Event:2015/10/11 Becoming Omni Session 2

Becoming Omni Session 2: Sunday October 11, 2015

Last week: https://omnicommons.org/wiki/Event:2015/09/20_Becoming_Omni_Session_1

Internet was down since last night, but matt & andrew fixed it. WOOHOO

Intros

name, pronouns, affiliation, involvement with omni, show your contour drawing, consent to photography and/or being in notes, consent to ground rules

• lauren birdhouse
• robb, sudo,FNB
• sadie, baps/birdhouse/commons wg
• matt, sudo, caffeine
• gabby, BO
• Julio, sudo, food
• rachel, GWS
• ben, eyebrows
• libbie, baps/cdc
• josh, hanging around, production group?
• joe, fnb, smile lines
• david k, skateboard
• niki
• maryanne, chiapas support committee
• jose, chiapas support committee, bicycle
• andrew, building wg, confused thoughts
• rachel lyra, snacks, omni
• zee, distant sporadic sudoroom member
• yar, sudo, eyelashes & computer
• laura, baps/lots of wgs
• alex, baps/birdhouse/bo

more

• gwen, sudo
• philip, unaffiliated, working on it
• derrick
• sigma, sudo

Roles:

• vibe reader: andrew
• stack-taker: julio
• note takers: yar, libbie

overview agenda

• something yar missed because writing notes URL
• andrew: next week are we gonna make decisions that we agree on today?
  • laura: next week is about making a plan for the next 3 yeras. also concrete plan for the next 90 days
• alex: last week we worked on the value statement, shared vision. will review those
  • laura: we didn't quite finish those so people worked on it throughout the week. will review those
  • alex: anyone need more clarity about direction? [no response]
  • zee: so silence equals consent? [no response]

Values Statement

• sadie reads value statement from last week: "Through open and collaborative communication, the community of the omni creates a mutually supportive space for anyone struggling to survive systems of oppression, their allies, and their friends. Ultimately, this space will become a ground for mutual liberation and the creation of an alternative system to capitalism, translating collective ideas and dreams into action."
• laura: what words stand out?
  • [went too fast]
  • libbie's interested in space between first & second sentence
  • rob: dreams into action
• larua: what seems inspirtng in this statement?
  • rachel: looking at capitalism, how it affects everything
  • lauren: we're all in this together
  • joe: anyone
  • yar: i like the "creating alternative systems" because it gets at a lot of the work we'll be doing here
  • matt: rare to have not an "is" but action. "creates" is primary verb
• laura: what strikes you the wrong way, doesn't fit in with what we're doing here?
  • rachel l: "will become". ultimately some day we'll totally do it. it should be "is"?
  • laura: so you're suggesting "this space is a ground for mutual liberation"?
    • a few fingers in support
  • matt: remove "will become"?
  • laural & rachel: needs a verb
  • dk: strives to be?
  • rachel: important to be in the reality we want or people won't want to be here
  • libbie: is striving?
  • gabby: i thought the word become was appropriate... but maybe
  • joe: space isn't becoming. it's people working to make the space. puts responsibility on us
  • andrew: "this is a ground" seems to make sense. we a re all working together to come up with a plan for the next few years.
  • zee: acknowledge where we are and where we're going in positive way
  • niki: recognize where we are with humility - strive
• laura: this is "why we are here". not saying this is what we want to become. not vision, not mission, it's "why we're here". so let's put verb issue to the side. [some consent]
• matt: focus question - editing by committee is hard. replace ground with platform? stage?
  • laura: send 3 people off to do simplification?\
• dk: new comment. "system" is deterministic. anarchists dont like systmes. resources?
  • yar: we dont have to resolve all differences here. notes will stand for the future, show what we disagreed on, what we didnt
  • robb: create alternatives to cap?
  • lauren: separation/clarity between creation what we do: "translating collective ideas and dreams into actions"
  • matt: term allies is can of worms [laughter]
  • rachel: agree. allies is problematic
  • joshoa: sustainability?
• volunteers to workshop: libbie, matt, dk, andrew

values

• what values are we all holding in our work at the omni?
• rachel: revolutiionary transformation was most general. others were means & motivation for accomlishing that. or quality of movement. all comes back to #1 with subset of fighting oppression
• "open to possibilities" card goes up
  • Resourcefulness
  • Hope
  • Keep Trying
  • Accepting the Possibility of Failure w/Grace
• reading compassionate communication
• reading accessible space + participation
• reading contribution of individuals to collective
• solidarity
• open to possibilites
• revolutionary transformation

