[Computerbank] An open letter to CAI (no, its nice, really! ;) )

[Patricia Fraser]

Hi Romana & all,

> Personal gripes and politics are running away with CAI...

Romana, I hear what you say about extending a hand, and it's a lovely 
thought; thank you. I don't know whether you have felt, over the last year or 
so, any of the exclusion that some of us are raising as a real issue.

So: where people do have grievances, how are we going to address them? It 
seems to me that it isn't any good telling people who feel injured that they 
should put their feelings aside; that's to tell them that we don't think 
their feelings of injury matter, or to belittle them. That isn't what we're 
about, is it? Are we too superior to apologise to each other? to try to 
change the way things work so that all of us feel welcome, and valued, no 
matter how seemingly small the gifts we bring? I hope we aren't...

What can we do to redress the imbalances? Whatever is decided between 
Computerbank people now is going to carry forward; if we don't see this of 
grievance, injury and the need for reconciliation, welcoming, listening and 
balance as a real issue, then it *might* all go away for now - but it will 
probably come back to bite...

Cheers!

-- 
Trish Fraser, Sunbury, Australia
trish at thefrasers.org
www.computerbank.org.au