Harmony vs. Discord

Today I read an interesting post by Spike Clémenceau-Silent on his blog Sex & Second Life. The post is entitled Gossip, Pride, Lies, half truths and other monsters.

In the post Spike makes an analysis of this years Second Pride campaign and the shortcomings we have witnessed in the process and or the candidates or their followers, and what he believes are the shortcomings of Second Pride.as a concept, or as Spike calls it "a plattform". Spike concludes his post with these words "If you really want to do some change and do some good, do the hard work and leave the dirty politics and drama, to those who only seek recognition and praise."

I agree with much of what Spike has to say concerning what we have seen during the campaign from anonymous bloggers, alts in the forums etc. Some of the people in the forums (and many other places too) have been eager to air dirty laundry of one or the other candidate and have shown an inability to separate between the candidate's personal lives and hers/his actions, opinions, thoughts and ideas. Of course the candidates historical activity and opinions matter when we try to decide whether or not we can or should trust them, but that doesn't mean we want to hear from all their ex-lovers airing their grievances or other similar mudslinging.

However, I fundamentally disagree with Spike's conclusions. I do not believe that discord is something bad or evil, that politics are dirty or that the clash of ideas and opinions are inherently bad or are worthy to be labeled "drama", the word we all dread so much in the harmony-centric world of SecondLife. I wrote a post about this about a year and a half ago, please read it, Should SecondLife be "Pleasantville"?.

In short I believe in Second Pride. I also believe in elected officers and a democratic election process where the candidates need to inform the electorate about their visions and ideas and have to answer tough questions about their past activities and statements.

Lack of agreement concerning thoughts and ideas and the clash of these are in no way to be written off as "drama", they are a necessary process in deciding whom we vote for and how we wish Second Pride to develop in the future.

Harmony kills, stifles and blends everything into a grey porridge with fake smiles and fake cordiality! Harmony is also bloody boring!

I Voted Today!

I voted in the election for the Second Pride board of 2014 today, at the earliest possible opportunity for me. As I had followed the forums and other activities closely during the campaign it was not difficult at all for me to decide whom I should vote for.

For a while I contemplated sharing how I voted for the different candidates with you, but I decided against it. I did so mainly because I did not want to influence you one way or the other.

Whom you vote for is a matter for you alone to decide. We trust or distrust people for a huge variety of different reasons and we all have our individual preferences and personal visions for the future of Second Pride.

All I ask of ya'll is that you do your part now and cast your votes. Your vote matters! And oh, just one more thing, rest assured the world will still spin and Second Pride will still survive whatever the outcome will be.

Be Responsible, Go Vote & Be Proud!

Just Do It !

Voting will commence in the election of the Second Pride board for 2014 at 00:01AM August 5th through midnight August 9th.

You must have joined the Second Pride Festival Group by midnight August 4th to be able to vote for your candidates.

Vote wisely, vote with care but above all just go it - VOTE!

I Am Totally Biased!

Recently I and my poor little blog have gained some attention due to my posts concerning the upcoming Second Pride election.

I have received messages and emails asking me to post this or that "to prove" that I am unbiased and objective. It is totally beyond me how anyone can think I am unbiased or even attempting to be that.  I am a blogger, not a journalist. Every post I run is something I myself find interesting and have an opinion about, which I in rare cases choose not to share with you. Usually however I will tell you what I believe, think or feel in no uncertain terms.

In this election I have asked the candidates certain questions that I believe are relevant and pertinent. I have done so respectfully and with no interest whatsoever of "bashing" them or making personal attacks in anyway. Despite this I have, more than once, been accused of bashing or personally attacking some candidates, sometimes even by the candidates themselves.

I have also been asked or told - anonymously or straightforwardly - to ask a certain candidate something or other. I have always refused to do so because I am not a mouthpiece for anyone but myself,. If someone else wishes to ask a question they should do so themselves.

I of course realize that others do not always agree with me, and however distasteful I may find their views I will allow them to comment on my blog as long as they stick to the issue and don't attack other commenters or people, should they wish to launch a personal attack at me they are welcome to do so.  I have only ever removed one (1) real comment and several hundred spam comments. The real comment I removed was a personal attack on an avatar and had no relevance to the post at all. Even the four Swedish female avatars that I utterly detest, can and have indeed left comments here even if I have expressly asked them never to do so.

