[Consensus] [Facilitation] [Spokes] A Consensus Weekend Retreat

Terra Friedrichs terraf at compuserve.com
Mon Feb 20 14:55:52 EST 2012


Yeah, but just like I don't think that anyone should be making money 
from these OB lists, I feel like advertising someone's services, as 
important as they may be, just isn't right.  I mean why shouldn't I 
advertise my services?  Because of what a homeless guy said to me once.  
He said, "you guys are "using" me".  He said that he feels like 
professional party (and revolution) coordinators are "using" the strife 
on the streets to make money off of his struggling.  He said, if you're 
going to make a buck doing this work, then I want a buck to hold this 
sign.  It's a point that's worth considering, IMHO.  Using the urgency 
of "the movement" as a reason not to bother to stop and do things 
ethically seems very wrong to me.  It's one thing to move fast. It's one 
thing to coordinate. And plan. And do radical stuff to "solve problems". 
But I thought this was a volunteer gig.  Not a volunteer gig, where we 
get donations and give them to pros, or use our name to advertise 
service over our lists, etc.  I'm convincing a ton of people to keep 
working on this for free.  To use our lists to advertise someone else's 
revenue generating business is beyond the pale, whether he touched 
himself or someone else or not.

I'm sorry to take a  hard stance on this.  But I really don't think we 
should be advertising anything but our own events.  If he wants to come 
volunteer his time to come tell us magical secrets about touching the 
stars, I'll help advertise the event, whether or not he's touched.

Beyond that, roger over and out.

Terra

*~*~*~*
Terra Friedrichs
978 808 7173 (cell)
978 266 2775 (desk)
978 266 2778 (home/messages)


