Re: [DIYbio] Re: Help end harassment in hacking!

I see nobody's occupied the fence yet, and I like the view..so here I go.

Firstly, I've met Martin, and we've shared some fun events in the UK in
the past. So, I know that I have a natural bias, and that's leading me
to take no strong role in this dispute. That doesn't mean that I can't
offer an opinion on the general issue, just that I'm not going to attack
or defend anyone.

In fact, I'd say nothing and let this play out, except that I keep
seeing people I otherwise respect leaping to attack one or the other
party..when they themselves have next to no grounding in this dispute or
the context behind it.

So I'm clear, I'm not asking that this discussion not happen; this is an
issue for our community if it takes place in our community. I disagree
with Martin asking for it to be removed. In an ideal world, Jen would
never have felt the need to post the dispute to a large and public
mailing list; I'm glad that they've all agreed to a third-party
mediator, which IMO is the better route to seeking resolution. But, now
that it's "out", it's not realistic to expect others not to feel they
have a stake in the outcome.

That does not mean, however, that we have a right to decide guilt based
on the emotive content of one or the others' arguments. We, the general
"we" who occupy the world and not Copenhagen in particular, need to make
sure that our community is free of misogyny or social exclusion. We will
*not* accomplish that goal by verbally bombarding anyone at the drop of
a hat; that is far more likely to accomplish the opposite effect, where
groups that have accreted a primarily male role by circumstance are
*less* likely to risk encouraging members of the other, equally numerous
and skilled sex, because of the experiences they've had with such
cooperation in the past. If we want justice and equality, then act like
people who value justice and equality and listen to whomever shares
their opinions, experiences and perspectives before shouting at them.

If I may, Jen: it sounds like you're an enthusiastic and competent
person. I don't know what situation you've been in, and if I'm honest I
don't feel I have enough context to work with here, either. I hope you
and the others find a resolution that pleases you all. I'd just like to
suggest something I observed in your writing, here:

You've praised and damned the anarchic structures of BG and Labitat, but
in your writing it sounds like at many points you were frustrated when
you asked for inclusion in a project from another member. Now, you are
coming out, assertively, and proposing (I think?) a new space. I think
that attitude, of assertiveness and willingness to go and do what you
want without waiting for permission, seemed missing in what you relate
of your past dealings in BG, and I hope you keep that steam going.
Because if an organisation is anarchic, then you'll get nowhere by
asking, only by doing.

I'm glad you're seeking third-party mediation. If that doesn't work, I'd
suggest one of two routes; if you view what happened as harassment at a
magnitude that merits intervention, then pursue intervention. But if
your grievance is with exclusion or representation, then proceed with
your hard-fork. The structures of "flat" hackerspaces were borrowed in
part from online structures; software, forums, etcetera. And the weapon
of last resort when people feel disengaged from de-facto leadership is
either to overrule leadership, or to fork the project and forge their
own path. I don't know you, but you seem more assertive now than you do
in your accounts of your past; I think you're up to the challenge,
whichever way you go.

best of luck to all,
Cathal

On 30/05/14 01:22, Will Canine wrote:
> Søren, Malthe and Emil,
>
> No, we will not pretend like an important matter didnt because it makes you
> three uncomfortable to discuss it. Jen has clearly been put in an
> uncomfortable position -- to put it mildly -- for at least the last several
> months. I think you dudes can take it.
>
> Whats more, your attempt at covering up this discussion makes me think
> you're all probably well aware your behavior was misogynist at best, sexual
> assault at worst, and you'd like to not let that fact come to light. And in
> my experience, people dont come forward with such important accusations
> unless they have been deeply hurt and feel they have no other option. I am
> inclined to believe the three of you have acted in completely
> inappropriate, if not criminal, ways. But while I cant prove that, its
> clear from the way you are handling this that you have not shown Jen the
> respect she deserves.
>
> I have an absolute zero tolerance policy for sexual harassment and assault.
> And so should all of us. When a peer comes to us to say they feel unsafe in
> our midst, we need to respond and fix the problem.
>
> This movement needs to be a safe place for everyone -- except those who
> threaten their peers. Those people need to GTFO.
>
>
>
>
> On Wednesday, May 28, 2014 7:33:03 AM UTC-4, Jen Kotila wrote:
>>
>> As many of you know, there have been quite a few incidents of sexual
>> harassment and bullying in hacking and biohacking culture. In fact,

>> Doubleunion <http://doubleunion.com> was started after the founder Liz

>> Henry suffered harassment at Noisebridge. Here is a great article that
>> she wrote about harassment in hacking and what to do about it.

