[IMC-Seattle] Re: Do we need our own rented space now?

Mon Jul 19 19:28:58 PDT 2004

Rick is being deliberately deceptive on a significant point:

We already have rented space now.  It is called $130 a month storage.  
Ironically, Rick is the only one who has a key.  The rest of us have no 
access to anything in the unit, including video and audio equipment as 
well as a couple computers fully loaded with editing software.

During the last General Meeting, a few of us (including Rick) 
volunteered to spend July looking to see if we could find a working 
space for the excessive rate of (drum-roll, please) $130 or less.   The 
idea was to make the items in storage more available to membership and 
to be able to train new media volunteers.   The meeting voted on this 
proposal . . . and it passed.  (All this information was written down 
in the meeting minutes.) During the past few weeks we have found some 
promising leads.

The storage/space working group is scheduled to report its findings in 
6 days -- at a very public general meeting.   Yet, Rick characterizes 
this process as though it was some sort of deep, dark conspiracy:

>> A large discussion has been taking place within a couple of working
>> groups.  It seems wise, at this point, to bring the question to the 
>> larger
>> group.

In the past year, Seattle Indymedia was brought to its knees by people 
who cared more about their personal agenda than the organization.  I'm 
sure that Rick's message gave flashbacks to many .... a sort of "here 
we go again"  sensation.  Nothing can be further from the truth.  Come 
to Saturday's meeting and see what leads we have found.  Or, better 
yet, if you have collaborative/office space renting for $130 or less,  
let us know!

Laury Kenton

> From: Jill Freidberg <freij at speakeasy.net>
> Date: July 19, 2004 12:55:07 PM PDT
> To: imc-seattle at lists.indymedia.org
> Subject: Re: [IMC-Seattle] Do we need our own rented space now?
>
>
>
>
> Hi all
>
> Since I have been unable to make any meetings (and will not be able to 
> make any until some time in August) I will weigh in here..
>
> I think the more infrastructure that the Seattle IMC has (meaning 
> space, gear, etc), the more energy is diverted towards keeping that 
> infrastructure functional (in other words, finding the money to keep 
> the space open, finidng people to staff the space and make it useful). 
> That is energy, money, time diverted AWAY from media-making, media 
> activism, etc.
>
> I have seen some pretty darn functional IMCs who have no space and no 
> hope of having space anytime soon (Mexico City as the most recent 
> example I have encountered personally)- and they aren't just makin 
> media either. they have found a way to even offer regular workshops in 
> different aspects of media-making, etc. without having their own 
> space.
>
>   There is important media-related work happening in Seattle with or 
> without a space - pepperspray keeps doing good work, reclaim the media 
> keeps doing good work, and there are other less visible examples as 
> well.
>
> I know a lot of folks feel the IMC's mission is really to FACILITATE 
> media making and media activism. I don't disagree with that, but I 
> didn't see the previous space doing that, so before rushing into a 
> costly, burdensome rental, the IMC should be REALLY REALLY clear on 
> the intended uses of the space and how those intended uses will 
> actually be implemented, by whom, with what funds, etc. If it just 
> sounds more convenient or comfortable to have a meeting space, then I 
> don't think that is really justification. Lots of important activist 
> work has been done over the years without physical space.
>
> my $.02
>
> jill
>
> At 12:42 PM -0700 7/19/04, rickh at riseup.net wrote:
>> Folks,
>>
>> A large discussion has been taking place within a couple of working
>> groups.  It seems wise, at this point, to bring the question to the 
>> larger
>> group.
>>
>> Do we need our own rented space at this time?  Some feel we do, others
>> feel we do not.  We need input from YOU.  It is YOUR IMC, so please, 
>> weigh
>> in on this large decision.
>>
>> Here is my opinion, for what it is worth.  While I would love to see 
>> us
>> have our own space today, I do not believe we are ready for that, nor 
>> is
>> it absolutely essential.
>>
>> We still have no income.  We are living on our savings, which is the
>> problem we had before.  No income, but the bills keep coming.
>>
>> And do we even need a space to make media?  Most of the IMC's in North
>> America do not have their own space - so why must we have our own?  
>> And
>> let's face it, little media work was being done when we did have the 
>> space
>> on 3rd Ave.  Everyone's energies were directed at keeping the space 
>> going.
>>  That was not media work.
>>
>> I feel, that until we have a sustainable plan, with steady income, it 
>> is
>> not wise to rent a working space.  Again, not at all to say never, 
>> just
>> not right now.  Have we not learned from the painful lessons of the 
>> past?
>>
>> We do have other options.  We need to examine all of them.
>>
>> This, obviously, is a decision best left to the larger group.  Please
>> respond and let us know what you think.
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>> Rick Harrison
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> imc-seattle mailing list
>> imc-seattle at lists.indymedia.org
>> http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/imc-seattle
>
>
>
>
> From: imc-seattle-request at lists.indymedia.org
> Subject: confirm 881240445817de3a13d695407edb0ae554a1ff90
>
>
> If you reply to this message, keeping the Subject: header intact,
> Mailman will discard the held message.  Do this if the message is
> spam.  If you reply to this message and include an Approved: header
> with the list password in it, the message will be approved for posting
> to the list.  The Approved: header can also appear in the first line
> of the body of the reply.
>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: text/enriched
Size: 6052 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-seattle/attachments/20040719/a4965b16/attachment.bin