[volunteers] Feb 2008 meeting

[Heather Stern]

> ...dignity and respect...

Both traits have been severely lacking among us across the past year.
When I find the best I can do for dignity is work in hiding and pray
that things will turn out right...  and the best I can do for respect
is stand up as emcee and say all the usual things at the microphone as
if SVLUG hasn't changed in ten years... which, fundamentally, it hasn't...

...what does this say about any of us who call ourselves volunteers?  What
actually gives you, me, any of us, some joy here?   

Picking fights among any of us is a waste of time.  I'm sorry I bothered to
peek in on the list;  I thought someone was trying to do something *helpful*
and *good*.  All I see is cries for blood and thunder, and you're not the
first nor likely to be the last to call for it, but I have *lots* better
things than to watch you people argue battle tactics on how to slam on each
other, instead of taking specific action to do Linuxy things that the 60-odd
people in chairs can enjoy participating in.

In my opinion, if what you do subtracts from the joy those people get
each meeting, you are ultimately taking an active rather than a passive
role in ruining what the good group has always stood for.  I direct that
comment to every single one of us standing here - if you stand for ire
and hatred - if I do - if any of us makes sure there's battle and starts
handing out weapons and drawing up armor - the end is a wasteland and
the grapes and roses and the sand don't care how many died - nobody wins.

The way out of war is to set the weapons, the bottle, the snide comments
here there and round about, the backroom games that only 12 go to and
nobody wants to hear, especially ones that make sure they leave specific
people out.   All this needs to be tossed aside, dump them all in the
trash.  You can get round the campfire and sing songs while burning these
hostile effects as well as photos of each of us at our very worst moments
in effigy for all I care.  I don't expact y'all to sing Kum Ba Ya and hold
hands and group marry each other.  I just want y'all to stop trying to be
each other's mommy and daddy.  Nor mine, nor to make the same element come
out in me.  It gives me the same squicky feeling up my spine when some
parent won't shush their squalling child at a previously nice dinner.
There isn't any one of us here who need handholding across a street -
we need to act like adults - not politicians and not harley's angels
and not victims in dark alleys pummeling our way out - just adults,
recognizing that each of us has some traits that suck (me included)
and others which are good and worth encouraging.

*After* wars people build, and so should we.

Everyone who makes sure to keep the fighting ongoing loses about as badly as
the so-called "winning" over at the war in Iraq.  The sand doesn't care and
fresh bread is just as hard to get no matter who's who - most everyone just
wants to go home.  

If SVLUG itself is more important than all these scorns and personal wounds
we're all carrying around, if it matters enough for us to all get back to 
work, *it* will win.    The only way for that to work is for SVLUG to be 
*home* to good Linuxy stuff.

I'll see everyone at February's meeting.  If anyone cares to get ahold of me
seperately, there's my phone (every sig block I use) and there's SVLUG's irc
channel on irc.freenode.net (/join #svlug).  

  . | .    Heather Stern          |     (408) 374-7623 land
--->*<---  star at starshine.org   - * -   (408) 761-4912 cell
  ' | `    KG6ZYC                 |    
    Life *is* a bed of roses.  *ouch!* that one has thorns...