>> <http://modelviewculture.com/pieces/the-rise-of-feminist-hackerspaces-and-how-to-make-your-own>

>>
>> I love this quote from her:
>>
>> Openness, that's great, right? Except oddly, openness can mean we get rape
>> and death threats while at the same time, the only thing we can't be "open"
>> about is publicly naming a person who raped us. The "adhocracy" form of
>> informal organizing sometimes look to us like the tyranny of

>> structurelessness, <http://www.jofreeman.com/joreen/tyranny.htm> where

>> already-strong power structures and dynamics define our field, so
>> already-powerful elites get stronger.
>>
>>
>> I am in touch with Liz because I have now myself been a victim of it at

>> the hands of those who run Biologigaragen <http://biologigaragen.org> and The
>> Kopenlab Festival <http://kopenlab.dk> I have been working there since

>> November and the harassment started almost immediately. I tried long and
>> hard to work it out internally but it only got worse over time. You can
>> read an overview of what happened to me here.

>> <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-DPJhdE71IyXx_Du9TlV5b2UvVvwkLhgOnVO-06pBCY/edit?usp=sharing>

>>
>> Almost no one in lab denies I have been harassed (except for Emil Polny).
>> What they are contending is that Malthe Borch and Emil Polny should stay in
>> positions of power despite their extreme pattern of harassment. For the
>> record, the ONE other woman in lab was mistreated in a very similar way to
>> how I was mistreated. This is a pattern and it will not change. Bullies
>> often re-offend without prejudice, especially when they only get slapped on
>> the wrist for their behavior.
>>
>> Since Biologigaragen is flatly anarchistically organized, it is my voice
>> against that of the two main perpetrators, who claim to have founded the
>> lab (which is patently a false clam as Marc Juul, who is currently running sudoroom

>> in Oakland, CA <https://sudoroom.org/> and setting up The Omni, also in
>> Oakland, CA <http://wiki.omni-oakland.org/>). For the record, Marc is one

>> of my strongest supporters and warned me that I would have trouble speaking
>> out here in Copenhagen due in part to the quirks in Danish culture that
>> make it so that they have the most sexual harassment in the whole of the EU

>> <http://www.b.dk/nationalt/vold-chikane-og-stalking-mod-kvinder-i-danmark-overstiger-eu-gennemsnit>
>> .

>>
>> Everyone here agrees that I have been harassed but no one takes the months
>> of suffering I have endured seriously. I have suffered immensely both
>> psychologically and physically as is common in victims of harassment. I
>> have basically been stripped of my rights to operate within the
>> organization. Even projects I brought in were taken from me and interfered
>> with. Most recently, I have been removed as moderator from the mailing list
>> for speaking out about my plight and there is talk of forcing me out of the
>> organization because I have hurt it for coming forward. I have been accused
>> of harming Biologigaragen by going public but I contend that it is MORE
>> harmful to any institution to allow known harassers to remain in positions

>> of authority and to tell a harassed and bullied person who tried *for
>> months* to try to work it out in good faith that she has to share a lab

>> with those who abused her.
>>
>> In fact this opinion is so widely held that during the last meeting I was
>> mobbed

>> <http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/beyond-bullying/201304/surviving-workplace-mobbing-control-emotional-flooding>by

>> a group of seven very hostile people who want Malthe Borch to stay in
>> power. Mobbing is very serious and after months of the stress caused from
>> harassment and I had a nervous breakdown as it came in the wake of months
>> of psychological torment.
>>
>> A friend of mine who was harassed after whistleblowing in the UN warned me
>> this would happen. She was forced out and tormented for her coming forward.
>> I told her "nah, that won't happen to me, the community will protect me,
>> despite the fact that we have no HR and no union rep to deal with this". I
>> have been met with some support but also with lots of scorn and derision.
>> It has severely affected me and I believe that its extreme mishandling has
>> severely affected all of biohacking.
>>

>> *I have started a petition*

>> <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1q4-0qsLVLwN5msM_QfbrO2uJytEWfGi6fB8b0NswkmE/viewform> about

>> the matter and I would like it if the community could show its support for
>> ending harassment in hacking generally and also for ending it in
>> Biologigaragen. Please fill it out honestly. I am curious to see how many
>> people are ok with severe harassment and how many think it is not ok. I am
>> intending to try to help biohacking over this hurdle and protect it from
>> further instances of this. We should be the alternative to the traditional
>> power structures and within our organizations, we should never allow
>> bullying or sexual harassment to occur for whatever reason. I want to take
>> what happened to me and make it into a positive thing for the whole
>> community. I request your assistance in doing so.
>>
>> Tusind tak skal du hav (as they say in Denmark),
>>
>> Jen Kotila
>>
>

--

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