Post by kim on Mar 6, 2012 22:20:17 GMT -7
Working GA of 03/04/12
Called to order 2:11p
~20 people
I. Announcements:
1) Conference call about national gathering in Philadelphia. Not a lot of outreach happening right now, mid July Philly or DC
2) Paul Cienfeugos workshop going on today, so smaller group then usual.
II. Next GA: 2pm Sunday. Remember: Daylight savings time next Sunday!
III. Discussion topics
a. Strategy weekend agenda
b. Cleaning/decorating workgroup for strategy weekend
c. Principles for Consensus making
d. Principles of Solidarity & statement of autonomy
Consensus used to develop proposals to present.
Strategy Weekend Agenda
Will be on the 24th and 25th in the Union Theater.
- need to determine the timeframe & the agenda
Q: Are there different workgroups today? Can we separate into different groups? /Agenda items require entire group to discuss.
a. As a group we discussed topics & ideas that people want to see discussed or addressed in the strategy weekend:
- Forum
- Mission, Goals, & Demands
- Vision: 1 year, 5 year, long term
- Strategy vs. Tactics
- Speakers
David Graeber
Local Speakers
- Training in
Direct Action
Non-violent tactics
NCBI Training
- Octopus
- Education
- What is Occupy
- Delegitimize/boycott/withdraw cooperation/friction in the machine
- Community Outreach
Listening
Recruiting
Membership
Narrative
Direct Action
Internal Communication
- Video
- Find models
- What is the perception of Occupy?
Damage assessment
- Definitions
Affinity Groups
Diversity of Tactics
- Planning an action
- Build tactics
- SWOT: Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, & threats
- Local alternative monetary system
- How do we address this over the long term?
What are our goals and objectives for this strategic weekend? How will we structure the time we have?
Send topics with WG to create an agenda and bring it back as a proposal to the GA next week.
Lists of topics will be given to WG to create an agenda. WG meeting Thursday at UC dining area on 3rd floor, 5:30p. Gwen will send an email around announcing it.
b. Cleaning/Decorating for strategy weekend. Email with details will be sent to listserv.
Cleaning- Friday 3/23/12, evening.
Decorating- Saturday am
c. Principles for consensus decision making
As a member of the consensus working group, pointed out everyone was happy with the first three pages they developed; for the last three there is some concern. Occupy Missoula in solidarity with OWS by default is in some ways agreeing with their stated goals, thus these documents. Not necessary to adopt them in terms of /If it’s adopted up front, and something changes it can always be amended./Coming from consensus workgroup, not strategy group./Clarification of wording: hearing the word “adopt” being used, but the wording the group chose carefully is to “stand with the OWS Statement of Solidarity,” not “adopt.” In the statement “in non-violence decision making the power of stating what you know …” Not non-violence. Use caution in the wording. Also, in regard to move to amend: to stand with these statements, Move To Amend would have to not affiliate with any political group. Stops them from even starting a conversation/The question of use of words in terms of domination in the group, need to have some connection between theory and practice./Verbal violence exists too./ How and where we stand is very important. Many groups have been swept away and done the things they sought to get rid of./ Replace power with the purpose of stating what you know, enlighten the group rather than persuade/Honesty key. Are we enlightening?/Informing, personal agendas and personal interests shaping it./[Ongoing Discussion of Wording of Document]/”Maximum power” wording still a concern. Discussion and coming to a shared truth./POI: clarification. Consensus group started with a longer statement, and attempted to break it down into a slightly condensed “Principles of Non-violence” for what goes on in the GA. Non-violence is a nebulous idea, but what this documents addresses is what NV means in our decision-making process. [Reading of how it was originally written, and how it was edited to the form it is in now.]/ Element of respect seems helpful in the framing. Tension comes in the idea of “Achieving a goal,” with respect included, strengthened./ Can be passionate and loud without being violent/open living document that grows and changes, that is widely circulated/Looking for a definition of non-violence, the key is that the person or persons is far more important than achieving a point or anything else. Not easy to grasp in this culture. That’s where the stand-aside comes in. Non-violence requires connection with people, and with that connection you will practice violence against that person./ Confused about the process: giving ideas to them for amending the document, and when do we know they have enough information?/Trying to revise the document, will talk about it until the concerns are resolved./use CT Butler’s wording, send it out to the listserv for discussion./Shift away form the one about non-violence and consider some other topics. Add something about disciplined speaking under the topic of respect, along with active listening./ Philip Beringer offers the comment that truth and love are the two most violent forces in the world. Not some larger discussion of what is true violence./Reason that it’s a concern is because you need to start at the bottom in order to build something bigger. Language should reflect that./ Possible alternative wording was read./Formalizing this does not mean we can’t change it. Gives us something to use in the process. Not rigid. We’re learning the process and how to talk about issues and principles. Once we talk about this, we learn more skill in this kind of interaction and gain trust./Three parts to work on: wording for non-violence, include a line about disciplined speaking, and how to tie it into the other documents.
