[Foundation-l] Concern for the safety of Wikimedians at Wikimania in Alex...

[Andrew Whitworth]

On Tue, Mar 4, 2008 at 1:56 PM, Gerard Meijssen
<gerard.meijssen at gmail.com> wrote:
>  The notion of me talking about "special interests" is something I dismiss.

You said, and I'm quoting:

"My point is not that we should not consider South Africa for next year, my
point is that all places have their issues and once you start to exclude
countries for what is problematic to some there are few places where we can
have our Wikimania. In pandering to special interests we exclude many people
and countries and that is both a travesty and a tragedy given what we aim to
do."

My interpretation of this is that taking into account things that are
"problematic to some" involves "pandering to special interests".
Correct me if my interpretation of this is wrong, and maybe consider
correcting yourself if you misspoke.

>  I wonder about the ease in which you come to the conclusion that the
>  organisers do not consider the safety for the people who come to Wikimania.
>  I find this rather disappointing and you are likely to be wrong.

It is with no great ease. I've been patiently watching this thread,
and many like it, for several days now. Many concerns have been
brought up by many people, and all of them have been quickly
dismissed. Florence said that she would bring the issue up at the next
board meeting, but a plan to try and address it is not the same as
actually addressing the issue. My primary concern is for the safety my
fellow Wikimedians, and I want to make damn certain that people are
taking this issue seriously. A "we can never be completely safe, so
why bother trying" attitude, and vague warnings about staying with the
group hardly constitute proper consideration. If you find this concern
of mine to be "disappointing", then I have nothing further to say to
you about it.

--Andrew Whitworth