https://wiki.occupyboston.org/wiki/index.php?title=GA_Minutes_Tue_July_17_2012&feed=atom&action=historyGA Minutes Tue July 17 2012 - Revision history2024-03-28T09:35:04ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.41.0https://wiki.occupyboston.org/wiki/index.php?title=GA_Minutes_Tue_July_17_2012&diff=15279&oldid=prevSrevilak: inital revision2012-07-18T22:50:47Z<p>inital revision</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>= Minutes for 17 July 2012 =<br />
== Details ==<br />
Location: Boston Common, Soldiers and Sailors Monument Hill <br/><br />
Time: 7:00 -- 9:25pm <br/><br />
Note taker: Steve<br />
<br />
<br />
== Summary ==<br />
<br />
Approximately 16 people came to tonight's general assembly at Soliders<br />
and Sailors Monument Hill. The main goal was to continue last week's<br />
discussion about GA and Occupy Boston's decision making process.<br />
<br />
We reached consensus on one decision: reducing the number of GAs to<br />
4x/month:<br />
<br />
* The first and third Tuesday of each month (7-9pm)<br />
* The second and fourth Sunday of each month, at 4pm (in Copley Square, right before SAA)<br />
<br />
== Working Group and Individual Announcements ==<br />
<br />
Bill. I'm starting a cops working group. Bill recounts his radio<br />
interview from Sunday night. Please contact Bil if you're interested<br />
in getting involved with the cops working group.<br />
<br />
Steve. E5 is moving. They asked if someone could coordinate OB<br />
volunteers who want to help E5 move. I volunteered to coordinate. If<br />
you want to help E5 move, please send me an email,<br />
obnoxious@occupyboston.org.<br />
<br />
Allie. Slutwalk will probably be coming to Boston again. We had<br />
meeting last week to discuss it. The next incarnation will have a<br />
different name, but the same militant, confrontational stance. If<br />
you'd like to get involved, contact allie@occupyboston.org or Nicole<br />
Sullivan. We haven't chosen a date for the event, but it's happening<br />
at some point in the future.<br />
<br />
Alex. E5 move -- I hope some of you would participate, because you<br />
have friends there. We might have to tear down a wall. E5 is trying<br />
to organize a bowling tournament. Groups are supposed to raise $100<br />
to compete. Radio is participating, and we're trying to raise our<br />
$100. Also, radio needs content. If you'd like to be on the air,<br />
even as a one time thing, get in touch with me.<br />
<br />
== Discussion ==<br />
<br />
We continued last week's discussion about General Assembly.<br />
<br />
Alex: Last week, we came here to discuss OB and the general assembly.<br />
Does anyone want to talk about progress they've made in the last week?<br />
<br />
Carolyn: Last week, I proposed that we have this discussion. If you<br />
were here last week, you know we didn't make a decision, beyond<br />
deciding to meet again today. In facilitation, we talked about "what<br />
concrete steps could we take for people going forward". We need<br />
concrete ideas. If we don't have concrete ideas, then nothing<br />
happens. How about getting a few ideas in play and discussing them?<br />
<br />
Justin: I think we should have GA only when the Boston Occupier comes<br />
out (1x/month).<br />
<br />
Carolyn: I was thinking about combining GA with Sunday's Strategic<br />
Action Assembly (SAA). Aria proposed this. One dedicated hour for<br />
proposals and discussion; what isn't accomplished would be postponed.<br />
Then common agenda (announcements and report-backs), and then regular<br />
SAA. Disadvantage: only accommodates Sundays. Advantage: fewer<br />
meetings.<br />
<br />
Allie: I Second Justin; having GA 1/x month, but not necessarily on<br />
the day the Occupier comes out. Perhaps with agenda planning<br />
meetings, and publishing the agenda in advance. Actions are the big<br />
thing that Occupy does, but actions don't come from GA. GA has been<br />
more about allocating funding. If GA has a purpose and goals, then<br />
people will have incentive to come. What we do should encompass what<br />
SAA is trying to do.<br />
<br />
Matt: When we had a camp, GA had a very different meaning that it does<br />
