Safety Team

Good idea, because I feel very threatened by cough cough and as someone relearning life ( including who I was, who I am, read, write, walk, talk, etc...) after catastrophic medical event. I do not think sneeze is compassionate enough.

Yes, great idea; can we get Matt on Loomio?

We had a security team for about a month in Sacramento until "hell broke loose". We negotiated with the police, and maintained medical care. I also did a peaceful resolution committee, and there was an active Nonviolent Communications Working Group.

"Safety" is a relative term. What one person thinks is no big deal can be a trigger for someone else. So, "principles" or standards of acceptable behavior are not particularly helpful in a group like this.

Each situation and individual and personal dynamic is different so having persons on call to help clear up confusions and enlighten understanding between us will be very helpful.

We might reach out to existing groups & individuals who have worked with De Escalation, Safety & Self Care in Occupy before.

We might invite folks to create little videos with ideas & tips for general Occupy community as well.. Be neat to hear folks like Matt, Casper & Brendan B speak on the subject.

All solid folks with grace & solid understanding of safety tactics.

@justin2 can you invite Casper and Brendan to this group? I think Tricia is inviting Matt.
Also, just for you—an image! Found this on a mural in Trenton, it was the name of my Editorial Services business when I was freelancing.

I can reach out to Brendan & someone can take point on Casper!

I've been asked by Tricia to consider joining the Safety Group. If this involves me staying available for long periods of time during the gathering, I'd say no. I plan to do one or more teach-ins, presentations, conversations, and would probably step up to facilitate/co-facilitate one of the GAs. I also like to stay in a place of overview.
OTOH, Lisa Fithian and I were the co-faciltators of a resolution of a highly charged matter involving a TS woman who was feeling harassed by a man (who was fixated on getting to know her) at the sanctuary on the Quaker grounds. While a bunch of men removed the man, forceably but no physical injury, whatsoever, at the park where the gathering was held, the next day the man kept approaching the woman. (His sidekick wanted justince for his friend, and another man wanted the matter brought to a GA, when only about 15 out of 450 people there even know about this.) My job was to keep this away from the main organizers who had many many things to manage. I talked with Lisa F and she and I came up with a structured conversation for the two of them (each of whom could bring a comrade).
I would be available to be pulled in "on call", as needed, to (a) help diffuse a charged situation, (b) create space for an injured or offended party to be able to be heard safely, (c) facilitate a conversation between conflicting parties, or (d) deal with something that involves racism.
FYI, when shouting matches broke out at Oakland GA's, so loud that even the entire facilitation team of 8 people shouting "mic check" in sync could not even be heard, there were other male faciliators who tried to control one or other of the triggerers, whereas I just let it run for a few minutes, sensing the group dynamic energy, looking for a moment to intervene. (In Oakland, there was so much pent-up rage that the most cathartic things to do was to let it run for 3 or 4 or 5 minutes, and it would start to settle just enough to be able to intervene.)

(sorry, the incident I described happened at the first NatGat in Philly)

@cal does your offer include online?
I think this discussion is specifically geared to having an online safety group for planners so that if there are conflicts like the past 10 days, they can "have online people who seek to “nip it in the bud” so the whole group doesn’t get caught up in drama and frees people psychologically and time wise to do this important work"