchists. Generally, I know someone for a year or more before I
>> > even
>> > realize their personal politics. Why? Because we’re there to hack, not
>> > to
>> > form a political party.
>> >
>> > There are definitely spaces where this isn’t the case. If you aren’t on
>> > board with the specific local politics (which are usually a certain
>> > specific
>> > form of left leaning anarchism), you are shunned pretty heavily and
>> > “don’t
>> > fit in.” I’d rather have a Republican that wants to build a project from
>> > salvaged computers than an anarchist that just wants to hang out in the
>> > kitchen “food hacking.”
>> >
>> > Al
>> >
>> > On Jul 3, 2014, at 10:28 AM, Randall G. Arnold <
>> > randall.arnold at texrat.net>
>> > wrote:
>> >
>> > I disagree when you frame that as an absolute. Sure, there CAN be
>> > negative
>> > outcomes when a maker/hacker space or organization has fixing societal
>> > problems as a goal, but it ain't necessarily so. It all comes down to
>> > defining the goal(s), having people to support them and for members with
>> > different goals to be respectful of each other and not get in each
>> > other's
>> > way.
>> >
>> > If as a makerspace member I put together a special interest group that
>> > builds remote wildlife monitoring stations for helping horned lizard
>> > conservation, and I don't disrupt anyone else in the process, then I'm
>> > positively hacking the planet and no one gets hurt. Win-win.
>> >
>> > Al Billings
>> > albill at openbuddha.com
>> > http://makehacklearn.org
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > Discuss mailing list
>> > Discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org
>> > http://lists.hackerspaces.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > Randall (Randy) Arnold
>> > Developer and Enthusiast Advocate
>> > http://texrat.net
>> > +18177396806
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > Discuss mailing list
>> > Discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org
>> > http://lists.hackerspaces.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Naomi Theora Most
>> naomi at nthmost.com
>> +1-415-728-7490
>>
>> skype: nthmost
>>
>> http://twitter.com/nthmost



-- 
Naomi Theora Most
naomi at nthmost.com
+1-415-728-7490

skype: nthmost

http://twitter.com/nthmost