On 2/20/2012 2:49 PM, Gregory Murphy wrote:
> this issue was put to bed, awhile ago - I spoke with Nunes who 
> confirmed that no physical contact was made by either party and that 
> apologies were exchanged, later that night
>
> Greg
>
>
>
> On Mon, Feb 20, 2012 at 2:42 PM, Nicole Sullivan 
> <nicole_sullivan at live.com <mailto:nicole_sullivan at live.com>> wrote:
>
>     To those who are concerned about CT Butler:
>
>     I cannot speak for anyone but myself. I was there the night where
>     people claimed he shoved/ choked an occupy boston member.
>
>     I was trying to convince DA to not lead the march through the
>     middle of GA, I was standing about 5 ft from the incident. I saw
>     CT Butlet approach the individual with his hands in the air,
>     people started crowding around and I saw the individual shove CT
>     Butler. I personally did not see him lay a hand on anyone.
>
>     I cannot say I am 100 percent sure on what happened, I was trying
>     to manage a really difficult situation. I just want to give my
>     perspective, since what I saw seems to be very different than
>     other reports.
>
>     Nicole
>
>
>     Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
>
>     -----Original Message-----
>     From: Jorge Alvarez <eghm627 at mac.com <mailto:eghm627 at mac.com>>
>     Date: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:28:11
>     To: <abucci at occupyboston.org <mailto:abucci at occupyboston.org>>
>     Cc: <consensus at lists.occupyboston.org
>     <mailto:consensus at lists.occupyboston.org>>;
>     <spokes at lists.occupyboston.org
>     <mailto:spokes at lists.occupyboston.org>>;
>     <facilitation at lists.occupyboston.org
>     <mailto:facilitation at lists.occupyboston.org>>
>     Subject: Re: [Facilitation] [Consensus] [Spokes] A Consensus
>     Weekend Retreat
>
>     so much for anti-oppression work...
>
>
>     thanks for the "heads up!"
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>     With peace,
>     Jorge Alvarez
>     eghm627 at mac.com <mailto:eghm627 at mac.com> <mailto:eghm627 at mac.com
>     <mailto:eghm627 at mac.com>>
>
>
>     This email was composed on a mobile device.  Please excuse any errors.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>     On Feb 20, 2012, at 10:55 AM, Anthony Bucci wrote:
>     POI: I've recently heard yet another not-so-flattering story about
>     Butler from a friend of mine. Unsolicited, he told me he was once
>     at an event in which Butler sat down at a table with him and made
>     so many "inappropriate comments" (as my friend called them) to
>     people, especially women apparently, that he was asked to leave
>     the table. I can put anyone interested in touch with this friend
>     to get a firsthand account.
>
>     Anthony
>
>
>
>     On Sun, Feb 19, 2012 at 12:55 PM, Gregory Murphy
>     <gsjmurphy at gmail.com <mailto:gsjmurphy at gmail.com>
>     <mailto:gsjmurphy at gmail.com <mailto:gsjmurphy at gmail.com>> > wrote:
>      Consensus, Spokes and Facilitation,
>
>     I am resending this email about a Consensus Workshop, next weekend
>     on Long Island.  In response to my request for a payment plan, C.
>     T. agreed to accept 3 monthly payments of $83.33, and also
>     informed me that this offer is available to anyone else from
>     Boston, who may want to attend. Allison and I both want to
>     participate, and I encourage our friends and colleagues who are
>     interested in consensus to join us, for this weekend outing. We do
>     not have a car, so most probably will avail ourselves of MegaBus.
>     We just need to figure out childcare for our daughter.
>
>     I also share two comments from recent emails, from C. T.. He has
>     recently bought an old RV, and he and colleagues are planning to
>     embark on a national tour of Occupations, in response to many
>     invitations from around the country. They are in the midst of some
>     initial fundraising to get themselves on the road, after which
>     they feel they can sustain the tour through workshops and book sales.
>
>     "Long Island is called long because it is. My friend (and patron,
>     he subsidized the writing of Consensus for Cities and it is
>     dedicated to him) lives in Manorville which is one and a half
>     hours from NYC, almost to the eastern end, just short of the
>     Hamptons. This workshop is being subsidized by my friend. He is
>     providing the housing at no cost to me and the food at cost. (His
>     wife is a graduate of a vegetarian culinary institute in NYC I do
>     not remember the name of and she will be doing all the cooking.)
>     The idea was to raise money for the tour. "
>
>     "Also, the folks we listed as references in the email really do
>     want to hear from interested folks. They had a powerful experience
>     and they would enjoy sharing it. They didn't just say "yes, I'll
>     be a reference" they enthusiastically encouraged me to have people
>     to call them. Frankly, I was quite surprised and pleased, after
>     two weeks had passed and those post-workshop feelings had
>     dissipated (I would have thought).
>
>
>     I do realize that some of us have quite strong feelings about Mr.
>     Butler, and to some he is a controversial figure, and that there
>     are other proponents and models of consensus. I have certainly
>     begun to expand my reading list. That said, I find myself drawn to
>     his work, and want to learn more to test my strong belief that
>     consensus would be a good model for Boston to embrace.  Please
>     know I am doing some fundraising to sponsor C.T. for another trip
>     to Boston, but am unsure of the timing, and if it will even happen.
>
>     C. T. is also offering a discount to any one of us attends, and
>     who recruits someone else to attend. Call me for more info. 
>     Please forward this email to anyone you think may be interested. I
>     think the timing is perfect, as we experiment internally with