In spite of this I today received an acidic message in private on Facebook from someone whom I thought was a friend, thanking me for permitting him "to leave a comment on (my) magnanimous blog". This totally irked me.

So be warned, I am opinionated and totally biased. Always!

Doc Spad: Second Pride... Another Perspective On Truth

Today I received this email from Doc Spad, the outgoing chairman of Second Pride.  I am going to publish in it's entirety, without comments at this time. I will however, in the interest of full disclosure, inform you that Doc Spad has been a friend of mine during the last two years.

"Below is my response to all that has happened over the past few days... you have my express permission to publish this... contact me with any questions 

SECOND PRIDE....ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE ON TRUTH 

Over the past several weeks I have seen what could have been a “normal” election process crumble into a mud-slinging free-for-all rife with rumor, innuendo and attacks from all sides. 

It’s been reduced to personal attacks directed at people that just wanted to run for office of an organization this is supposed to bring the LGBT community together. Instead I see the entire process as as pulling the community apart. I’ve been torn over the past 36 hours or so as to what to say or do. What can I do to try to stop the dissension without making it worse. Every time I look at FB or the forums I see more behaviour that has hurt Pride and created more strife. I have been involved with Pride for over 6 years. I have seen earlier Boards deal with the same issues and over the past two years as Prides chairman have done my best to limit the drama and turmoil that have plagued Pride in the past. Personally, I think we did a fairly good job. Pride has grown substantially in members, vendors, sponsors, and attendees.. Donations have reached a point where the Board is in a position to make contributions to the good work of other LGBT nonprofits and make a substantial donation to RL groups as well. However, the unnecessary drama and lack of truthfulness that have publicly emerged during this election have taken all the hard work of restoring the credibility of Pride and wasted it. 

My actions over the past two weeks have been to do what I can to quell this fire without adding new fuel to it. I fear that there is no way to accomplish that and after I finish writing and posting this response it might make matters worse. But I feel the membership needs to understand my motivations and and why I contacted Cortez in the first place. I disagree with some of what Cortez Brandriss said in her statement to the Board, but do understand her ire, as my notecard on “tickets” must have encouraged a great deal of communication directed to her that she did not deserve. I have the chat logs that might explain better what really happened during that discussion but in releasing them I would bring more undue attention to someone that just wanted to serve our community and never deserved being drug into this. I apologise to her for my role in this whole affair. 

Last year, early in the election, I had, myself, suggested to some of the other candidates that they form a “ticket”. After some thought, I decided it was a bad idea, and nothing was ever done with regard to the formation of any alliances. A new Board was elected and a very diverse group of people took their positions on the Board. I had worked with Khar and Tootsie on the previous Board and knew them both well. None of the other people on last year's Board were friends of mine. I knew who they were, but none of us were close friends. It was a diverse Board with people having new and fresh ideas. No one or one group “controlled” the board and because of that there was a lively and effective exchange of ideas and I think the success of the Pride Festival this year showed what a diverse and independent group of people could accomplish. I was but one vote on the Board and many times my ideas were “shot down”.The independence of each board member allowed for a dynamic effective Board that worked on the basis of “what was best for Pride”. 

This year, before all of the candidates even declared, a group of people did in fact create an alliance This alliance was formed by Dex and included several other candidates running for various positions, most of them selected by Dex and asked to run by him. There is nothing in the by-laws that prevents this. There is nothing wrong with Dex asking others to run for some of the other offices. I was concerned by the prospect of having a single group of people led by one person, in control of the Board. Were these people assembled because of the abilities they brought to Pride or because of the votes they could deliver from the various groups they were affiliated with.? I felt that a slate might stymie and restrict new ideas and in effect place one person in control of the entire Board. These concerns grew as the election progressed and the selected slate of candidates both denied the nature of their alliance while simultaneously making statements hinting at rule changes and other actions that they had apparently agreed to, but which they were not discussed in a public forum. We have seen this in past Pride boards and it resulted in stagnation.The board was run from a perspective of “my way or the highway” mentality. This created drama and because of a single perspective being the only way, Pride suffered. 