d. Agreed to wait to discuss the Principles of Solidarity & Statement of Autonomy
Evaluation
Awesome/No comment/Process is moving forward. Everyone that was here a the beginning was here at the end/Got a lot of things done/Belated announcement: Transition Town screening of crude awakening, Tuesday at the library /was good to just talk, not so much focus on the process/waiting for documentation to come out, being presented by other groups as a living document that any one can edit. On the cusp of real change/we have some work to do in making the GAs really effective/glad we have some time to work on these things so we understand what we are into, things are changing, just a matter of patience/glad to have stayed to the end, and really enjoyed that it was mellow & smooth/thankful occupy movement is happening, and want to be able to work with this group, thankful for the work being done/getting more practice and appreciate all the work that was done in getting this documents done/in winter, we get out of reactionary mode, glad people are willing to talk about consensus, early on time constraints and forced reactions allowed us to sidestep some of this stuff/really like how facilitator facilitates! Some print-outs available still form last week if anyone wants to look at them./Food job facilitating. Dreading two days workshop on strategy, but felt like it came more alive with our brainstorming today, hopefully WG /Thank you
Adjournment 4:41pm
Called to order 2:11p
~20 people
I. Announcements:
1) Conference call about national gathering in Philadelphia. Not a lot of outreach happening right now, mid July Philly or DC
2) Paul Cienfeugos workshop going on today, so smaller group then usual.
II. Next GA: 2pm Sunday. Remember: Daylight savings time next Sunday!
III. Discussion topics
a. Strategy weekend agenda
b. Cleaning/decorating workgroup for strategy weekend
c. Principles for Consensus making
d. Principles of Solidarity & statement of autonomy
Consensus used to develop proposals to present.
Strategy Weekend Agenda
Will be on the 24th and 25th in the Union Theater.
- need to determine the timeframe & the agenda
Q: Are there different workgroups today? Can we separate into different groups? /Agenda items require entire group to discuss.
a. As a group we discussed topics & ideas that people want to see discussed or addressed in the strategy weekend:
- Forum
- Mission, Goals, & Demands
- Vision: 1 year, 5 year, long term
- Strategy vs. Tactics
- Speakers
David Graeber
Local Speakers
- Training in
Direct Action
Non-violent tactics
NCBI Training
- Octopus
- Education
- What is Occupy
- Delegitimize/boycott/withdraw cooperation/friction in the machine
- Community Outreach
Listening
Recruiting
Membership
Narrative
Direct Action
Internal Communication
- Video
- Find models
- What is the perception of Occupy?
Damage assessment
- Definitions
Affinity Groups
Diversity of Tactics
- Planning an action
- Build tactics
- SWOT: Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, & threats
- Local alternative monetary system
- How do we address this over the long term?
What are our goals and objectives for this strategic weekend? How will we structure the time we have?
Send topics with WG to create an agenda and bring it back as a proposal to the GA next week.
Lists of topics will be given to WG to create an agenda. WG meeting Thursday at UC dining area on 3rd floor, 5:30p. Gwen will send an email around announcing it.
b. Cleaning/Decorating for strategy weekend. Email with details will be sent to listserv.
