Community Sustainability Meeting

3/8/2010: Community Meeting
Facilitator: Clovis
Stack Keeper: Beth Cotton
Scribing: Gyesika Safety
Present [Couldn’t catch them all, looked to be about 120 people]: Clovis,
Mark Black, Dirtwitch, Gwen, Adam Rice, Sarah Moore, Ghost, Rodney, Unkie
Neal, Nobody, Beth Cotton, Monk, Reese, Gallows, Patrick Boyd, Systah Rabbit,
Space Pope, Fairy, Henry, Nobody, Doryan, Rev. Mark, Thomas Monclova,
Flame, Face, Aaron Bolding, Pookie Bear (Casey), Shannon, Amy Rowe, Robin,
Chainsaw, Shanta, HoneyBear, Major Buzzkill, Bean, Michael 7.0, June, Parsec,
Lance Hunter, Tiara, Maestro, Bonobo, Treg, Whatamelon, Psyche, Derek,
Gyesika
Call to order: 8:13 p.m.

Principles:
Beth: This meeting is coming up here because a lot of things have
changed, and people remember the mission statement of the LLC to be
“put on an event.” That is no longer the case and I am going to state the
new mission statement and principles.
The new mission statement is:
AAR's purpose is to inspire artistic endeavor, foster social interaction,
nurture innate leadership, and create a thriving community. To attain these
ends, the organization resolves:
• To promote and foster the ephemeral, static, and industrial arts by
creating an environment for the creation of art, a community that
values and engages in the creative design process, and providing
the opportunity by which people can explore, learn and exchange
the industrial skills with which to create art.
• To develop, educate and support a community of servant leaders by
catalyzing group and interpersonal cooperation, providing volunteer
leadership training, and encouraging techniques in conflict
resolution.
• To establish participant-based community that promotes social
responsibility within the participant-created community and civic
responsibility to society at large, by developing sustainable
processes that empower others to spread these principles.
The new principles are:
• Self Expression Our events foster an environment of creative selfexpression,
where participants feel supported to honestly express
their inner selves, through artistic creation, performance, and in their
social interactions.
• Accountability Our events foster an environment of personal
accountability, where we hold ourselves responsible for our own
actions, and take personal responsibility for meeting our own needs,
for the event itself, and for the event's impact on the world at large.
• Cooperation Our events foster an environment of cooperation,
where participants work together to resolve potential conflicts
between one another, to help mediate conflicts between others, and
to create art, performance, and social spaces on a larger scale than
one person could alone.
The mission statement and principles are on the website, please go and
read them. That is what we think we’re doing, we want to know what the
community thinks we’re doing.
Unkie Neal: I’m one of the originals and that doesn’t make us special, it
just means we just showed up and did dumb stuff. One of the most
disheartening things is seeing people get hurt. Look what we can do, when
people get sick. We can move mountains. But what are you doing, if you
get screwed up and expect the community to take care of you? I get it, this
is the time to set your hair on fire and run around naked. A story about a
participant who was messing with people via a fake cigarette and apple
juice in 40, who was visibly pregnant and someone was so upset they
were staying in their tent. The original participant went and spoke to that
person and explained the situation. That is looking out for others. Now is
the time where we stop picking up people’s pieces and people expecting
that we will. We’ve already lost too much. Now is the time to set your hair
fire and run around naked but have a fire extinguisher at the end. You’ll
probably get a standing ovation at the end of it. Thank you for caring.
Kat: The principles are franking beautiful.
Beth: Nobody is our principles distiller.
Problems:
Nobody: What could end Flipside? What would that look like? There could
be an event called Flipside that looks like Willie Nelson’s 4th Birthday Party
but that’s not Flipside. [N. gets a cell phone call.] You could have an event
that isn’t called Flipside but looks and feels like it. Ending it would make it
damn near impossible to hold a burn event in this area again. Things that
will do it:
• Illegal Activities: There are certain I.A.s that will reflect on the
entire community. DUI/Assaults/etc …
• Ambulance Calls: some counties consider us as a drain on their
resources. Too many calls and they can’t respond to the people who
live in the county. Or one two few calls. Someone needs to go out,
we need to get them out.
• Pushing Boundaries: There’s a difference between pushing
boundaries and crossing boundaries. Crossing boundaries is not
hearing “No” and that makes it not fun.
• Sound Complaints From Outside The Event: If our neighbors can
hear us and they can’t sleep because of us, they will complain. They
can also contact other counties to warn them about us.
• Inclusivity: We welcome the stranger. We tend to welcome people
who are not strangers but still cause problems at the event. We
might want to rethink that.
• Us vs. Them: Us is all of us. Them are the people outside of the
event and we need to mindful of them. “Them” is not Rangers,
another camp, etc … that will chip away at our community.
