Called Meeting CORRECTIONS and Other Recording Clerk Moments

Excerpts from 9th Month minutes about RantWoman's words at the Called Meeting:

2019-09-01:         Approval of minutes, Eighth Month called meeting

The clerk explained that this morning, RantWoman had approached her, stating that the minutes did not accurately reflect what she herself had said during the called meeting, and urging that the portion of the minutes that recorded RantWoman’s statements not be approved until she could be present at a business meeting.  The clerk refused her, saying that this issue arose “virtually every time” RantWoman's comments are minuted.  However, the clerk and another Friend took notes while RantWoman was speaking, and they will compare those notes against what the recording clerk offered.  If the minutes show a need for a correction, the minutes will be brought back to business meeting.


Here, RantWoman reminds readers of EXTENSIVE corrections she recommended to what the Recording Clerk recorded.

http://rantwomanrsof.blogspot.com/2019/09/minutes-corrected.html

The revisions presented in 10th Month. RantWoman appreciates that nearly all of her recommendations were adopted. The only one missed. RantWoman said NEARLY burst into tears.

2019-08-01:         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 appreciates this 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 

*  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 

*  in a conversation with 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 accessibility but a then-member of Oversight has acknowledged that it 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 meeting agreed to an additional five minutes, for a total of 15.  RantWoman then continued her presentation: 

* a committee is in the process of being 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 

*  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, particularly her sister, 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 Dorene 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, 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. 

Further notes on minutes issues:

RantWoman here compares only before and after versions of her own words. in the interest of determining whetherthe Recording Clerk treats RantWoman's words differently than the words of others, it would be useful to compare before and after version of the rest of the called meeting minutes. RantWoman notes that but is not going to do that tonight.

RantWoman also had a phone conversation with another Friend who is very fussy about minutes. RantWoman asked how the corrections he offers are received. He says he gets his corrections in early, has conversations, and most of his recommendations are received.

RantWoman is trying to find the post and track the time period where RantWoman emailed the current recording clerk with precise suggested wording for a "RantWoman spoke at length" but there is not a dang thing about what RantWoman said issue. The recording clerk emailed RantWoman back that she preferred to receive corrections in business meeting. However IN BUSINESS MEETING she said she did not remember what RantWoman said but she had consulted with other Friends who thought what RantWoman said was unimportant. Make up your mind. Either you do corrections in Business meeting or you don't. Either you treate RantWoman's words and concerns equally with others or you do not.

On the up side, RantWoman remembers one recent minutes that specifically said "Because it was important to RantWoman"

RantWoman notes other recent blog items relating both to matters of disability and to recognition of the challenges of working with unfamiliar concepts

https://rantwomanrsof.blogspot.com/2019/08/stable-agreed-minutes.html

https://rantwomanrsof.blogspot.com/2019/08/this-week-in-blindness-tourism_14.html