>     using consensus at Spokescouncil meetings, and as Facilitation is
>     encouraging a broad conversation about process.
>
>
>     Best,
>
>
>     Greg
>     617.413.6472 <tel:617.413.6472> <tel:617.413.6472 <tel:617.413.6472>>
>
>
>
>     ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>     From: C.T. Butler <ctbutler at together.net
>     <mailto:ctbutler at together.net> <mailto:ctbutler at together.net
>     <mailto:ctbutler at together.net>> >
>      Date: Sat, Feb 11, 2012 at 3:53 PM
>     Subject: Weariness in Occupyland
>     To: Gregory Murphy <gsjmurphy at gmail.com
>     <mailto:gsjmurphy at gmail.com> <mailto:gsjmurphy at gmail.com
>     <mailto:gsjmurphy at gmail.com>> >
>
>
>
>
>      [Greg, be sure to check out my answers to Sati's questions
>     attached below. I strongly encourage you to consider attending
>     this workshop so you know firsthand what I am teaching. C.T.]
>
>
>      There's a lot of weariness out there in Occupyland this winter.
>     Are you bunkered in, wondering how such diverse people will ever
>     practice direct democracy? Are you discouraged, or already taking
>     a break? Has your GA shrunk down to the loud cowboy voices and the
>     peacekeepers trying to placate them? How did we know, you ask?
>
>
>      Wren and I have been experiencing the same stew of elation, hope,
>     consternation and frustration that many of you have shared with us
>     in person, by phone and in emails. Occupy is our baby, too, and we
>     are as deeply invested in its success as you.
>
>
>      This is why I'm urgently inviting you to Fiopa Consensus
>     Collective's Consensus: Body & Soul workshop, February 24-26, on
>     Long Island, NY. The reason I want you to attend is that I
>     believe, with all my heart, that value-based consensus process is
>     a revolutionary decisionmaking process unlike the consensus
>     process you have seen so far.
>
>
>      The following questions are typical of what we've been asked.
>     These came from Sati, of OWS:
>
>
>      What do you do when you suspect there are plants in a group that
>     would like the group not to reach consensus - it would like the
>     group to fail to make any decisions?
>     What do you do when a group of people who are just too emotional,
>     they start shouting at each other?
>     Consensus appears to fail even in a small group of people, how can
>     we expect it to work in a large group of people like cities? They
>     can't even gather together in one place. It seems to me that
>     representative governance just cannot be avoided. Once the group
>     of representatives is down to around 10 or so, we could possibly
>     think of consensus. But even in that situation, the interest of
>     the super-rich is diagonally opposite to that of poor. How are
>     they going to reconcile with each other?
>     [My responses are attached at the bottom of this email.]
>
>
>      From our experience with groups that do ongoing deep work with
>     this model for years, we know that consensus can address and
>     resolve the serious problems the Occupy movement encountered with
>     direct democracy. However, you do not have to take our word for
>     this. Fiopa Collective recently taught this workshop to activists
>     from Occupy Baltimore. Please feel free to contact the attendees
>     below and hear directly from them what they experienced:
>
>
>      Zak Wear . zakwear at gmail.com <mailto:zakwear at gmail.com>
>     <mailto:zakwear at gmail.com <mailto:zakwear at gmail.com>>  .
>     410.570.9322 <tel:410.570.9322> <tel:410.570.9322
>     <tel:410.570.9322>>   (graduate of Gilford College, a Quaker college)
>     Jenny Graf . jennygrafsheppard at gmail.com
>     <mailto:jennygrafsheppard at gmail.com>
>     <mailto:jennygrafsheppard at gmail.com
>     <mailto:jennygrafsheppard at gmail.com>>  . 240.893.2239
>     <tel:240.893.2239> <tel:240.893.2239 <tel:240.893.2239>>
>     Ed Boicourt . eboicourt at gmail.com <mailto:eboicourt at gmail.com>
>     <mailto:eboicourt at gmail.com <mailto:eboicourt at gmail.com>>  .
>     443.677.9308 <tel:443.677.9308> <tel:443.677.9308 <tel:443.677.9308>>
>     Lane Berck . 410.727.1880 <tel:410.727.1880> <tel:410.727.1880
>     <tel:410.727.1880>>   (leave message loudly and twice)
>     The 2-day workshop on consensus will be held on Long Island
>     (Manorville, NY) Feb 24-26 (Friday evening to Sunday). It is
>     accessible by the LIRR from Penn Station to Mastic/Shirley or
>     Patchogue (~$34 round-trip). We will provide transportation from
>     the train station to the venue. The host is an experienced
>     vegetarian chef. She will be providing light fare on Friday and
>     three meals Saturday & Sunday. We encourage folks to arrive Friday
>     evening whenever they can. Sessions will be 9am till 5pm both
>     Saturday & Sunday. All sessions will be held in a huge private
>     home complete with hot tub. The entire package is only
>     $250/person, including tuition, room & board (gourmet vegetarian
>     food & indoor camping)! If you or anyone you know wants a deep
>     immersion in value-based consensus in an excellent environment,
>     this would be the one to attend. It promises to be an amazing
>     experience! Please print the brochure attached below and fill out
>     and mail the registration form or call Wren @ 410.458.2310
>     <tel:410.458.2310> <tel:410.458.2310 <tel:410.458.2310>>  for
>     questions or to register.
>     Again, I believe this work is an essential part of the change we
>     all want to see in our country. We need to learn how to make
>     direct democracy work for real. This is imperative. We cannot
>     fail. To fail is to perish. Please spread the word.
>     C.T. Butler
>     301.586.2560 <tel:301.586.2560> <tel:301.586.2560 <tel:301.586.2560>>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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