When I looked at the candidates for Event Director I was encouraged by the entry of Cortez. Here was a person that could bring great things to Pride. She had experience running events that resulted in huge involvement from many communities and I was excited seeing her in the running. As far as I was concerned she was head and shoulders above the other two candidates and would bring great things to Pride. Then I learned about the “ticket” created by Dex. Another candidate for the Events chair, Mz Marville was part of his “team” as were others. I was alarmed in hearing about a threat to Cortez, and I contacted her. I asked her if she might consider joining forces with Hotboy in an attempt to garner greater support and counter the effect of the “ticket” against her. They both brought different talents to the job. She suggested that she could concentrate on the fundraising and social events and he had great experience in working in clubs and DJ’s. She even suggested that the next Board divide the job up into two board positions. Not a bad idea. But her dismay at knowing that Mz Marville was allied with “someone running for Board chairman” disturbed her and in her own words...”this process, people changing rules and adding people to their ticket in the middle of an election just seems to completely insult all of the work that has gone into making this election process happen”. The end result was that Cortez pulled out of the election. 

I assume responsibility for bringing news of the "ticket" and the idea of how she might counter that strategy. In my enthusiasm to see a worthy candidate elected, it violated her sense of fairness. In retrospect, it was an error of judgement for a board chair to take this role. I wish I had approached it in a different way. I’m saddened and dismayed that Cortez left the election. She was one of the most qualified and talented people that has run for a Pride office in a long time. My only intention was to present to her a means of countering what I considered a formidable challenge to her candidacy.Unfortunately, my motives and my intention backfired in a way that was wholly unintended. 

After some thought I decided to send the note card out concerning “tickets”. A notecard to the entire membership that specifically stated that there was nothing “illegal” about forming such tickets, but that people might consider voting for people because they are the best person for the job and not because they are part of an alliance. I was hoping to encourage candidates and voters to consider that there was more at stake in this election than getting elected, that Pride’s independent Board was at stake. 

Apparently, this note card, where I mentioned that “a candidate” had dropped out because of the “ticket”, brought considerable and undeserved attention to Cortez and she wrote the Board a private note explaining her reasons for withdrawing and condemning me. I can understand her wrath at me after she had received numerous IM’s from people and her feeling that I used her as an example in my note card. That was never my intention. I believed she was an outstanding candidate - one that would win in a normal election in which the best candidates were chosen based on their qualifications and not their affiliations with other candidates. All I attempted to do was try to suggest a way to counter an organized alliance that was detrimental to her candidacy. 

As one might surmise, Dex was thrilled in receiving her note. Ms Bradiriss' justifiable anger made it look like. I was behind some grand conspiracy. The Board discussed this in a Skype conversation. I wanted to issue an apology to her in public assuming responsibility for my part in this.( I did send her an apology personally). Dex wanted her private note to the Board released to the public. Cortez was contacted and she expressly asked that her note remain private and that she did not want to be bothered about this any longer and that she would continue her PLATINUM sponsorship next year at Pride. 

Evidently, Dex thought he knew better and decided to release her note against her wishes. In doing so Dex deliberately violated Cortez’s trust and unilaterally went against what the Board had decided. This unfortunately resulted in a subsequent communication form Cortez where she pulled entirely out of Pride and will not be participating in future Pride festivals. . Dex's unilateral decision to publish this information - knowing that one of our largest sponsors was already angry and had expressly asked us not to, did not just rob me of an opportunity to apologize for my role, but more importantly illustrates a calculation that the damage it would do - to me - to Cortez - and to the credibility of Second Pride was less important than his own short term gain. 

I have always attempted to lead Pride from the perspective of “what is best for Pride”. I’ve always encouraged others on the board and all members to look at Pride from that perspective. Yes, I may have made some mistakes in this whole affair, but my intentions were doing what I thought “was best for Pride”. I have swept many, MANY situations under the rug concerning Dex but I choose to keep quiet about them rather than bring any discredit to Pride. In a recent blog posting, Dex purports to express his outrage and declares that "when I am chair I will not stand for the lack of transparency".. I agree. In view of the information Dex has chosen to release thus far, , membership deserves to know more about our actions in recent Days. Specifically, Dex has made several attempts within the board both to eliminate his only opposing candidate, and to purge questions he does not feel it is fair for him to answer from the public forums. At the eleventh hour he tried to convince the Board that the cut off needed to be rolled back 12 hours, thus disqualifying his only opposing candidate. In effect allowing him to run unopposed. .. After the Board sent out notices to the membership defining the cut off times and dates which were published for over a week and a half. Dex demanded that we change these cut offs retroactively and eliminate his opposition This after the Board agreed to and sent out notifications to the membership stating the cut off dates and times over tens days before. Of course it is easier to win an election if you are able to remove a candidate through a backdoor maneuver. 

