Sam Whited @sam@social.coop
Just started thinking about cooperatives I'd like to start or have already tried to start IRL and it made me very sad. I've tried…
Hackerspace
Truck share
Outdoor gear share
Land share
With 0 success. I think the problem with community run organizations is that you have to already have a community, or have some way of reaching a large audience in your local area. How do you actually find people?
Sasha @sashakovich@kitty.town
@sam I've been a part of my local hackerspace on and off for several years, and the biggest struggle has always been trying to find the people in the organization who were willing to listen and do something about it when they heard that something was fucked. And in a hackerspace, things were fucked *constantly*.
But I've watched a lot of these kinds of orgs fail because there was a central group who believed in Their Vision of the Core Value and got defensive when they heard contrary.
@sam But we've also showed up at a lot of events, worked with schools groups, hosted things, participated in contests no one gave a shit about but it got our name out, encouraged people to host classes, donated time and effort, helped people launch their businesses, made sure that there was always someone willing to have the door open on Friday night for open tours, and sometimes taken those people for a stern talking to about the fact that it's not great to call every grown ass woman "girls."
misogny, transphobia
@sam It's meant getting in the face of people who say shitty things about trans folk, it's meant telling people that no one cares how they feel about furries, they're hosting a cosplay night on Tuesdays and you can ask them to stop awoo-ing because that is loud and distracting to people using power tools, but you can't ask them to stop talking about things that make you feel uncomfortable. It means kicking out the guy who's a great welding teacher but keeps cornering women.
@sam It's meant making the space available for groups that have absolutely no interest in any of the tools we have around, they just need a space to hold meetings, and theoretical learning is as good a reason to get together as practical learning.
... also several bomb-ass accountants who have volunteered thousands of hours of work to make sure the budget makes sense, jesus christ we would be wrecked without them.
@sashakovich Good point; just because you find people, doesn't make it a successful project and doesn't mean they'll be the right people. Gotta be willing to listen, talk to people, and maybe even let them go even if it means losing their technical ability or volunteer labor. I just can't conceive of how anyone finds enough people to run a good volunteer organization.
Literally @Literally@social.coop
@sam @sashakovich not to be old fashioned, but a kiwanis or rotary club (or equivalent) often do a lot of the stuff people wish existed in their community. They're democratically managed community social and service groups - they just happen to be (usually) full of retirees, which makes them less sexy or daring, but are (or were) an important part of civic life for very good reasons.
Nov 22, 2021, 03:37 · · Sengi · 1 · 0 · 1
@sam @sashakovich the fb only thing is a real issue though and it's getting worse. Find a decent community group, want to get involved ... they don't have a website, just a facebook page, and all announcements are made via instagram.
social.coop