On Tue, Feb 7, 2017 at 1:49 PM, Leigh Thelmadatter osamadre@hotmail.com wrote:
The people who are loudest in their demands for consensus do not represent the Wikimedia movement.
The voices loudest for the WMF doing something against the Trump administration are not representative of the Wikimedia movement either... they have been WMF employees and those closest to them. This is maybe why most non-profits hire EDs from outside the organization then from within. As you show, Gerard, there has been no effort to find out what the movement thinks, and that may have been those behind the statement and amicus brief just assumed everybody would agree with them. The world is not San Francisco.
Hi,
I'm sorry but I cannot let that being said.
You are judging a lot of people quickly and harshly. The Wikimedia movement employees all around the globe ARE wikimedians. They are part of the movement as much as you and everyone in that thread is.
I am sorry, but your statement is definitly not ok. Being a volunteer doesn't provide us with a bonus in engagement to our movement. They are comited and engaged people, we have to respect that.
Second, you also pass judgement regarding our ED discreetly, again judging without knowing. But Katherine is not where she is by chance but because it is preceded by a long comitment to our values. Shall I remind you that back in 2007 in another org, UNICEF, she was working on mediawiki. Looping back to the first part actually, she was a wikimedian long before being an employee, and that goes for a lot of the staff, not just her.
Finally, no the world is not San Francisco. And funnily enoug, in the board there's only one person from San Francisco and two from the US (the second being Jimmy and he no longer lives in the US). So you are definitly right, the world is not San Francisco. It's much wider. And being able for the movement's staff and volunteers to freely travel and exchange is key to our success. Hence our standing regarding that specific Executive Order as it prevents us, as an organization, and as a movement, to fullfill our mission.
I am sorry if my email sounds harsh, but please do keep in mind that you're passing a judgement on people that work countless hours with a huge comitment to the movement they belong to.
Christophe