I pose this question... were Dexs’ actions in releasing Cortez’s note against her wishes...”the best for Pride” ? Does it help people make a better choice on who to vote for? Remember, I am not running for office. No.. he released it to discredit me. Dex and I have had issues all year... and I have done my best to keep them quiet for the sake of Pride. His only motivation in releasing this private notecard was to hurt me. I’m a big boy and yes maybe I should get a trip to the “woodshed” but his releasing of her note does nothing to further voter’s knowledge in choosing candidates...it was an attack on me. And I’m sorry that Dex’s and my issues have distracted voters from the real issues. 

There is plenty of blame to go around this year for these elections being reduced to a mockery from BOTH sides. Dex’s “scorched earth” mentality justified by his sense of “principle” has harmed Pride. Damian’s use of an alt asking Dex questions was obvious. 

An independent Board is the only way for Pride to effectively manage the attainment of Prides’ Mission. Would it have been easier this past year for me to manage the Board if I had a bunch of hand picked “yes” men ? Absolutely!! Would it have been the best for Pride. Absolutely not!! 

Independent board members allow for the expression of many more ideas and a more dynamic governing body. Yes, it’s messy. People argue and make their case, but in the end each board member independently makes a decision and in most cases reaches a decision that works best. Each member represents one vote. If one Board member is out in “left field” the collective Board tempers the crazy ideas and comes up with a decent solution. I as the Chairman have many times had to bow to the collective will of the Board and then stand up in the end and speak the Boards wishes. That is leadership. That is doing what is BEST FOR PRIDE. 

All I ask is that each of our members vote based on what is best for Pride. And vote to create an independent board. My time here is over. Term limits and a desire to “get my Second Life back” have brought me back to being just a member, just like the rest of you. Yes I would like to see Pride continue to grow and build upon what myself and many others have done, but that will have to be left to whoever we elect this year. I trust that the collective will of the membership will bring Pride a thoughtful and dynamic and independent board that will move us in a positive direction. I also pray and trust that all of the division and strife over these elections can be but in the past and WE ALL WILL DO WHAT IS BEST FOR PRIDE. 

Doc Spad
Outgoing Chairperson Second Pride"

"The True Reasons..."

Today I received in my possession a note card from Cortez Brandriss, who was earlier a candidate for Event Director of the Second Pride 2014 board but who withdrew her candidacy.

The note card is unmodifiable and was according to its properties created by Ms Brandriss, despite this I also sought to get a confirmation from Ms Brandriss. I did this before having read the last sentence in this note card, for which I ask Ms Brandriss' forgiveness.

My main reasons for posting this are twofold, Firstly because I love Second Pride and want it to grow and flourish for many years to come and, secondly, because I believe that the membership of Second Pride has the right to know what is happening behind closed doors. 

I will post it without any further personal comment, other than saying that these SP election seems to be turning out to be extremely ugly and messy, with personal attacks, anonymous bloggers and other monkey business. 

Marius Watz "Web Science artwork"

"7/29/2013 Re: Second Pride Election
C/c Second Pride Current Board

 To Doc Spad,

 I have been very confused as to why, what was supposed to be a very quiet and simple withdrawl from this election has turned to a large population of Pride Candidates and Voters coming to me concerned with my departure from the race.

 I was dismayed to find the answer to my question in a notice, sent by you on 7/27 to the entire Second Pride Community, that my reasons for withdrawing from this race were because of a ticket system.