now. It'd be nice if we had a good way to get together and<br />
communicate. Big public meetings don't need to be strictly on<br />
proposals. They can be about actions too.<br />
<br />
Bil: The value of OB is doing actions. GA is here to support doing<br />
actions. I want a GA that gets us together on a regular basis. I<br />
come to GA, so when people knock the GA, I feel like they're knocking<br />
me. I'm doing my best to do what's effective. I want to focus on<br />
getting actions done.<br />
<br />
Question: What are some of the proposal that have been passed<br />
recently?<br />
<br />
Alex: I'd like to remind everyone that we are trying to get proposals<br />
for concrete actions. (Alex reiterates the ideas mentioned so far.)<br />
<br />
Carolyn: The biggest recent proposals were S17: a solidarity proposal<br />
and a funding proposal. The most recently-passed proposal was funding<br />
for street medics. There are many large funding proposals pending.<br />
<br />
Patty: It'd be good to be really clear about what GA's role is.<br />
Sounds like people want them to be more collaborative, and less<br />
administrative. If you got things working right, working groups could<br />
energize GA and vice versa.<br />
<br />
Matt: I think we need some kind of public meeting, or this movement<br />
will completely dissipate.<br />
<br />
Alex: We're starting to move into a discussion. Can we consider this<br />
one small group, and continue the discussion? (People agree to<br />
continue the discussion as one small group.)<br />
<br />
Carolyn: I want to preserve a body that can make decisions<br />
(endorsements, spending money, etc). We've expanded GA to be about<br />
having discussions, and we've had some really interesting ones. I'd<br />
like to see us evaluate actions. We've only evaluated one action:<br />
Camp Charlie. We can't do better if we don't evaluate what we've<br />
done. I think it's all about what people do. If people will only do<br />
1 GA/month, than so be it. I'd like to find out what people are<br />
willing to do.<br />
<br />
Matt: I think everything Carolyn said was on point. Having side<br />
conversations is important -- they bring people together.<br />
<br />
Allie: If we're gathering, who's gathering? I really like what<br />
Carolyn said. What particularly are we trying to achieve? I feel<br />
like we have a way forward, and we just need to hash out details.<br />
<br />
Steve: The group has shrunk over the last few months. If we can bring<br />
new people through the door, how do we get them involved, and keep<br />
them involved?<br />
<br />
Matt: A lot of us have ways of networking with other people. I like<br />
that Occupy can ride on top of that.<br />
<br />
Allie: I'd like to respond to Steve. I brought by sister to GA once.<br />
She was enamored -- the way we talk, the hand signals, the way we<br />
communicate. She's implemented this in her slam poetry group. You<br />
want to give people something radically different, but not so<br />
different that they don't know how to interact. We're here to make<br />
positive change in the world.<br />
<br />
Alex: I really enjoyed that you said that. Jane brought her sister<br />
last week. It was interesting to talk to her sister afterwards. She<br />
seemed to have enjoyed it. The train wreck aspect was kind of cool to<br />
her. She felt that a lot had happened to get there. She really<br />
wanted to be more well-informed about our desire for change. Maybe<br />
we've lost a vision of what the original desire was.<br />
<br />
Bil: I think it's productive to point out the 99% thing. Making<br />
people aware of the unfairness in the world is really important. I<br />
want to make the biggest possible change to the Boston Police<br />
Department. I think that will be huge. Keep going, keep going, keep<br />
working. We are doing the right things, let's just keep going.<br />
<br />
Rich: I agree with Bil; what we've accomplished is pretty significant.<br />
I'm looking at lots of things I feel marginally attached to, which are<br />
different that what attracted me originally. I see whether or not<br />
