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
Here, RantWoman reminds readers of EXTENSIVE corrections she recommended to what the Recording Clerk recorded.
http://rantwomanrsof.blogspot.com/2019/09/minutes-corrected.html
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.
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
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