• Alex: points out that the values are aspirational and there is a gap between what we hope/wish to do and what we actually do.
• Discussion of "contributions of individuals to the collective" card
  • Rachel: sum is greater than the parts. being here feeds my soul. it's not just someone cooking me food. commons is something we need as a culture.
  • niki: agrees on an aspirational level to above - it's important to more clearly identify what the building blocks, what needs to happen for the collective to effervesce. We can say that this is a collective but how do we acknowledge that we all need to participate for this to happen.
  • Laura: How do we change the proposed name to reflect these concerns?
  • Joshua: Recipricol Contribution
  • Gabby: Mutual Contributions between individuals and collectives/Symbiosis
  • Laura: The reciprocity between individuals and the collective
  • Yar: Healing through giving?
• laura: let's read cards again. also solidarity
  • Rachel: Why did we change from "collectivity"
  • Laura: Collectivity doesn't include accountability that is focused on the individual's role w/in the collective. It's better to have titles that
  • rob: symbiotic collectivity?
  • joe: reciprocal contribution?
  • Yar: It is important to have good titles, but the titles doesn't need to be completely all encompassing - we'll have a record of this conversation. As long as people in the future know what was informing our choices, it can be perfected into the future.
  • Laura: Can we return to just collectivity?
  • Joe: Use our awareness of what's going on now as a pre-vision of the underlining contraditions. Those are more important to have specifics and to be able to formulate real solutions.
  • Yar: Clarifies earlier comment - it's important for us to talk about it if we disagree on the direction, but if we're talking about the meaning of a word, then maybe it's good to move on.
• Discussion of "Open to Possibilities"
  • Laura: Can we add "being" to change to "being open to possibilities"
  • Gabby: Likes "accepting the possibility of failures with grace" You learn the most when there is an option of being wrong.
  • Ben: Likes the title. The possibilities of both success and failure. It implies to do everything you can to make the possible happen.
  • Laura: What if it's "being open to possibilities of both success and failure"
  • yar: for the record i thought self care was a good title or at least should be part of this section
  • Rachel: Self-care is an important part of collectivity. In order to contribute to the collective, an individual first needs to take care of themselves.
• laura: does anybody object to self care being a value? [no objectiosn]
• long one
  • alex: want to read it all? [people say no]
  • robb: peace love & anarchy
    • yar: disagree
    • joshua: smashing capitalism?
  • laura: object to rev trans?
    • rob: long
    • alex: niki said being humble
  • niki: what if rev trans of self in society? acknowledge it begins on smaller scale
    • zee likes
    • no blocks
  • alex: anyone want to oppose? not ok? [none]
• back to collectivity
  • zee: conflicted. i need ppl to collaborate but helps to have intimate peaceful calm space. dilemma, how to get people without chaos
• Laura: Can we send a few people to work on this
  • rachel l works on it on the side

Dreams

• What do we want to see going on and in place in three years as a result of our actions?

