[Imc-africa] imc kenya website- patronizing and authoritarian??

[Jay]

Hi Sphinx, Grace,

I'm sorry to see this heated exchange in the midst of so much 
positive, harmonious work we've all been doing.  Tempers seem to be 
flaring as pressure mounts.  I want to remind everyone, as Oloo said 
in a recent mail, that we're all in this together even though we may 
do things that really may anger each other (and sometimes very 
legitimately).

E-mail stinks as a way to have an argument, especially when time is 
short and people have pressing complaints with one another that 
involve hurt feelings.  I think we've been doing a tremendous job of 
working together through what has  been a pretty intense couple 
months, despite having to use e-mail for almost all of our communication.

So, what I'm saying is, I know this may sound new-agey, and hopefully 
not patronizing (the word of the day :-), but everyone who needs to 
take a breath, take a breath and let's keep doing great stuff.

Jay

At 1/10/2007, you wrote:
>Patronizing and authoritarian?? These are exactly the kinds of words I take
>serious offense with.
>
> > We would like to note in passing that some of the comments coming
> > from friends and comrades like Sphinx have bordered on the
> > patronizing and authoritarian. Our understanding of Indymedia concept
> > is a network of INDEPENDENT centres that work in harmony as well as
> > autonomy. I was certainly taken aback when Oloo shared with me a
> > message from Sphinx demanding imperiously why our site has not been
> > updated for ages. Please folks, let us treat each other as comrades
> > in the same fight working for the same broad goals rather than these
> > unneccessarily divisive  dichotomies.
>http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-africa/2007-January/0107-l8.html
>
>
>First of all I did NOT IMPERIOUSLY DEMAND WHY "YOUR" SITE HAS NOT BEEN UPDATED
>FOR AGES.
>I simply in asking for information on administrative access to the site
>pointed
>out the fact that there is NOT a single feature on the site (purpose for
>administrative access to indymedia websites) and there is NOT a single FEATURE
>till NOW.
>What you obviously do not know is that this is the ONLY website with an
>indymedia.org domain name without a feature.
>Another thing you do not know is that Blicero was NOT suppose to give out that
>domain name without indymedia-Kenya going through the entire new-imc process,
>which they have not done till today and which would have not created this
>situation of a site with that domain name and no feature.
>And yet you still do not know that I AM ONE OF THE FOUNDERS and supporters of
>indymedia Kenya. I Introduced John to indymedia while he was in a trip to
>Germany and supported and help with the application both in explaining the
>details and in helping the application in New-IMC. And in helping Kenya
>get two
>slots for the first Regional Indymedia Conference in Dakar. All of that was
>obviously not "Patronizing and authoritarian".
>
>I do not know what upset you about that email. If it was the point about there
>not being a feature on the indy-Kenya site or it was my complaining
>against the
>WSF organizers, which complain I went to a great length to put mildly my anger
>at the waste they where causing us to bear. We have people like Ange
>and others
>not being able to make it to the event because we could not raise enough money
>to buy their tickets, while the WSF folks are causing us to loss more than 750
>Euros to reschedule the tickets of the African delegates, because they (WSF)
>treated their(African delegates) clearance letter with relative
>lightheartedness.  That is not talking about the amount of personal money I
>spent in phone calls to them (WSF). This, when I know that for ALL the other
>social forums the groups working on visas did the work to make sure African
>delegates do not get this third class treatment they are getting from the
>Kenyan event, and even organizing funds for tickets for some delegates.
>And you
>do not want me to complain?? And you immediately go for the words "Patronizing
>and authoritarian"???.
>That, Grace is pretty SAD.
>Valentine
>
>
>Quoting Grace Waita <gracewaita at yahoo.co.in>:
>
> > Anna et al:
> >
> > Thanks for all those incredible offers of support. We would certainly
> > need any kind of solidarity. Some of the techies who pledged to
> > support the site fell by the way side and Oloo who used to do a lot
> > of uploading of info is up to his neck with WSF coordination stuff.
> >
> > Blicero really worked hard to help set up Indymedia Kenya two and a
> > half years ago- kudos to you comrade.
> >
> > We would like to note in passing that some of the comments coming
> > from friends and comrades like Sphinx have bordered on the
> > patronizing and authoritarian. Our understanding of Indymedia concept
> > is a network of INDEPENDENT centres that work in harmony as well as
> > autonomy. I was certainly taken aback when Oloo shared with me a
> > message from Sphinx demanding imperiously why our site has not been
> > updated for ages. Please folks, let us treat each other as comrades
> > in the same fight working for the same broad goals rather than these
> > unneccessarily divisive  dichotomies.
> >
> > Some good news: maybe we will be able to bring some people for the
> > suggested html workshops so that we can beef up our local presence on
> > the ground.
> >
> > On a different note: we were thrilled: John, Oloo and I to meet once
> > again with Fabian that I had first encountered in Dakar in March 2004
> > and Andy who were all meeting for the first time. As I write these
> > lines, John is at the airport picking someone else up. And he started
> > early collecting the Ugandan friends.
> >
> > Grace
>
>
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