 I tried to make this very clear when we first spoke, and I will clarify again now-- I withdrew from the Second Pride election because of *our* conversation-- a conversation in which the current Chair of Pride, yourself, came to me with an attempt to coerce me to join forces on a ticket with someone I have not ever met, as a means of throwing the vote. I withdrew my candidacy because I was uncomfortable knowing that the Chair of Second Pride was so willing to discuss other candidates with me, someone you barely knew. I withdrew because I felt that I was being asked to be a pawn in a dramatic game of manipulating the vote. The unprofessional freedom you took in that conversation was what caused me to withdraw my candidacy.

 I ran for Second Pride because I admired the outward professionalism of it's team of chairs, and I wanted to do something important for the LGBT community. Our conversation was steeped in drama that I did not want to be a part of, concerning people I do not know and have never met.

 I submitted a formal and professional withdrawl to Baz that did not go into these reasons, only to learn you have distributed a notice that has informed the entire Second Pride Group I left the race over the ticket system. Through this notice, you have not only publicly spoken for me with information that is not true, but you have also publicly pitted me and my withdrawl against the candidates in this entire election.

 I am outraged by the way you have handled this matter, and at the fact you have now brought me into the drama of Second Pride, when I have done nothing but gracefully bowed out of a situation you made uncomfortable for me to begin with.

 Please do not use my withdrawl as any future means to burden this election.

 With this notecard, I would like to officially announce the true reasons for my withdrawl. I ask that I am no longer contacted by any member of Second Pride about this election.

 Sincerely,Cortez Brandriss

 C/c: Second Pride Board. Kyle Beckett, SquirtN Wonder, Tylo Mabellon, Dextrum Boucher, Kharissa Indigo, Mr Gracemount, Baz Ceawlin, Tootsie Nootan"

Is There A "Ticket" & Why Weren't We Informed?

A message from Doc Spad, the outgoing chairperson of the Second Pride board of 2013, was sent out in the Second Pride group yesterday:

"I would like to share a few of my thoughts with the rest of the membership concerning the upcoming election. 

One of the best qualified candidates just removed herself from the running after learning about a “ticket” that was created by some of the other candidates.

There is nothing that forbids any candidate or group of candidates from forming a “ticket” but it does bring to question whether a ticket is built for reasons of bringing the best qualified people together or is the ticket being used to bring together various factions of the community to ensure that the whole ticket is elected regardless of who is best qualified.

These elections are for the next year’s leadership of Pride. We should all want the BEST candidates to be elected to further the Mission and the goals of Second Pride.

If a ticket is put together to garner votes from the various groups people belong to.... then we are not doing what is best for Pride.... we are just building support just to get elected.

I would encourage everyone involved in these elections to take to heart that Pride is on the brink of fulfilling its goals of unifying our community and really doing a great deal of good for all of us.

I would hope that whether you vote for a “ticket” or not that your choices are well thought out and you are voting for the best qualified people to lead Pride.

Vote for whom you think answers the questions on the forums best, who you think will serve the Board and Pride the best. Who you honestly think will lead Second Pride to greater heights and greater accomplishment. Ask yourself....what is best for Pride? And make sure THAT is the reason you vote for any particular person.

Thanks Doc Spad

Your outgoing Chairperson"

Following this message I have today asked all the candidates still running in the election for the board of Second Pride 2014 these questions.

"In a notice in the Second Pride group yesterday, the outgoing chairperson Doc Spad informs us that a group of candidates have formed an alliance, a.k.a. ticket, in this election. 

1. Have you formed a ticket – however formally or informally - with any of the other candidates running in this year’s election?

1. If so, who are the other candidates on this ticket?

1. If so, why did you choose not to disclose this information to the voters?

Respectfully,

Bock McMillan"

"Catch 22", Continued (Updated)

The previous post concerning this was posted here: Bock in SecondLife: "Catch 22", you may wish to read it before reading this post.

I have today posted a follow up on my earlier questions to Dextrum Boucher, candidate for chairperson in the election for the Second Pride board of 2o14

"Thank you for your response, Dex, most of it met with my approval. There is however one thing I would like you to address again and it concerns your attendance record to the board meetings.