• Member Health and Wellness
• Financial Stability Supports Accessibility
  • Yar: The idea that members are paid for their time (card underneath) might not be consensed upon
  • laura & alex: just the names right now. talk about cards later
• Racial Diversity
  • Lauren: You can have a racially diverse group without people of color in positions of power.
  • Yar: Access means being present, leading, and defining - those are different levels of access.
  • Rachel: Edit - "racial diversity on all levles"
  • Joe: Replace "power" with "levels of involvement" "representation throughout organization"
  • Alex: Can we agree on Rachel's edit of "Racial Diversity on all Levels"
  • All Agree on above
• Welcoming, Accessible and Equitable Space
  • Joe: From last year's practical experience - also define the borders and rules of the space so that people know how they can fit into the equitable space.
  • Alex: That fits into underlying contradictions and we'll talk about it.
  • Alex: Can we agree on the top card.
  • All Agree
  • Laura: Clarifies - the naming gets to the non-controversial essence of the card. The cards below are ideas and suggestions but have not been agreed upon.
• Community Connected Activist center
  • All Agree
• Diversity of all kinds
  • Gabby: Why are we separating "diversity of all kinds" and "racial diversity"
  • Alex: Refers to conversation last week re: focus specifically on racial diversity. Any thoughts on combining these or leaving them separate?
  • Julio: They should stay separate. The racial diversity has an implication of oppression, whereas the other is more broadly based.
  • Gabby: DR - doesn't disagree with separate, was just wondering. There are lots of forms of oppression.
  • Robb: Focusing on racial diversity excludes things like gender diversity, etc. Maybe we can say cultural diversity?
  • Joe: Likes keeping them separate. There are more realms of diversity that can be added.
    • alex: cards are gonna disappear and we'll be left with the headers
  • Rachel: Responds to Robb: ? we kept these separate because racial diversity is a huge issue in Oakland right now, and also what's happening in this room and what this room looks like against the city of Oakland. Registers that they feel comfortable as a women identified person leaving these categories separate.
  • yar doesn't like the framing of "diversity" at all but doesn't want to derail any further
  • Alex: This is a living document, so it can change.
  • Gabby: Would like to add more specific categories under the "diversity of all kinds" or create more specific categories.
  • Rachel: Whatever we do come up with will be a living document and can be revisted intentionally. Can we make a plan to revisit sometime in the future?
  • Gabby: Many of these things are also already noted in our Statement of Solidarity.
• Untitled Column
  • Laura: There isn't a photo from last time, so these cards might have been part of a different list?
  • Alex: lists cards: Mural, Law/RJ Collective, Community Garden, So All May Eat, Music Studio Collective.
  • Niki: This seems less value based, and different from the other things. I don't know how you would combine these things into one category.
  • Helen: DR - These cards seem like community resources
  • Ben/Joe: Description of "So All May Eat" - Like FNB
  • Ben: These seem like collectives we want to see. We want to continue to see interesting and impactful collectives at the Omni.
  • Rachel: Suggests "Future Projects"
  • Gabby: Related to Working Group: "Something Magical" suggests "Creative Sustenance"
  • Robb: Seconds "future projects"
  • Laura: Put it in the context - What would we like to see in three years?
  • Joe: Developing community resources
  • Niki: Seconds "Creative Sustenance"
  • Alex: "Developing Community Resources and Creative Sustenance"
  • Laura: "A Variety of creative projects that provide resources to the community"
  • Niki: Likes "community resources and creative sustenance"
  • Alex: proposes "community resources and creative sustenance"

All Agree

• Renovations let us Embrace Many Exciting Activities
  • Alex: Missing most cards but some that she remembers are: "Love-ins on newly sanded floor", ADA Accessibility, permit issues settled
  • Joe: In a way this is building out the space to accomodate everything we want to do.
  • All Agree on title
• Alex - finished on last week's work

Lunch

• rachel reminds people to respect stack
• half hour, 11:52-12:30
• except actually 12:40

Fun Activity

• pick two people, try to stand equidistant between them. supposed to form a rotating galaxy. but people didn't all follow the rules because personal space

Research Reports

Why Are We Here?

• matt & andrew read poster
• matt: we spent a lot of time. complex.
• andrew: express ideologically & materially what we do here. general enough to encompass while specific enough to say what omni's about
• matt: we simplified, broke out hows. but laura says that's scope for later. whys. super basic pulled out things.
• laura: unacceptable to anyone?
• All Agree** yar: happening so fast!
• Rename category "Cooperation

• The Omni Commons exists for anyone struggling to survive systems of oppression. We gather together to:

   ** co-reate a mutually-supportive culture;
   ** Nuture alternative to the white-supremicist-capitalist-patriarchy;
   ** Steward a space and place for mutual liberation.
   ** Translate collective ideas and dreams into action!

