Minutes: CORRECTED?

One of the themes of ongoing conversations has been RantWoman’s capacity to vex Recording Clerks.

RantWoman has some verbal habits from life as an interpreter that are hard to turn off, particularly about her own words.  RantWoman has taken to asking herself whether exactly everything exercising her absolutely must be fussed about. The answer does come back no.

Alert readers attending to the Business Meeting tag on this blog will also not that RantWoman has expressed concerns about behaviors by the current Recording Clerk. RantWoman also recalls asking Friends to hold the current Recording Clerk in the Light when her offer to serve was gratefully accepted.

 RantWoman has been a recording clerk for several Quaker bodies. RantWoman tends to be a “show your work” recording clerk. That and honest concern to gather data are one reason RantWoman has been clear to make the best of MANY concerning aspects of the current minutes flow.

RantWoman also thinks she has been TRYING to talk about disability for quite awhile. RantWoman is unclear whether she is just not communicating clearly or whether the concepts are unfamiliar to those listening or whether there might be some other points of process sloppiness. One of the things RantWoman hopes an Ad-hoc Committee on Disability will do is review minutes and blog posts and then propose guidance going forward.

In contrast to the narrative that Friends have tried many things and nothing has worked, RantWoman GREATLY appreciates one now former Recording Clerk who simply asked RantWoman clarifying questions that helped RantWoman in two ways: RantWoman was able thanks to the questions to focus on what needed to be fussed about for a particular month’s minutes. RantWoman also was able to see that more than one person was struggling about concepts RantWoman sort of took for granted. RantWoman wants to embrace room for improvement, not dump the full weight of her exasperation on any one person.

RantWoman here offers first her strongly recommended revisions and then the version presented for approval in Business Meeting.  

RantWoman has highlighted in yellow places where she has serious issues with what was recorded. Text [in square brackets] represents RantWoman editorializing in various ways, NOT comments made in Meeting for Business.

The version presented in Business Meeting, the second version here, badly misstates a number of facts and puts words into RantWoman’s mouth. RantWoman has such srong objections that she asked the Clerk whether approval of that section of the minutes could be held over so that RantWoman can be present to discuss her concerns. RantWoman was flatly told no! To say the least, this flat-out refusal does not evoke confidence about thoughtful discernment.

2019-08-01:         STRONGLY RECOMMENDED REVISIONS Statements by RantWoman

RantWoman said the following to the Meeting: 

*  she gave thanks for this opportunity to speak

*  she referred us to the three handouts made available ahead of time (“Called Meeting Statement 1,” “Called Meeting Disability Principles,” and “Comments for Called Meeting: Technology. Email. Blogs.”)  She said that these were also posted on her blog, and invited readers to post comments there.  RanWoman noted that she moderates comments and invited Friends to specify whether they wanted their comments posted or not.

*  she observed that she has been a topic for discussion for the past six months, and by contrast was only able to address this Meeting for ten minutes

* she invited Friends to embrace the opportunity to live a single standard of truth by learning about issues likely to figure in many people’s work lives. [RantWoman is uncertain exactly what words such as ADA or Reasonable Accommodations made it out of her mouth, but has checked that others remember something related.]

*  she thanked a member of Care and Counsel who texted with her the previous night. Both Friends were texting at 1 am. The exchange helped her to focus on community, integrity, and equality.

* she suggested that she was offering “lots of simple, learnable steps that people can take that would make a difference”

* she expressed hope for the future, in our ability to weave our community together

*  she noted that others say they are tired but said that “I do not get a break from this [blindness],”.  She goes to many meetings where some people may be a little afraid of her, of what she will say as an advocate. This advocacy draws energy from grounding in Quaker worship

*  she noted that the PA system is not available today. Nor was it available and easily findable for a recent event organized by Peace and Social Concerns, where she could not hear well.  She is also “cross” regarding an open house regarding the proposed car / bus /bicycle / pedestrian design for  the new Sound Transit Light Rail station opening at 43^rd and Brooklyn; someone she has worked with for a long time inquired as to her welfare, and she almost burst into tears

