GA Summary – 3 September 2013

2 Responses to “GA Summary – 3 September 2013”

1. Joe Cugini on September 6th, 2013 at 3:35 am #

   Having just read the minutes, and as one of the people attending the meeting, I feel I must take issue with some aspects of how the discussion was represented. As a person who was against disbursing all of the OB funds, I readily admit that I was in a small minority of those present. But of the 16 present, I know there were at various times at least 2, and maybe 3 others, who thought that going down to No Money, No OB account was a drastic and unneeded step. Dana’s proposal, carried over from the last GA, was to disburse almost all OB money, leaving $500 as a minimum to meet possibly a year’s bare operating expenses. That proposal was discussed then, and all were aware that it was a dramatic step toward changing the basic role of OB and GA. But at that meetin, there was also a proposal to essentially disband the GA, and “wind up” OB; and Dana’s proposal, which would not have required any final decision to end GA, was preferred.
   The reasons for making the disbursements as percentages of the OB balance, rather than flat amounts, was never clearly discussed at that last GA, but it became clear at some point during this one. It meant that if all the % added up to 100— OB could be completely De-funded, a step which— in my understanding—was never approved by the previous GA. Nor do I consider this to be a wise or needed step. It has now been done, there is nothing in the OB Treasury— and— there is no account to contribute money to , should some supporter wish to do so. If it has not already been done, the WePay button will be removed from our Website– No more Mutual Aid of any sort, no money in an account to pay any bill, rent a room, offer a subsidy to someone taking at trip to NYC for S17-, no money for legal help for someone arrested at a Demo, to pay for photocopying or rent a PA for demo— I was amazed to see that a step so drastic, with so little discussion of all of these consequences.
   The explanation that I heard at the meeting was that no one wanted to be left “holding the Bag’, that is, with their name on the OB account . and therefore legally liable– as some folks had been doing for at least a yr and half. That was a very unfair arrangement, and those who put themselves on the spot for so long deserve relief and our thanks. But there were other ways to accomplish that objective; OB ( after a discussion and endorsement at a GA a yr ago) has been working on a Fiscal Sponorship deal with UFE, under which they would have taken on those duties. That deal is now trashed, again without any fully aware and informed discussion and decision. Keeping that deal would only have required leaving some small some– $500 may have been enough– in the OB account. Why was not this option, leaving more choices open for OB, not taken? Some at the meeting expressed their personal relief at having all the OB $ gone, and that it felt like “A fresh start”. AS I saw it, an OB with a token amount like $500 in the treasury, that was still then capable of accepting future donations, would have been a very new and fresh start for OB— But this step seems a lot more like a step to the Morgue than an OB re-birth.
   And so, in the purest sense that this was a step that I saw as likely to be fatal for whatever is left of OB, this seemed like a step that would justify a block– But– as I understand the process— I did NOT, as the minutes state, “Block” anything. When there was a call for full consensus in support of the decision was made, I (non)”Voted” No–and when I was asked the the Facilitator if there was any amendment or argument that would change my mind– because time was pressing, and I did not want to stand in the way of resolution— told the facilitator to go on with the vote, because I was not persuadable. The vote then went on, I abstained from voting up or down, and the measure passed.
   From the perspective of 2 days later, I am still convinced that this was a bad decision, not likely to result in the re-birth of anything. At the end of the meeting, I was reminded by one attendee that when OB began, there was nothing, no account, no “organization,” no position statements, no working groups— only a group of good people who had not yet come together. Yes, I said, and when they came together, they began holding discussions, making plans, buying magic markers, getting together food for a Food Tent, accepting contributions so there could be Mutual Aid offered— and were these all not Steps Forward? And now we are— Back Where We Started? And we should celebrate this? I can see why the POWERS That BE– which are not any Less Organized than they were in summer 2011– might be celebrating, or at least breathing easier. And I can hear them chuckling– “This is what Democracy Looks Like! A Train Wreck! They who talked about harmony, pure democracy, justice, and Turning the World Right Again—in the end, could not even stand each other’s company at a protest march or meeting. WHAT a Relief!”
   So I can see why They are sleeping tight and snug. Me, since Tuesday, I’m tossing and turning, asking myself–“What the Hell happened Here?”
   Perhaps there will be another Spontaneous Upsurge, a renewal of energy. Maybe there will be some kind of PostOB Non-GA , where money is never an issue, where OB vets and Hordes of New Recruits will flock in, ready to take Action. But, if they do, will they then start– swapping contact info, arranging meeting places, holding discussions and making plans, trying to roust up some refreshments and cobble together some placards….. And , will we try to Re-Invent the Revolutionary Organizing Wheel, for the Umpteenth time in the history of this tired old world?
   The Idea of it does not make me encouraged. It makes me Tired.

   Still, In Solidarity; For the Light That Shines in the Darkness, and the Darkness Does not Overcome it—

   Joe Cugini, ex (?) of OB
2. lol on September 8th, 2013 at 11:51 am #

   lol