= Renaming Collectivity Group

• title they gave was "cooperation & mutual aid"
• twinkle fingers
• laura: is this unacceptable to anyone? [no answer after 2 second pause] congratulations we now have a purpose & values for the omni

Research Report Baco

• libbie: originally for both outreach & research. maryanne, matt, me, some guy whose name i forget. ambiguity about whether he's welcome back at omni. we didn't fulfill our tasks. 5 conversations i had between 2-5 hours: jesse, dena beard (the lab), aaron tanaka (antiracist facilitation training), G (worked in collectives, anonymous, member of movement collective organizing in social justice & ecological realm). notes available on riseup pad. very quick summary
• Everybody agreed norms & culture primary to sustaining project. Estabilshing intangible ways to relate, ways to bake in relationships we want into strucuters & processes. think about how those go hand in hand. if "we dont structure for the rels we want we'll end up with rels of dominant culture" so can be intentionaly
• There is definitely a benefit to things that are codified and things we can point to. i also went to the western Feeration of Workers conference and attended 2 sessions.
  • also esteban
  • The norms and the culture and including equity into the structure itself - how do norms and culture work hand in hand. how do you keep radical projects going over time
• RE: Rules and process and structure - think of these as a jungle gym as opposed to a cage - they can be played with and changed.

• The 2 places where people wanted to talk about culture and structure were accountability and labor and power.
• Accountability
  • Dena "always announcing my failures as loudly as my successes"
  • Labor & Power
• A lot of people talk about metrics. Whenever you claim you have a goal a goal should come with metrics and you decide how you measure your progress.
• Regular peer feedback, can be done in different ways. eg How can this particular person grow in their anit-oppression work? with feedback in a spafe space. Builidng this into our structures is a way this can be incorporated into our practice/structure over time
• One example is a direct communication community agreement- so we could for example say that we are going to directly communicate when we have interpersonal conflicts.
• Around labor and power ; if you take the examle of a hospitatl where there are many roles and responsibilities. in a post revolutionary world, people might rotate through all or many roles, and make all the labor visible
  • Friendly words of caution: the tendency of people outised an org tend to essentialize in order to understand. eg bad press and negative anecdotes can last a long time. Jesse stil hears an anectdote form something that happened at the Long Haul 10 years ago
• On the others ide of that G mentioned that orgs are often thought of as thier core programs which speaks to how people have a tendency to essentialize.
• Another thing Jesse warned against is that over time people begin to think about your org and an insitution or stable, even if it isn't and that leads to a falling off of ansense of possiblity and decreased interested and invovlement. This can sometimes happen iin the long term.
• Something special about first 2-4 years in a space. After this sometimes people tend to trail off or leave a project. This is something to be aware of.
• Long and difficult meetings can discourage people from participating. Only peole who have the ability to deal with them end up making the decisions
• Feedback from G.
  • Tyranny of teh eccentric - when someone holds the entire collective up through thier insistance on smething in particular the group often wants to honor that person's values but that can also
  • Other ppl will conceed to the will of people who sacrifice a lot for a project because the person makes them feel guilty - intentionally or unintentionally- because they are doing more work. Martydom can be the end of a collective.
    • also talked about toxic group processes like getting caught up in prcoessing the process,, blocks in concensus process 9uses a 3 block in alifeimte rule). If someone finds themselves blocking often they should consider whther their values/goals/etc acltually line up with the rest of the collectivity.
• Any questions or comments?
  • Niki: These should go on the wiki.
  • Andrew: Any information about metrics used?
  • Libbie: no specifics but there are orgs that actually do anti-oppression autids- I don't know if we would be interested in doing this ourselves or having another group do this but I think it might interesting and a good idea.
• Libbie on #1: People can hold up group process with irrelevant ideas. but worth asking G for clarity
  • DK: Beware of tangents?
• Sadie: Advice on large orgs with existing systems? rent, inspections, compromises
  • Libbie: Jesse thought omni is unique because large. lots of spaces but connection to tech (sudo, ccl) and size. what did he recommend? "idk"
  • Sadie: fundraising, renting is thorny. how to ask for money from unaligned people? is it necessary?
• Ben: re meeting sieve, i find it helpful but lots aren't interested. big meeting or conversation abt race. how to connect with everyone? we want them connected. distribute report back to delegates, collectives?
  • niki: ongoing conversations over the past year about organizing a group tat would investigate individual collectivity and how it would relate back to our work here
  • libbie: The difficulty of creating accountability in an area where money and government isn't involved- because those are the methods that dominant culture usually uses. Could be tied to decision making power and access to the space. The other thing I think is friendship, and love and ties of trust.
    • accountability without using government or money? tie to decision making power or access.
• reportback from inreach group? it wasn't planned
  • Lauren: Are there already colelctives in omni doing this? or less successful? small things can grow. mentor each other?
  • Yar: i like that idea of an excercise where we ask people "how can this person improve their anti-oppression work?"
• laura: great ideas, they'll be in notes. making plans next week