The 2013 board held 14 board meetings

1. 08/19/12
2. 09/12/12
3. 10/04/12
4. 11/11/12
5. 91/06/13
6. 01/2013
7. 02/03/13
8. 02/17/13
9. 03/03/13
10. 03/17/13
11. 04/07/13
12. 06/29/13 (met to adjourn)
13. 97/07/13
14. 07/14/13

After doing the tedious and boring work of going through the minutes posted online on this site (http://second-pride.com/) I get the following results on attendance records for the board members of the 2013 board the first numbers are when I count 13 meetings (excluding the one where the board only met o adjourn) and the second one with the numbers in parenthesis is when I count all 14 meetings.

1. Kharissa Indigo - 100% (100%),
2. Tootsie Nootan - 92% (93%),
3. Doc Spad - 92% (86%),
4. Baz Ceawlin - 77% (79%)
5. Mr G. 77% (79%).
6. Kyle Beckett 77% (71%),
7. SquirtN Wonder 77% (71%),
8. Tylo Mabelion - 69% (63%) and finally
9. Dextrum Boucher - 54% (57%).

In your response to me you say "I missed fewer meetings than many others on the board. This can been seen be a review of the minutes."

As you see from the results above of the review of the minutes I did it would seem that your statement is not entirely consistent with the results of my investigation.

The meetings you did not attend were the ones in January, February, March and April and the meeting on July 14, 2013. This validates my previous statement that  " I also noticed, as a frequent visitor to the open board meetings, that you were absent from the board meetings for a good while."

Would you wish to comment and explain my findings?

Yours sincerely

Bock McMillan"

---
UPDATE 7/27/2013, 04:35 AM SLT 

DEXTRUM BOUCHER says: July 26, 2013 at 7:14 PM

Bock,

As stated above, I did miss a few meetings over the course of the year. Whenever there was an important vote, however I was involved. This is the most important think on my record for this year.

I did face a couple of illnesses and a busy schedule at school during part of the year as well. Both of these situations have been alleviated.

During my absences, I did try to appoint a person to serve in my absence, per the bylaws. I was not able to find anyone interested at the time.

When I am chair, I see no blocks to my perfect attendance at the meetings, plus I will have the strong incentive that my presence will be needed to lead them.

I look forward to working with the community and its members in the coming year, and thank you for your thoughtful questions.

-Dex

BOCK MCMILLAN says: July 26, 2013 at 11:02 PM

Thank you for your answers, Dex., some may have perceived them as attacks but I am grateful that you addressed them in the manner they were intended.

Although I believe that the officials I elect for the Second Pride board must make time for their obligation to serve the membership I also concede and realize that first life issues can sometimes call for the full attention of the officials I elect and that they can be subject to illness.

I will trust your assurance that you do not at the present time see any obstacles from fulfilling the important mission as chairman of the board and a leader of the board as a whole.

Best of luck,
Bock

DEXTRUM BOUCHER says: July 27, 2013 at 2:04 AM

Thank you for your questions:)

"Catch 22" (Updated with Dex's response)

Its election time for the Second Pride board of 2014. The candidates have now declared themselves and have also posted their initial statements, see Second Pride website.

I was pleased to see that there was a good mix of old and experienced members and many newcomers, so it looks as if it will be a thrilling election. The candidates for chairman are of course those that usually always attract the most attention, as this position is important and essential for the overall results and efficiency of the board.

This year one of the candidates for chairman has been unlucky enough to be surrounded by rumors pertaining to his work during the previous board and he has also gained the support from an extremely vicious anonymous blogger.

Elections can be very ugly and negative campaigning if sometimes chosen by candidates. The difference this time however is that the candidate most affected has not spoken out himself on the rumors surrounding his candidacy and the support he has been getting from an infamous blogger who, under the cloak of anonymity, has launched vicious personal attacks against parts of the board of 2013 and other members of the LGBT community in SecondLife.

The rumors and the support could come from enemies or friends of this particular candidate and I kept getting stuck in a whirlwind of pro's and con's when thinking of this and considering who would or could do this or that and why, so finally I felt it would be most fair to asked the candidate himself what he had to say. This was especially necessary for me as I have not had any close personal contact with Dextrum Boucher earlier and only know him by name.

Dextrum Boucher,
courtesy of
the Second Pride website

Today I posted these questions to Dextrum, Community Relations Director on the 2013 board and now candidate for chairman on the 2014 board of Second Pride.