people are willing to work on something that isn't ideal, and the<br />
answer so far seems to be "no". I think there's a need for long-term<br />
continuity that people can coalesce around. I'm not sure if 1x/month<br />
would work for me, but I'd be willing to try it. I see the current GA<br />
as a placeholder, in case there's something that regenerates<br />
enthusiasm. I'm near the end of my tether, but I'm not quite there<br />
yet.<br />
<br />
B: I agree with Carolyn regarding the purpose of GA. GA can be good<br />
place to drum up interest through actions, etc. I want to relate GA<br />
more to actions; what are our interests and critiques of the system,<br />
and how can we address them? I'd be okay with monthly GAs, or GAs<br />
that were called as needed. Full agendas could get more people to<br />
come.<br />
<br />
Allie: Agreed, but I'm not sure what process we'd use for calling GA<br />
(as needed). Maybe similar to the way we called June 1st planning<br />
meeting. Right now, GA is a difficult space for me; it wears me out.<br />
I don't think GA is dying, more like it's ossified. GA should be<br />
flexible, and maybe with less dogmatic procedure. Processes should<br />
serve the purpose that we want to achieve. I don't think people in GA<br />
had any malice -- this issues have more to do with group dynamics.<br />
<br />
?: I have nothing against GA. I don't think the drop off is anyone's<br />
fault. We don't have the directions we did when we started. What is<br />
OB's direction, and what are we trying to accomplish? What's going on<br />
now that we can work towards?<br />
<br />
?: Sounds like people are thinking 1x/month as opposed to 1--2 times a<br />
week. If you have 1x/month and someone can't make it, then they're<br />
out for a whole month. That disrupts continuity. More frequent<br />
meetings provide continuity. I think you need to be able to count on<br />
a schedule, so that people can plan around it. I'd like to see GA<br />
every couple of weeks. If we have problems, we need to figure out how<br />
to solve them. Less frequent GAs won't solve them. Some people<br />
stopped coming to GA because they got frustrated; things (in society)<br />
didn't change right away. But this really is a long-haul effort, and<br />
we won't see changes right away.<br />
<br />
?: Discussion about 1x/month or every few weeks -- how are fewer or<br />
more GAs going to make a difference, if we don't push the movement<br />
forward? I see Occupy like our own little army to deal with these<br />
issues, like the fare hike. We should talk about the issues we can<br />
work on right now.<br />
<br />
Bil: What good are we? We are working on transit, doing fare strikes,<br />
tax dodgers, taxation. We are constantly marching with different<br />
groups, and going to foreclosure actions. We are doing really good<br />
things, and some of them are really hard. But this is all worthwhile.<br />
<br />
Justin: Cutting back GAs won't solve any problem. I'm concerned about<br />
dissipating numbers. Know some people who stopped coming because we<br />
stopped talking about strategies and tactics, and started talking more<br />
about internal things. I'd like to go back to GAs that talked about<br />
tactical things.<br />
<br />
Alex: I feel like the frequency of GAs is part of this discussion. I<br />
know people who are pressed for time. You can lose continuity by<br />
having too few, or too many meetings. People have to be able to get<br />
to your meetings. Meeting in person is still an effective way to work<br />
together. The need for instant gratification dominates our culture.<br />
Getting rid of that need is a long process. Pace yourself, and help<br />
your friends pace themselves. I don't know where this conversation<br />
ends.<br />
<br />
Matt: Meeting more infrequently won't solve this issue, but people<br />
might have more energy. We've been overdoing internal refection on<br />
process. We don't reflect on how we treat each other and how well our<br />
process works. We need that reflection if we want to improve.<br />
<br />
Justin: I'd suggest meeting once every two weeks, and changing Tuesday<br />