What's blocking us? =

• laura: This activity is the most important activity during these workshops. This is the activity where we are going toaddress the underlying contradictions at the Omni. These are the roots of the day to day problems we see. brainstorm your answers, then pair up, share answers, choose best. commonality & diversity. write on cards. just to give an analogy of what an underlying assumption. Say you are in an area where it rains a lot and you are in your garden and you need to water your plants. You are watering them with a hose and the water stops flowing. Will looking at the hose help you fix the problem? No. There are underlying issues that need to be addressed.
  • looking at the end of the hose only works in a cartoon. kid turned it off? kink? leak? braek in main? underlying issue.
  • underlying contradiction is not a lack of something. it's something that exists. or two things that the same time which conflict. values, ideas, entrenched power structures. patterns of functioning that worked before but now don't because times have changed.
  • Just like the example with the hose the problem is that there is no water coming out of teh hose but the underlying problem is something bigger. So the issue is not a lack of something.
  • no "lack of money". there's deeper problems leading to lack of money. keep asking "why"
  • DK: Just to clarify we are talking about underlying contradictions. it is not a problem but a contradiction like between a rock and a hard place. We are not talking about problems but underlying contradictions.
  • laura: it's cool. reveals dialectical relationships
• rachel: what could be going on or what's actually going on?
  • laura: ACTUALLY
• andrew: In the process of coming up with these cards i was thinking it might be helpful to consider essential processes to omni & satellite issues causing difficulties? Maybe also write essential topics/needs of Omni, then brainstorm what are the...
  • laura: we're referencing vision.
  • Yar: I know we're not supposed to write a lack of something but if we need more information. For example if the problem is ppl aren't bottom lining events and we don't know why how are we supposed to go deeper than that?
  • Laura: Try to get as far as you can. Facs and partners will help.
  • yar: so instead of "people don't do X" say "it's too hard to do X?"
  • laura: that's a little better
  • Laura: you don't have to come up with THE answer on your own. By pairing and putting things on the board we will come up with the underlying issues ourselves.

naming

• need groups to name underlying contradictions
• sadie: concentrate less on things .... already tried & done?
• matt: if we're not engaging in history making we're inviting revisionist history

impromptu amorphous group conversations lasting hours. impossible to record everything. notetakers are highly overwhelmed.

• the outreach/onboarding group blew up and everyone glommed onto it
• matt: "it's like throwing a dinner party and inviting people but not serving them food or having enough chairs for them or anything"
• yar: "serve yourself, let yourself in, invite yourself"
• What is blocking us from overcoming our vision?
• Understanding need for participation and limited
• Libbie: Broke down the various expressions of systems of oppression w/in the Omni into 2 categories but feel unsure about whether they're the best. First - it's hard for people to focus on anti-oppression work to focus on it because... (there are so many reasons). Second - community wide accountability - exclusion is perpetuated in different ways w/out clear channels to address how people perpetuate oppression. Ex. we can't require anyone to participate in an racial identity caucus, even if it would be beneficial.
• Laura: Could this relate to the problem of having no critical reflection/process.
• Yar: we might have a process but there's nothing to compel people to participate.
• Alex: This could be a cultural lack.
• Laura: There is no reflection on work that has been done/needs to be done.