"Dex, 

First let me say that I welcome your candidacy to the board as I believe the members are best served by a board consisting of people with previous experience and people with new ideas.

I must however admit that your candidacy for chairman has raised some questions in my mind, that I feel would be fair to give you the opportunity to respond to before making up my mind.

1. I believe that elected officials have an obligation towards the community that have elected them into office. This obligation mean – in my opinion – that the electee should serve the full term for which they have been elected as well as do their utmost to fulfill the reasonable expectations on the office together with the other members of the board.

You were elected as a Community Relations Director for the board of 2013.

Sometimes midterm for the board of 2013 I was reached by worrying rumors that you no longer served on the board or that you had in fact stepped down for some unnamed reason. I also noticed, as a frequent visitor to the open board meetings, that you were absent from the board meetings for a good while.

a) How do you see the electees responsibilities towards the community that has elected them?

b) Were the rumors that reached me, about you not being active or that you had de facto stepped down, true?

c) If so, what were the circumstances that made you decide to take such an action?

2. As you know there is an anonymous blogger calling himself/herself/themselves “Kharfest” who was – during the weeks immediately preceding the Second Pride Festival and afterwards – extremely busy with vicious and extremely personal attacks against members of the 2013 board and others in the LGBT community. The only one who has received praise from Kharfest is you. Kharfest has also openly supported your candidacy as chairman for the 2014 board of Second Pride.

a) What is your opinion of the attacks by Kharfest against other members of the 2013 board, especially those against Kharissa Indigo and Doc Spad?

b) How do you react to the fact that this infamous blogger so completely supports your candidacy as chairman of the 2014 board ?

—

I am sorry if you feel the questions I have asked to be unreasonable or unfair to ask you, but I truly believe that it is better to give you the opportunity to respond on these matters, which I believe can be on other peoples minds also when contemplating their position to your candidacy.

Yours sincerely 

Bock McMillan

---

DEXTRUM BOUCHERsays:July 24, 2013 at 1:08 AM

Bock,
I think I can provide easy answer to allay your concerns on these matters. Since you asked may questions and numbered them, I will, for the sake of clarity respond in the same fashion.

1a. I think board members are responsible to the community in many ways. They are entrusted with the hopes and ideas of the community at large. I think one of the largest failings of any candidate would be to use the old line “you can’t please everyone.” In doing so, they allude to the idea that it is not even worth trying. Thus I think it is important that we stay ever vigilant to make sure we are not only serving and answering the current members of the organization, but also all broader community of future potential members.

1b&c. Rumor are rumors, and most of the time they contain little truth. My attendance record is posted in the minutes. I missed fewer meetings than many others on the board. This can been seen be a review of the minutes. I was also one of the most ideologically active board members. This was important in many of the big debates that were held during the transitions that has faced our organization over the past year. I think this experience will prove valuable to me as chair. This board held together better than any in the past with all members serving out their full terms. We did what we did for the community, and we made it through it all together.

2a. As I stated in a response on the blog itself, I find the attacks to be disgusting. Rather than restate my opinion here, I will simply repost what I posted directly to Kharfest on their blog and to my facebook account in response, as I understand many may not have seen it.
The following is my statement taken from the mentioned blog:

Dextrum Boucher, June 18, 2013 at 8:06 PM

” I have long resisted responding to blogs. I have never really taken interest in what people have to say, but this blog has gone too far. Your facts are off. If you are indeed concerned Khar and Doc are ruining Second Pride, you have little to worry about, as they are term-limted out after this term. I AM a member of the pride board and I have been working with Doc and Khar throughout the year of planning this festival. We have not always agreed on everything, but at the end of the day, they have always compromised and we have found solutions together. This year’s festival has been wonderfully executed, thanks to a team of hard working people on the Second Pride Board, Doc and Khar included. Overall, they leave a great legacy for this organization and have, with the rest of the board, set the bar higher for all festivals to come.
I have often said to our critics that Second Pride is a democracy, anyone having an problem is free to come to the meetings and be heard, they are free to run for election, but democracy requires participation. I find it funny that our most ardent critics are often the least involved. Democracy also requires responsibility. Hiding behind a mask is NOT, nor will it ever be the act of a responsible member of the community, who is interested in a civil and informed discourse, rather it is the act of a coward wishing to subvert the machinery of discourse to harm others, and this is a cruel and evil act.
You may have your wish next year, Khar and Doc will indeed not be on the board, but you will find the new board will be no more sympathetic to your cause than the previous one was, and you will still be the same, pathetic coward, hiding behind a monitor.
This is not an outright condemnation, I realize that something must have hurt you badly, and I honestly do wish you a full and happy life, one that will heal the sadness and hurt that obviously drives you to such actions. You must however realize that your negative and cowardly actions toward the good people of our community are both ridiculous and without merit
Sincerely,
Dextrum Boucher
Community Relations Chair, Second Pride Festival Board ”