*  she apologized to one Friend “for communicating badly, and for misunderstanding,” stating that she had “lost it,” and appreciates that Friend’s presence and contribution to the community.  She also apologized to another Friend for losing her temper with him, though noting she may need to talk at a later date about why she did so

* she noted there is a lot of strength and energy in our Meeting

*  [In contrast to the narrative that Friends have tried many things and nothing has worked,] she told us of a conversation about a friend’s mother who has macular degeneration, and who shows “major annoying blind person behavior”:  talking loudly and without ceasing, and standing closer than the norm.  RantWomanherself is annoyed when others behave this way, but she explained that she cannot change her behavior, though sometimes she asks for help and cues from others.  Her goal is “not to drive people bonkers,” and issued an invitation to anyone interested to come to two upcoming events involving blind people, where those in attendance may ask questions of the blind

*  regarding the issue of being recognized by the clerk, RantWoman said that her Care and Accountability Committee did not engage with this.  RantWoman is certain that the world needs to hear what she has to say, but also that she needs to monitor herself

RantWoman outlined the following actions or events which, in her view, have not worked:

*  several years ago before a retreat organized for pastoral care committees RantWoman made many suggestions for the planning about accessibility issues but almost all of RantWoman’s suggestions were ignored.

*  In a conversation WITH Nominating Committee,[RantWoman at one point was clear she needed to duck service on Nominating Committee and has never served] she was told she got off topic, and she asked to be told when she was doing so.  Three out of five of subsequent comments identified as off-topic were about disability.  She did a month of blog posts on disability issues.  A committee clerk asked not to be on her list (of e-mail recipients?)

*  Oversight did a study on accessibility needs but a then-member of Oversight has since acknowledged that the study was incomplete

At this point, when her time was nearly up, RantWoman stated the need to extend her talk beyond the agreed-upon ten minutes.  The Clerk stated that she was given permission in advance only for this amount of time, and that one of the problematic behaviors being addressed is RantWoman’s ability to respect boundaries.  A Friend asked that RantWoman have more time, because in her opinion this was warranted.  The Clerk agreed to an additional five minutes, for a total of 15.  RantWoman then continued her presentation:

* a committee IS TO BE formed to work on disability issues.  RantWoman was clear that such a committee was needed, but she was not sure what it was going to propose

*  she has had two care committees, one of which was a big help with her housing.  Over time, she learned different strategies for managing documents. [RantWoman has NO idea what made it out of her mouth here; interested readers are invited to ask RantWoman for clarification.]

*  her C&A committee had to be told repeatedly to include her when scheduling its meetings.  The committee also had to be told repeatedly not to suggest that RantWoman go sit in places such as downstairs, or in Quaker House which are physically inaccessible to people including her own sister who she might wish to have sit with her. Three members of the committee have lived experience with disabilities, but nevertheless the committee “couldn’t really engage about that”:  they reiterated that the committee was not to deal with disability issues, but RantWoman herself cannot separate out disability from the rest of her life

*  she finds e-mail to be of huge value, since she cannot read her own writing, and the search bar is very useful in finding topics

RantWomanthen called for questions.  There was one:  does she agree to abide by the community guidelines recently offered by W&M?  In response, RantWoman said that those guidelines were drafted without her presence or agreement; she acknowledged she has been hard on clerks, but she does not know what to do if we cannot see that bringing up hard topics is not the same as disrespecting the clerk; that she has tried in business meeting to raise the topic of Facing Homelessness’ accesssibility issues and our role as landlords; and that she does not know what to do with the guidelines: she is willing to live with them, but since they were drafted without her being in the room, she does not know if they were meant for her.

At this point, the allocated time was up.  RantWoman said that our worship space is for all of us, said she would hold us in the Light from outside of the room, and made her exit.