Monk: This is an important discussion, I’ve only been coming to Flipside
for 3 years and I feel pretty passionate about this. This is a great event; I
love what do here in Central Texas. It’s been fun to do art for this
community. It is also about being responsible. We create this event and we
still create this event. We need to take responsibility for the event. The
ways we perform and interact and participate are really important. I do this
because I love this event and what we do and the people. If you don’t like
what’s going on, speak up and help out. Make it what you want it to be.
Rev. Mark: The issues are not in this room, because you showed up. You
are the people who can carry on the message. The problem isn’t here in
this room, and those people who are issues won’t show up. That is my
concern, how do we get that message out to those people. There are
many ways to do that. Theme camps are neighborhoods. Get to know your
neighbor theme camps – proverbially borrowing a cup of sugar. Theme
camps’ communicating is like individuals communicating. Theme camps
need to be responsible for their members. Edjumicator educates the
newbies but I think that the role Edjumicator needs to be expanded remind
the community. Not that I need more to do. Be responsible for your own
experience. That includes being responsible when you fuck up. However,
I’m preaching to choir. Halleluyah! We need to start policing ourselves. We
need to get that message out. This is a do-ocracy, not a democracy. If you
see someone doing something stupid, step in. Don’t stand back and
watch, going “Daaaaayum!”, talk to them.
Reese: This year I’m the Inter-Zone coordinator. Mark and I have
discussed this and he took all of my great points. The point about talking to
people is important. I have been going to FS for 7 years and only heard
about the Warehouse last January. We need to talk each other, talk to the
people next to us. Why are they coming? How long have they been
coming? What does it mean to them? We need to make sure that we start
talking to the people we meet out there. If they are not reading the Flame
or the Survival Guide, they need to know. There are people out there that
don’t know and we need to talk to them.
Unkie Neal: In deference to wonderful Nobody: Us vs. Them. There is the
collective idea of burners vs. squares. Have we had enough of
bipartisanship? We need to come together -- extremes are bad. We need
to be able to take this out of our events. It’s the resources of this
community that make this event. Take it home and take it with you. Yes,
the people who won’t open their minds are the Them. And even then, a
stranger is a friend you haven’t met.
Systah Rabbit: I’m hearing that there is frustration with self-reliance and
responsibility. I think that people in this community have experienced
feeling like outcasts and that means we are reticent to call people on their
shit, so as to not make them feel like an outcast. When we see people
doing major transgressions we need to hold them accountable without
making them feel like an outcast.
Aaron: Mark said a lot of stuff I wanted to say. I’m really impressed at the
size of the choir and heartened by the response on lists. The only thing
Mark didn’t hit was that we grew really fast. When I came in, there were
1,500 people at the event, now it’s 2,500. Who are those thousand other
people? If you bring someone in, shepherd your newbie. Help people
understand. The event is nice, but this is an ongoing thing. The people
who do this don’t do this to go to party in May. If you bring people in,
explain the principles and why those make it a great party. When I bring
people in, I check in with them everyday. Who did you meet? What did you
do? Tell the larger community: train your newbs.
Casey: These things can affect the event but it affects things outside the
event also. The Warehouse is a good example of that. We’ve gotten
complaints here. The neighbors are unhappy with us. When you meet
people at the Warehouse, let them know about LNT, don’t do
unreasonable things at all hours of the night. Keep in mind that there is a
neighborhood across the street.
Shannon: I am one of the thousand of new people; this is my first burn
and Flipside. Very impressed with everyone in the building. Mark’s
comments about edjumication are relevant. No one who invited me is
present at this meeting. I came to find out myself and get more information.
It makes me wonder what those people think of their burn. I’m glad to have
taken the step to come and found out more. The community is a living
breathing entity and it takes everyone to make it what it is.
Amy: What are we about? How many people have read the Flame? [Lots
of hands] I have heard that people don’t read but I don’t agree with that.
The flame is a living, breathing message. This is my first Flipside, being on
the inside, I’ve worked Gate the past 4 years. It’s incumbent on us to give
people the tools. The Flame is a forum we could use. If you sell your ticket,
communicate with the person about understanding what they are getting
into. Put information in the envelope, if you mail it off.
Robin: I firmly believe in teaching, harmony, peace and love. Some people
don’t get it though. It’s like a child who keeps pushing a boundary and no
one has ever taught them otherwise. If someone is risking the whole gig,
there should be rules. There should be deal-breakers that we identify. If
you cross that line and we teach you and you come back and fuck us
again, then that’s time to remove the growth. Let’s identify those things,
and kick people out.
HoneyBear: Would like to propose, that there are certain things we should
not put up with: thievery is one of them. The LLC should figure out how to
boot those people. Sound, the neighbors can shut us down. That noise,
sorry music, can get us put out.
