[LGM] should LGM or its site have something to say about Charlie Hebdo?

[Louis Desjardins]

2015-01-17 22:25 GMT-05:00 Pat David <patdavid at gmail.com>:

> I just wanted to make a couple of quick points, if I may.
>
> 1. I was of the opinion that LGM as an organization was already deeply
> entrenched with the values of free/open speech and expression.  If making a
> comment concerning recent events to "reaffirm" those values publicly is at
> all effective, then it likely means that the organization as a whole has
> failed at espousing those ideals all along.  It shouldn't require a
> statement now for folks to understand that it is a core tenant of the
> organization, and if it does we may need to re-evaluate how things are
> messaged overall?
>

I thought at first this would be an obvious call. Your question is then on
target.

>
> 2. In light of the rather weak social media presence, I have to wonder if
> the message would really get any further than an audience already familiar
> with LGM.  It basically feels like the statement would be made for
> yourselves.
>

It’s always good to put things in perspective and to recall some basic
statements. At some point, the saying “it goes without saying” cannot be
proved wrong by its counterpart “it goes as well saying it”. While things
seem sometimes obvious to many, it doesn’t mean that they are understood by
all. Hence the necessity to have a Code of conduct, for instance. A
statement made for all, even if it doesn’t get all the light it could
deserve.

Sad souvenirs from last LGM > After a rather long process we banned from
this mailing list one person who acted in violation of our then to come
Code of conduct. The reproach was million of miles away from what happened
in Paris. However it was a threat and was treated as such. This echoed into
many channels. So, we’re not making statement only for ourselves. And we
are certainly not taking lightly any kind of threat. People have to feel
confident that they can express themselves freely. Why not express this
again, considering the overwhelming impact of the events in Paris where it
was as clear as it can be that freedom of speech was what was attacked?
Remaining silent at this point sends a strange signal in my view,
especially because we have an international audience (although small we
must recognize) and especially because we are creating communication tools.

>
> 3. I can't help but feel that if even a fraction of the energy being spent
> on this particular topic of discussion had been used instead on something
> more productive, things might be further along and better fleshed out on
> the website.  For instance, there was an earlier thread iirc about the
> status of the information on the website being less than stellar concerning
> accommodations nearby.  Looking now, the "Accommodations" section looks
> woefully weak, as does the details of the venue, travel information, and
> more.  I can't help but feel that this may be a better use of time helping
> the team to flesh out and expand upon.
>

Pat, this is pure rhetoric. It’s an old way of diluting any discussion.
Make a 90 º shift and focus on something important but different! :-) For
instance, as opposed to the thousand billions of dollars spent by the USA
alone into military, only a couple billion could save hundreds of thousands
(maybe more) of lives from hunger and thirst and illness of all kinds...
Once this is said, how far are we into the solution? How does that
contribute to the discussion? The website needs some love and will get it
soon. It’s a complete different discussion. But we are multitask on this
mailing list! :-)

It seemed to me that we could agree on the following:

A short text for which we already have a first draft. We do not use the
logo and slogan "Je suis…".

If someone wants to help make this short text better, we are all ears and
eyes.

If someone has something to add or has serious reserves, we’re all ears, as
always.

Ideally, we would reach a consensus.

Cheers!

Louis
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