For examples, not from Quakerdom

 

RantWoman, WHY are you posting the examples below?

--Because phenomena vexing RantWoman are not unique to Quakers?

--Because RantWoman's efforts to digest long meditations on Disability Justice need to go through the Excessively plain English to Quakerese filter a couple more times?

--Because RantWoman does not have enough to do thinking about accessible meetings, safe continuous travel networks for and between all modes?

--Because RantWoman does not have enough to talk about when it comes to accessible telehealth, accessible prescription labels and other themes in RantWoman's quest for world domination or at least adept self-advocacy, fuller experience of Divine presences in individual lives and society ?

Never mind. Out with it, it being resolutions which are like Minutes except they are cultivated under Roberts Rules of Order  Think Window into RantWoman's state of Mind. Think, are there similar situations RantWoman might be trying to make points about. Are the points RantWoman is making here relevant to other situations? 

RantWoman recently sat in on a longboard meeting and exercise in Resolutions for a national body RantWoman is part of. RantWoman sat in because she helped craft one of the resolutions being discussed and because, being a good meeting nerd, she decided just to listen to all of them. It didn't hurt that RantWoman's resolution was toward the bottom of the agenda.

One resolution is about making sure Paralympians from the US have the same reasonable accommodations overseas as they would in the US. Board members spent considerable time discussing whether even to mention the Americans with Disabilities Act. If RantWoman had been allowed to unmute or to post in the chat, RantWoman would have blurted out something like "the athlete needs the same accommodations whether the ADA applies or not and one would HOPE that people negotiating about international events could start with that standard. Alas, RantWoman could neither unmute nor post in the chat SO RantWoman will be making this point in multiple social media and hoping it sticks when further negotiations occur.

The resolution where RantWoman was allowed to talk is part of polite but very firm efforts to get the largest accessibility conference in the country to get its act together about making conference materials such as presentation slide decks available in formats more accessible to blind people than the suggestion" just take a photo of the screen." "Polite and firm" also means do things on a timeline that can make a difference for presenters of the next conference.

RantWoman's Speak Truth to Power reflex kicked in. RantWoman decided to let go of a clause that would have made the resolution a template that could be used for other conferences with inaccessible materials. Oh well. Blind people tunnel vision reigns for now.

The First Vice President wanted to delete a clause asking the internal organization to live up to the same standards as are being asked of the outside organization. Madam first Vice President wanted to delete this clause because she said the internal organization is already doing it. Okay, delete the clause and the board will approve. 

Fine, but now RantWoman must go all Trust but Verify on the situation. RantWoman did in fact find slide decks for 4 presentations--out of many sessions on a multiday conference--in the website in a format RantWoman could mostly digest. By mostly RantWoman means next level accessibility would also include text descritpions of of images because it matters for instance if the pictures on a Vision Zero traffic safety presentation include only white people or reflect the full diversity of our communities. 

Okay. Leave it at that. Offer both exhortations for the internal organization to comply more fully next year and for efforts to promote voluntary compliance among presenters.

Leave it at that. And Come back next year. And try again. And again. And again either until both organizations get it right or  until the need of accessibility is somehow abolished. Did RantWoman mention Try again? Are readers already exhausted. Too bad. Try again. Because solving LIFE is so much more positive than just memorials.