Major Buzzkill: Thought I might be the devil’s advocate but I might be the
devil. I’m an Old timer and I named the city “Pyropolis”. My involvement
has taught me a lot about community. Community is a figment of the
imagination, a social construct. Talk to the person next to you about who is
in the community and you will get totally different answers. I only say this
to get people thinking. To offer any panacea to the “there is no community,
lonely individuals are chasing after a dream” concept; as far as social
constructs go, it’s a helpful one. The way to make it all work is talk to other
people and discuss what your idea of this social construct is.
Bean: When I first got into the community I thought it was a utopian
dream. I’m not a big fan of taking care of everyone. I think we have a trial
by fire: boundaries and boundary crossings. There are people who have
their boundaries crossed in major ways: sexual assault, being dosed,
being hit. You as an individual who has been targeted, the only resource
you have is us and the police and you may not want to go to the police.
Please come to us, your community. We’ve seen people not get the
support they needed. Now that we have seen this more than once, we are
here to help you. If something happens to you or your friends, tell
someone. The only way to keep them from coming back is to let us know.
We are here for you.
Michael 7.0: Once upon a time I did some volunteering in the community. I
really hate, hate, hate Flipside but what about the other 360 days. What to
do about those? We are growing up and getting older and getting
responsibilities, what are we doing then? When we are driving towards
Flipside, we are ready to build communities. However, there are people
who are in trouble, right now. People at Flipside will embrace them.
Outside of the event, what can shut us down, as community, is not taking
care of each other. And, I’m not going to mince words, if you or someone
you know are selling drugs at the Warehouse, shut that shit down.
Parsec: Going to talk about drugs. I like them. One of the things that can
shut down the event is being taken out for taking too much. If your theme
camp has a bunch of vials, or easily distributed, be careful with that and
look after your neighbors. They might not know what they are doing or
what it might do to them. We need to be responsible for our intake and our
neighbors’ intake.
Gallows: I’ve done DaFT, Grove Host, and Church Night Lead. I don’t hold
back when I talk about this event to other people. I talk about fun,
interesting things without expounding on the entirety of what we do. I talk
about how we are artists. How we help people become more than what we
are. I write down what I think we are. Hold back some on what happens;
we build communities that don’t exist with people we agree with. Speak to
others about what we can teach you. That will teach people how to be
responsible.
Monk: What we are looking for is something at the event and also the
other 360 days. Perhaps an info card that we can reference, and I’m going
to talk to Mark about it. But be responsible for yourself and be OK with
being called on your shit. Being called on your sit is a healthy, good thing.
Take on responsibility but don’t take it on alone. If you are uncomfortable
taking something on, get a ranger involved, if you need to. Good ways to
address those people: “Do you want to do that?” “Are you intoxicated?”
Educate your crew. Know and enforce the policies within your camp. We
can do this ourselves, let’s do it.
Space Pope: Going to talk about communication. Brief anecdote: Last
year there was a full burn ban. I was wondering around people’s
livejournals and there were people flipping out about this. Like 9-11 was an
inside job, OMG THE LLC IS IN COHOOTS WITH THE GOVERNMENT,
losing their shit over it. I think that what those people had in common was
they were new to the community and they viewed the LLC and the
community as a governmental entity. I apologize to Amy; I don’t always
read the Flame. I was sitting around and on my theme camp's list;
someone posts “OH GOD, FLIPSIDE IS GOING DIE!” And I got scared. So
I would like to talk about communication. Long essays are valuable and
some people read them, some of time. To get people to read important
things however, you want it to be short, clear and concise. Along similar
lines, people pay a lot more attention to things from people they know then
some guy on a mailing list. A lot of people don’t know fully that we are
warm and inclusive. They are used to dealing with cliques. When you see
something important, a few, concise sentences out to your social
networking tools helps. When reasonable, name names. Humanize the
LLC, the Leads, and the community. This shit affects real people and then
… pass the mike.
Aaron: I have 2 points: 1) Does anyone want this beer? 2) If you have
questions about sound and that sort of thing, ask me. [Points at speaker on
the wall]: “That speaker is capable of 124 decibels at 1 meter.” If you see
someone with a system bigger than that, they may be part of the problem.
So, how to deal with people who are continuously a problem? It’s a legal
issue for the LLC but what do we do? I wanted to bring up that question?
I’ve vacillated on that front, not an easy question. What do you do with
someone who is a problem once but also continues to be a problem?
Rev. Mark: Going to address sound. In 2008, we addressed sound issues.
In 2007, my air mattress was a passive amplifier for thump thump. I
suggest we create a laminated placard for mixers and say what our limits
are. If it’s right there, they can’t say they don’t know.