GA to SAA. 7pm on Tuesday would be SAA instead of GA. And have GA<br />
every other Saturday. Keep SAA on Sunday.<br />
<br />
Patty: I wondered about combining 1x/month GAs and smaller, more<br />
frequent, meetings to determine the GA agenda.<br />
<br />
Rich: I worry about small agenda planning groups. I fear that such a<br />
group would become the central planning committee.<br />
<br />
Alex: We used to go to church every 2nd and 4th Sunday. Maybe we<br />
could have a schedule like that, but with alternate days: 2nd Sunday<br />
and 4th Tuesday. That gives people two days of the week. I'm a big<br />
fan of two weeks. Two weeks gives people time to adjust, reflect, and<br />
think about what they've done.<br />
<br />
Bil: If we're talking about agendas, who bottom lines them? How will<br />
the agenda planning get done? I really like meeting 1x/week. I think<br />
we'll be more effective like that. I want to be part of a group, and<br />
spend time talking about actions, politics, and such.<br />
<br />
?: I can't come to Sunday events, so I've never been to one. I don't<br />
mind alternating days for meetings.<br />
<br />
Matt: I like the idea of alternating Tuesdays and Sundays. I would<br />
appreciate having stuff well-documented. I'd also like to have a way<br />
for people to contribute announcements, etc, even if they're not here<br />
in person.<br />
<br />
?: I like the idea of having GA once during the week and once during<br />
the weekend. Bring a friend, bring someone you know. Some people are<br />
scared to get involved, but want to know what's going on.<br />
<br />
Rich: I agree; scheduling is not the answer, content is the answer.<br />
We can control scheduling, but not content. I'm willing to commit, if<br />
there's something to do, and a sense of community. We talk about<br />
wanting GA to be less proposal-based, less money-based, but we haven't<br />
been able to do that. I was concerned about central planning<br />
committee, but maybe that would be like facilitation. I'd advocate<br />
for putting proposals on-line. That would help.<br />
<br />
Alex: There's a need to talk about content. I'd like to see if<br />
there's a consensus about the time frequency: weekly, two weeks, or<br />
once per month.<br />
<br />
Patty: What about having GA do different things on different days?<br />
Dedicate one day to action planning, and another day to a different<br />
topic.<br />
<br />
Bil: I'd like to take a straw poll on frequency of GAs.<br />
<br />
We take a straw poll:<br />
<br />
* Weekly? Many in support.<br />
* 2x/month? Not quite as many in support.<br />
* 1x/month? Two people in support.<br />
<br />
Alex: Frequency also determines what kind of conversations you have.<br />
The things I'd want to talk about during a weekly meeting are very<br />
different than the things I'd want to talk about during a monthly<br />
meeting.<br />
<br />
Matt: More infrequent meetings might be longer and/or more crammed<br />
full.<br />
<br />
Alex: I'd like to talk about content.<br />
<br />
?: I'd like to get more of a sense of what the community is doing.<br />
I'd have a tough time with long meetings. GA is an important<br />
organizing tool, but we seem to talk about it every meeting. There<br />
has to be a balance of talk about process and actions. If new people<br />
come to a GA, they should get something out of it.<br />
<br />
?: I like different days, in case people can't make it for one of<br />
those days.<br />
<br />
?: Sounds like we really want to talk about substance.<br />
<br />
Matt: There is an election season coming up. That's a golden<br />
opportunity to make a big stink, and organize alternatives. There<br />
could be a lot of substance there.<br />
<br />
Rich: I've noticed that people will be able to fill however long the<br />
meeting is. We can have the same debate in 1.5 hours or 4 hours.<br />
<br />
Steve: Occupy Arlington holds two-hour GAs 2x/month, and its been<br />
working out pretty well.<br />
<br />
Matt: Who bottom lines SAA?<br />
<br />
Bil: No one in particular. Enough people show up to SAA that things<br />
get done.<br />
<br />
Matt defines the term "bottom-lining" and "donkey-konging".<br />
