[Foundation-l] Concern for the safety of Wikimaniansin Alexandria

Thu Mar 6 16:49:55 UTC 2008

What does Mike Halterman being gay have anything to do with this? And  
Brian, you're overlooking the fact that Mike and Sue's investigation  
was spawned by complaints from here. Had we not talked about it, these  
steps would not have occurred. Who knows what steps may develop from  
our discussion? Telling us to shut up is rude, dismissive, and non- 
constructive.

-Dan
On Mar 6, 2008, at 11:31 AM, Brian McNeil wrote:

> I have a simple request here - and it applies to this topic but does  
> not add
> to the discussion on it.
>
> SHUT UP UNTIL MIKE AND SUE HAVE DONE THEIR INVESTIGATION/ANALYSIS!
>
> In the space of approximately 12 hours I ended up with over 170  
> messages in
> my foundation-l folder, mainly on the Alexandria issue. Those that I  
> read
> added little or nothing to the discussion and were rehashing of  
> already
> flogged-to-death aspects of the location decision. No wonder board  
> members
> don't want to be involved in this list; some people make it a full- 
> time
> occupation just to read it.
>
> Sue has been asked to look into this by the board, and I'd guess  
> that's why
> Mike is posting about it to keep people informed on an investigation  
> that
> has been partly delegated to him and is ongoing. I have every  
> confidence
> that Mike will liaise with the WM2008 organisers and get details on  
> what
> contact they've had with local law enforcement about security  
> measures. A
> little understanding about the fact that some security is "security  
> through
> obscurity" is required.
>
> I've tried to stay out of this debate-cum-debacle that the mailing  
> list has
> become; instead I'm trying to put together a team of Wikinewsies to  
> turn up,
> do coverage of the event, talks, and workshops. Hell, I even managed  
> to
> persuade Mike Halterman to put his name down and he makes no secret  
> of being
> gay.
>
>
> Brian McNeil
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: foundation-l-bounces at lists.wikimedia.org
> [mailto:foundation-l-bounces at lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Marc  
> Riddell
> Sent: 06 March 2008 17:16
> To: Wikimedia Foundation Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [Foundation-l] Concern for the safety of Wikimaniansin
> Alexandria
>
> on 3/6/08 10:58 AM, Mike Godwin at mgodwin at wikimedia.org wrote:
>
>>
>> Marc Riddell writes:
>>
>>> Thanks, Chad, for your clarification. I am frankly amazed by the
>>> decision to
>>> hold the event in Alexandria. Given what has been said about the
>>> cultural
>>> and social attitudes toward homosexuality; it would be like having a
>>> sponsored gathering in 1950s Birmingham, Alabama, and telling the
>>> African-Americans not to "flaunt their blackness". It is one of the
>>> most
>>> insensitive decisions I have heard an institution make in a long  
>>> time.
>>
>> I want to be clear about one point -- no one at the Foundation has
>> urged anyone not to "flaunt" anything at Wikimania.
>>
>> There is plenty of reason to believe that all sorts of expressions of
>> affection between men or between women are acceptable public behavior
>> in Alexandria (as in many other cultures).  As I've said, I'm
>> consulting with a number of sources to obtain good guidelines for all
>> of us to follow. I hope to have further useful information soon.
>>
>>
>> --Mike
>>
> Thank you for this, Mike. I still am, however, puzzled why the  
> decision was
> made to hold a major, sponsored event in a place where a sizable  
> portion of
> the guests are not welcome; and, in some cases, are treated with  
> hostility.
> Is this not condoning bigotry?
>
> Marc
>
>
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