How RantWoman’s comments were recorded

2019-08-02:         Statements by RantWoman

RantWoman said the following to the Meeting: 

*  she gave thanks for this opportunity to speak

*  she referred us to the three handouts made available ahead of time (“Called Meeting Statement 1,” “Called Meeting Disability Principles,” and “Comments for Called Meeting: Technology. Email. Blogs.”)  She said that these were also posted on her blog, and invited readers to post comments there

*  she observed that she has been a topic for discussion for the past six months, and by contrast was only able to address this Meeting for ten minutes

*  she thanked a member of Care and Counsel who texted with her the previous night, finding that this helped her to focus on community and integrity

* she suggested that she was offering “lots of simple, learnable steps that people can take that would make a difference”

* she expressed hope for the future, in our ability to weave our community together

*  she said that “I do not get a break from this [blindness],” even though others may get tired of her and be afraid of her.  She goes to many meetings where she draws adverse reactions, she believes due to her efforts to be an advocate, which are grounded in Quaker worship

*  she is “cross” that Peace and Social Concerns organized an event, but she herself could not hear well at it.  She is also “cross” regarding an open house regarding pedestrian access for Sound Transit; someone there inquired as to her welfare, and she burst into tears

*  she apologized to one Friend “for communicating badly, and for misunderstanding,” stating that she had “lost it,” and thanked that Friend for  help.  She also apologized to another Friend  for losing her temper with him, though noting she may need to talk at a later date about why she did so

* she noted there is a lot of strength and energy in our Meeting

*  she told us about a friend’s mother who has macular degeneration, and who shows “major annoying blind person behavior”:  talking loudly and without ceasing, and standing closer than the norm.  RantWoman herself is annoyed when others behave this way, but she explained that she cannot change her behavior, though sometimes she asks for help and cues from others.  Her goal is “not to drive people bonkers,” and issued an invitation to anyone interested to come to two upcoming events involving blind people, where those in attendance may ask questions of the blind

*  regarding the issue of being recognized by the clerk, RantWoman said that her Care and Accountability Committee did not engage with this.  RantWoman is certain that the world needs to hear what she has to say, but also that she needs to monitor herself

RantWoman outlined the following actions or events which, in her view, have not worked:

*  at a retreat sponsored by Worship and Ministry, RantWoman made suggestions regarding access for disabled people.  She believes that few of her suggestions were taken into account

*  when she was on Nominating Committee, she was told she got off topic, and she asked to be told when she was doing so.  Three out of five of her comments were about disability.  She did a month of blog posts on disability issues.  A Friend asked not to be on her list (of e-mail recipients?)

*  Oversight did a study on access

At this point, when her time was nearly up, RantWoman stated the need to extend her talk beyond the agreed-upon ten minutes.  The Clerk stated that she was given permission in advance only for this amount of time, and that one of the problematic behaviors being addressed is RantWoman’s ability to respect boundaries.  A Friend asked that RantWoman have more time, because in her opinion this was warranted.  The Clerk agreed to an additional five minutes, for a total of 15.  RantWoman then continued her presentation:

* a committee was formed to work on disability issues.  RantWomanwas clear that such a committee was needed, but she was not sure what it was going to propose

*  she has had two care committees, one of which was a big help with her housing.  Over time, she learned different strategies for managing documents

*  her C&A committee had to be told repeatedly to include her when scheduling its meetings.  RantWoman refused to meet in a venue (such as downstairs, or in Quaker House) which would not be accessible to anyone she might choose to invite.  Three members of the committee have lived experience with disabilities, but nevertheless the committee “couldn’t really engage about that”:  they reiterated that the committee was not to deal with disability issues, but RantWoman herself cannot separate out disability from the rest of her life

*  she finds e-mail to be of huge value, since shc cannot read her own writing, and the search bar is very useful in finding topics

RantWoman then called for questions.  There was one:  does she agree to abide by the community guidelines recently offered by W&M?  In response, Dorene said that those guidelines were drafted without her presence or agreement; she acknowledged she has been hard on clerks, but she does not know what to do if we cannot see that bringing up hard topics is not the same as disrespecting the clerk; that she has tried in business meeting to raise the topic of Facing Homelessness’ accesssibility issues and our role as landlords; and that she does not know what to do with the guidelines: she is willing to live with them, but since they were drafted without her being in the room, she does not know if they were meant for her.

At this point, the allocated time was up.  RantWoman said that our worship space is for all of us, said she would hold us in the Light from outside of the room, and made her exit.