Adam Rice: In 2003, I was a newbie and heard how people talk about how
Flipside changed their lives. I didn’t really understand that afterwards, it
was good but I didn’t feel changed. But here I am, at a meeting discussing
the meaning of Flipside. We were all newbies and we are here now. There
is certain percentage of people who volunteer and make it happen. The
problem is that we need to convert those newbies into people who show
up. Make them into people who show up. Sound: tamper evident tape on
boards showing the limit.
Henry: I have to say, talking about community, this community has saved
my family, in more ways than you can imagine. My wife was left behind,
after Hurricane Rita, and if it wasn’t for this community finding a place for
her to stay after that, I don’t know what would have happened. This is a
family to me. They have helped me from Rita, Ike, in ways that I can’t
describe. Family looks after themselves. We need to stay close, as family
and newbies need to be taught by future family members.
Fairy: Issue of liability, the LLC has nothing to do with this. I’ve seen
members of this community that needed money for expenses and they got
help. I have set up a Burner Aid Trust, and will send out an email to get out
information about it. If the community is into it, I’ll see how it goes.
Everything done for this community is done through the community. I’ll run
it.
Chainsaw: Heard a lot of stuff from a lot people about how to keep our
community sustainable. Wants to plug our interactions with the muggles.
Art Garden, Burners without Borders. Show the default world that it’s not
us against them.
Community Empowerment and Ownership
Lance: There is a whole second half of this meeting!
…
[Gyesika needs an effing cigarette; see Patrick’s minutes for this part.
Returns at 9:30 pm]
Tiara: I don’t even live in Texas, but this my 8th year at Flipside. Someone
said that we are not all Rangers. I respectfully disagree with that. Al that
the Rangers get is a T-shirt and a COM. What makes the rangers work is
your support, so ranger yourself.
Maestro: Specific idea to build community. We can build collaborative art
projects; my projects have come together with the people who showed up.
Don’t be all attached to “my art project”, leave it open-ended and make it
go, with help. A newbie placement service could help. Some of theme
camps could actively sponsor new people and the theme camps are
responsible for their newbies.
Doryan: Something completely different. This community is volunteer run
and with growth comes needing more volunteers. But the same people are
doing the same things, year after year, and people are trying to keep
things afloat with the same amount of volunteers. Come to Wednesday
nights and volunteering before, during and after the event. If you are
bringing in more people, get them involved in possible volunteering. This
will introduce them to new people. Volunteering is a time commitment and
it’s a great way to lose weight before Flipside. Our new landowner is
impressed with the people who came out to the work weekends, let’s keep
it that way.
Bonobo: I have been on LLC for 3 years and CC for 3 years. I can speak
about what concerns the LLC -- the people on the LLC take final legal
responsibility for what happens at the event. But on metaphysical/moral
level they cannot take on the responsibility for what goes on at the event.
We have to take responsibility; we have to cover their ass. If you see
someone doing something stupid, people need to step up and call people
on their shit. If you’re not an LLC member the onus is on you to step up or
find the person responsible for that person, and call them on it. When you
see someone doing something stupid, find someone to talk to them or talk
to them yourself (and not necessarily Rangers, we’ve grown too big to rely
solely on Rangers). Get involved. Shout out to LLC.
Shannon: Any other newbies? [Few hands raised] What I’ve heard and
learned tonight is, “I get what I give.”
Treg: Something I wanted to say was that everyone who sent in a request,
on time, got a ticket. We are looking good and the emails will go out later
this week. DO NOT SCALP! No one was turned away. !Bob’s list will open
up once the email goes out. The next thing is Survival Guide printing. We
will be mailing out tickets around April 1st. I’ve been coming to this event
since 05, and I love this community.
Clovis: Once the outside world comes into our event, we have failed. The
other thing we are talking about is boundaries: personal, community, and
theme camp. When the Rangers come to your camp and there is an issue,
then there is AN ISSUE. If your behavior is no better than what you see on
6th St, that’s not art, you’re a frat boy, keep it in your camp.
Derek: We are not Raver Day Camp!
Clovis: No we are not. There is no tolerance for sexual assault. We will
not accept that. We were all new people. When someone breaks
someone’s trust then we do not welcome that person. There are acts
egregious enough that you will not be welcomed back. Having a thicker
skin: You have to be willing to have your boundaries pushed. Boundaries
are different in your camp vs. other people’s camp. Don’t like something in
someone’s camp, roll on down the road. Outreach: this is the outreach.
There are 120 of us here. We are counting on y’all to carry this message
out there. You are the people that people know. Buddy System: part of
taking care of your brother. Say, “That might not be the best idea.”
Accountability starts right here. We take it personally. You take it upon
yourselves. Thank you showing up.