Cleaning- Friday 3/23/12, evening.
Decorating- Saturday am
c. Principles for consensus decision making
As a member of the consensus working group, pointed out everyone was happy with the first three pages they developed; for the last three there is some concern. Occupy Missoula in solidarity with OWS by default is in some ways agreeing with their stated goals, thus these documents. Not necessary to adopt them in terms of /If it’s adopted up front, and something changes it can always be amended./Coming from consensus workgroup, not strategy group./Clarification of wording: hearing the word “adopt” being used, but the wording the group chose carefully is to “stand with the OWS Statement of Solidarity,” not “adopt.” In the statement “in non-violence decision making the power of stating what you know …” Not non-violence. Use caution in the wording. Also, in regard to move to amend: to stand with these statements, Move To Amend would have to not affiliate with any political group. Stops them from even starting a conversation/The question of use of words in terms of domination in the group, need to have some connection between theory and practice./Verbal violence exists too./ How and where we stand is very important. Many groups have been swept away and done the things they sought to get rid of./ Replace power with the purpose of stating what you know, enlighten the group rather than persuade/Honesty key. Are we enlightening?/Informing, personal agendas and personal interests shaping it./[Ongoing Discussion of Wording of Document]/”Maximum power” wording still a concern. Discussion and coming to a shared truth./POI: clarification. Consensus group started with a longer statement, and attempted to break it down into a slightly condensed “Principles of Non-violence” for what goes on in the GA. Non-violence is a nebulous idea, but what this documents addresses is what NV means in our decision-making process. [Reading of how it was originally written, and how it was edited to the form it is in now.]/ Element of respect seems helpful in the framing. Tension comes in the idea of “Achieving a goal,” with respect included, strengthened./ Can be passionate and loud without being violent/open living document that grows and changes, that is widely circulated/Looking for a definition of non-violence, the key is that the person or persons is far more important than achieving a point or anything else. Not easy to grasp in this culture. That’s where the stand-aside comes in. Non-violence requires connection with people, and with that connection you will practice violence against that person./ Confused about the process: giving ideas to them for amending the document, and when do we know they have enough information?/Trying to revise the document, will talk about it until the concerns are resolved./use CT Butler’s wording, send it out to the listserv for discussion./Shift away form the one about non-violence and consider some other topics. Add something about disciplined speaking under the topic of respect, along with active listening./ Philip Beringer offers the comment that truth and love are the two most violent forces in the world. Not some larger discussion of what is true violence./Reason that it’s a concern is because you need to start at the bottom in order to build something bigger. Language should reflect that./ Possible alternative wording was read./Formalizing this does not mean we can’t change it. Gives us something to use in the process. Not rigid. We’re learning the process and how to talk about issues and principles. Once we talk about this, we learn more skill in this kind of interaction and gain trust./Three parts to work on: wording for non-violence, include a line about disciplined speaking, and how to tie it into the other documents.
d. Agreed to wait to discuss the Principles of Solidarity & Statement of Autonomy
Evaluation
Awesome/No comment/Process is moving forward. Everyone that was here a the beginning was here at the end/Got a lot of things done/Belated announcement: Transition Town screening of crude awakening, Tuesday at the library /was good to just talk, not so much focus on the process/waiting for documentation to come out, being presented by other groups as a living document that any one can edit. On the cusp of real change/we have some work to do in making the GAs really effective/glad we have some time to work on these things so we understand what we are into, things are changing, just a matter of patience/glad to have stayed to the end, and really enjoyed that it was mellow & smooth/thankful occupy movement is happening, and want to be able to work with this group, thankful for the work being done/getting more practice and appreciate all the work that was done in getting this documents done/in winter, we get out of reactionary mode, glad people are willing to talk about consensus, early on time constraints and forced reactions allowed us to sidestep some of this stuff/really like how facilitator facilitates! Some print-outs available still form last week if anyone wants to look at them./Food job facilitating. Dreading two days workshop on strategy, but felt like it came more alive with our brainstorming today, hopefully WG /Thank you
Adjournment 4:41pm