Re: Request for consensus to add text in the BLM statement

I was afraid of that possibility, but since the word violence would 
include violence against marginalized communities as well as violence 
against those who are not marginalized, I think it's a brilliant 
solution. What would have worried me would be if the addition had been 
written like "we support BLM, but not violence". This avoids that trap 
nicely, IMO.

-Annette

On 8/20/20 2:54 PM, Marisa DeMeglio wrote:
> -1
>
> I am afraid of our statement having a subtext that equates endorsing BLM with endorsing violence. Because otherwise why would we feel the need to add that line? This was never supposed to be a statement about all the things we support and don’t support. It’s specifically a statement of support for BLM.
>
> I would however be happy with adding this:
> "We unequivocally stand against racism, injustice, and violence against marginalized communities.”
>
> Marisa
>
>> On Aug 20, 2020, at 10:47, Ralph Swick <swick@w3.org> wrote:
>>
>> IDCG Participants,
>>
>> As you know, the W3C Process allows for formal objections to a group decision.  A formal objection is a request to the W3C Director to consider when evaluating the related decision.
>>
>> During the W3C Member review of the proposed W3C Statement on Black Lives Matter a formal objection was raised.  I have been delegated to try to find a consensus resolution to this formal objection on behalf
>> of the W3C Director.
>>
>> I share with you part of the objector's statement and following that a change (addition) to the text of the BLM statement. The objector has confirmed that this would resolve the objection to their satisfaction.
>>
>> Quoting from the objector's statement:
>>
>> "I believe it is important to clearly state what we _do_ and _do not_
>> support as W3C organization. We support true equality, we support any
>> lawful action that aims to fight injustice, but we do not condone
>> violence or destruction of property. In numerous cases, the peaceful
>> protests for right social cause were hijacked by radical extremists,
>> and their violent actions [that clearly deviate from the established
>> social norms and the rule of law] only diminish the importance of
>> "Black Lives Matter" message. I do not believe that being vocal about
>> the rightful cause while being silent about radical violations of
>> social norms sends the right message - we all know too well that
>> silence is approval. We do not tolerate any behaviors that violate
>> our own social norms, we openly speak against any violations of the
>> W3C Code of Conduct - I do not see why our stance on the larger
>> social issue should be any different.
>>
>> "Our stated position should clearly communicate the fact that while
>> we do support all marginalized and underrepresented communities, and
>> we support their fight for true equality, we do not condone any
>> violence or unlawful actions!"
>>
>> The objector states they will withdraw their Formal Objection to the proposed statement if the following sentence is incorporated into paragraph 6:
>>
>>   "As an organization, W3C believes that Black Lives Matter.
>>   /+We unequivocally stand against racism, injustice, and violence.+/
>>   We also stand in support of our Indigenous colleagues, colleagues
>>   of color, LGBTQI+ colleagues, and colleagues with disabilities.
>>
>> I solicit your view on this change, preferably no later than 27 August.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Ralph Swick, W3C
>>
>
-- 
Annette Greiner (she)
NERSC Data and Analytics Services
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Received on Thursday, 20 August 2020 22:34:15 UTC