Reflection

• laura: what stood out? worked?
• Gabby: Breaking up the intensity with fun activities
• Libbie: Stomps
• Alex: Likes that Laura put up serious topics under "sunshine"
• Rachel: We were wondering if actual problems would come up and they did!
• Laura: What was your favorite part of the day?
• Matt: When we were having a tough time keeping attention and misunderstanding and being grumpy and getting through difficult material. When Lauren intervened and read the vibe.
  • matt: it's rare when a vibe-reader actually vibe-reads
  • Snaps of agreement
• Joe: Sititng in a group of 4 with Niki and Josh and David and letting it all out.
  • "so many things wrong with this [mumbled] mother fucking place!"
• Ben: Consistent participation by so many people.
  • Snaps of agreement
• Laura: What stood out as challenging?
• Lauren: When we first put up everything we were struggling with it felt really sad and like how are we going to do this. But our community is so beautiful, we can do this! Having the opportunity to look at everything is part of that process.
• Andrew: Process of categorizing of the topics was difficult. I don't know if this is the best way to go about it. Every time we've done this in this way we've had a lot of conflict in the categorization. We disagree about the topics sometime, but the categorization takes up a lot of time. Might it be better to start off with general topics that the facilitator proposes and then brainstorm topics. Maybe thwe could have a better general idea of what all are thinking.
• yar: feel like i failed to onboard remote participants this week. should have done more outreach and held more of a place for it.
• yar: speaking from a place of stress rather than processing through it before speaking
• Joshua: Agrees with Andrew about a lack of focus. Has to step away from it occassionally. We have an interesting few things to talk about next week. Something that bums me out is that here we are talking about all of these things and as a new person, I am going to wonder how much we're looking at this group through the lens of these conflicts.
• Laura: What did people learn? Any lessons or insights?
• Joe: Vague learning experience distilling sub-cards into a major card - writing things down and wondering if something is missing or words have to change to ultimately create something that seems good or inclusive enough.
• Andrew: Everyone here is blowing my mind with how amazing they are. What gets me so excited is that this is a growing community with all of these people in it. I've always had a hard time sticking with a community and I think that some of the nervousness some of us share is that we're asking ourselves how this community is going to work and how can we keep the momentum going? In some ways I look at this place as an incredible opportunity.
• Joe: Had a spiritual experience today. Yar showed Joe if you type in any search in Wikipedia and go to the first link, and then the first link on that link, and so on - you will eventually get to philosophy. Joe says "philosophy means love, so everything leads back to love"
• Matt: There was so much fear and anxiety and trepidation and mud-slinging about this process specifically, esp. "airing dirty laundry". What I've learned is even if you're organizing a small meeting like this, you get a lot out of it. All of the headings on the categories are things that haven't been articulated and now we've articulated them.
• Laura: What do we want to carry into our next session?
• Josh: What's on the agenda for next time?
• Laura: We'll do one final consensus workshop that asks "what creative and substantial actions will deal with the underlying contradictions and move us toward our vision" Once we have those strategic directions, we'll turn them into a plan.
• Joe: Can we combine processes and use the delegates meeting next week to pass some proposals?
• Laura: That will be part of the plan - we'll decide what proposals we'll need to make and draft them.
• Yar: You can't just say it's the delegates meeting and make important decisions. key word is delegates, who need to go back to their collectives and discuss it. price we pay for being a large amorphous consensus based org.
• Laura: What do we want to communicate to our collectives and comrades in and around the Omni in the next week that will get people interested & excited in what we're doing.
• Matt: We'll solve all of our problems in one day.
• Joe: Can we make a digest of our topics on the discuss list to stimulate people to partake?
• Laura: Will work with Yar to make documentation clear and let people know where it is.
• Lauren: Can we make a commitment to share the information we've gathered here with our collectives and ask that others participate?
• Laura: Proposes that any meeting you're in in the next week at the omni, take a few minutes to say "I was at becoming omni and this is something we came up with" And share some part of this.
• Libbie: Can we put up posters around the building for those not on email lists?
• Laura: Can we put some of what we've come up with around the building? Sadie volunteers to do this tomorrow.
• Laura: Thanks everyone. Even though it was a struggle, when we get to those points the insight emerges.

ALL CLAP