<br />
Rich: I'm still interested in merging SAA and GA. If we're meeting<br />
infrequently, we probably have a better chance of getting people on<br />
Sunday vs Saturday.<br />
<br />
Alex: How do people like the idea of alternating days? (A little over<br />
half indicate support.) We don't have as many decisions to make these<br />
days. I don't know very well what's going on, now that media's<br />
dissolved. I'd really like a time and space for people to talk about<br />
what they're doing, and what's going on in the community. And review<br />
things that have just happened, and where/how we can go forward.<br />
<br />
Rich: I like that idea. I'd suggest alternating Sunday and Tuesday,<br />
and making the SAA a little bit longer. And maybe make the Tuesday GA<br />
shorter.<br />
<br />
Matt: I like a lot of what you've said. I'm a pretty serious<br />
photographer, and I miss the part where you all put your photos up,<br />
show them to each other, and talk about them. I'd like to apply that<br />
as an organizer.<br />
<br />
Bil: Earlier on, we had report backs at GA, but people requested we<br />
not do that.<br />
<br />
Rich: There's been a custom on that. Actions get talked about in<br />
working groups, but not GA. At one point, I suggested having GAs<br />
24/7. Might we have an agreement on Sunday/Tuesday alternating thing?<br />
<br />
Bil: I have a concern. Trying to merge GA on top of SAA might not be<br />
effective. Too long a meeting.<br />
<br />
Rich: SAA used to be two cycles of small groups; now it's one cycle.<br />
We'd go back to a two-cycle SAA, where the first cycle was GA.<br />
<br />
?: I think we won't really know how it works until we try it.<br />
<br />
Justin: If we set a shorter time limit for Sunday, then it might work.<br />
<br />
Alex: Maybe if GA started 1 hour before SAA, leaked into SAA<br />
announcement time, then switched to SAA. I like GA before SAA,<br />
because it gives a finite amount of time to GA.<br />
<br />
Bil: Point of information. On Sundays, 12--5pm is whiffleball/day<br />
camp. SAA is 5--7pm.<br />
<br />
Rich: SAA started off as 5--9pm. Whiffleball is a completely<br />
different thing. If GA + SAA was 5--8:30, that could be workable.<br />
<br />
Matt: Maybe incorporate a short break into the process?<br />
<br />
Alex: I don't have a dramatic fear of whiffle ball stopping at 4pm. A<br />
lot of ball players don't participate in SAA.<br />
<br />
Matt: SAA might draw on people who don't come to GAs. Merging the two<br />
might break the false dichotomy between GA and SAA.<br />
<br />
Alex: Going forward, I'm trying to use this for a proposal.<br />
<br />
Bil: I don't want to talk about content. I want to ''do'' content.<br />
Let's make a decision about when we want GA, and we will bring the<br />
content to it.<br />
<br />
Rich: I think if we have this discussion again, I'd have a lottery on<br />
how many people would commit suicide. I think we have an actual<br />
proposal, and I think we should try to get consensus on it.<br />
<br />
The proposal is:<br />
<br />
* GA before SAA on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month. GA starts at 4pm.<br />
* GA on 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month (leaving SAA untouched). 2 rs (maybe 2.5 if we need it). 7pm until 9:00 or 9:30.<br />
* Fifth Sunday (or Tuesday) is a day off. Or a day for different kinds of activities. <br />
<br />
There's concern about keeping track of the different days. To resolve<br />
this, we'll put the dates on the calendar.<br />
<br />
?: GA is the decision making body. Whoever shows up makes the<br />
decisions.<br />
<br />
Alex: Does anyone have something to be dealt with before going<br />
forward? I like when we can get a lot of people involved. We had a<br />
terrible meeting last night, and a really great discussion tonight.<br />
<br />
Matt: The way I've seen consensus used tonight is as good as I've<br />
ever seen it it used. <br />
<br />
Alex reiterates the proposal.<br />
<br />
We have consensus. '''Proposal Passes.'''<br />
<br />
GA ends at approximately 9:25 pm.<br />
<br />
<br />
[[Category:GA Minutes]]</div>Srevilak