2b. As to the subject of his endorsement, I outright and firmly reject it. In fact it would not make sense if the person were indeed trying to help me, they have done a rather poor job, which is a point I think we could all agree on. This person is no more a friend of mine than they are of Khar and Doc. I would go further to say that this sort of shadowy discourse is the enemy of freedom of expression. I cannot speak to this person’s intent, as I do not know their identity, but I certainly cannot be held responsible for every psycho that picks up a banner and waves it. This person will receive no more sympathy or aid from me in their goals than they did from anyone else. I have for the most part kept silent on the issue as I have found that it is best to avoid feeding sad trolls. We must simply reject them and walk away, which is what I did in my post. Maybe they misread it, or they feel the need to use my name to grant the some legitimacy or to troll up more division in our organizations. But there are no consequences for those who are faceless, so scolding and arguing with them will not likely solve any problems, and blaming people without proof is never a just action.

In conclusion, I do not feel your questions are out of line. To tie into a point made earlier, as board members, we are responsible to answer to those who elect us.
- Dex 

SP Annual Membership Meeting 2013

The annual Second Pride membership meeting was held yesterday. It was a well visited meeting that was conducted in an orderly fashion. Extra seats had to rezzed as more members than expected turned up.

My pictures are all  taken at an early time in the proceedings,
I should think we were twice as many when the meeting ended.

Larz Kas looking hot in a new cap with Jarred, in the second row
I and Jared Palianta and at the far back to the right Eric Quimby.

Nigel Riel (far left), Marcellias (center) and HerrDirektor /far right)

From left to right, SquirtN, Mr. G. and Dextrum

From left to right, Doc, Baz, Tootsie and Kharissa

The most important stuff that occurred at the meeting was the information pertaining to the upcoming elections of the new Second Pride Board.

This is from the Second Pride website. Please note it contains important information about 
1) eligibility to the board, 
2) voting privileges in the election, as well as 
3) a need for you - in certain instances - to update your personal information on the Second Pride website so that your vote will not be discarded. 

Election Dates and Procedures:

• Candidate declarations will be accepted from July 7th through midnight SLT July 21st. per the by laws.
• Only Members of the Second Pride Group will be considered and their declaration must be accompanied by a “candidate Statement” which will be done on the second-pride.com website. (No one will be able to declare after midnight on the 21st)
• Candidates will be announced on the second-pride.com website and their candidate statements published on the forums on July 22nd. Members will be able to question the candidates for a period of ten days ending at midnight August 1st.
• On August 2nd Candidates may make their final statements
• From August 2nd through midnight slt on August 4th the forums will be closed from further discussion . Members are encouraged to view the candidates final statements .
• Voting will commence at 00:01AM August 5th through midnight August 9th
• You must have joined the Second Pride Festival Group by midnight August 4th to be able to vote for your candidates.
• At this time the election committee will certify the results of the election and announce to the membership those results no later than midnight August 12th.
• On August 18th at 11AM slt The new Board will be installed and have their 1st meeting as a Board of Second Pride. The existing Board will step down at that time and any transfers will take place at that time.
• Candidates: Candidate Declaration Form

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR MEMBERS
You MUST be a member of the Second Pride in-world group before Midnight August 4th to be eligible to vote. The election committee will be cross referencing the online votes received against the in-world membership list. Please be sure to click on your name at the bottom of this screen [on the second-pride.com website, my remark] (to view and/or update your online profile. Make sure your Second Life Avatar name is part of your profile so that your vote can be verified against the in-world membership.

Thank You U.S.A!

The New York Times "Presidential Map", November 7, 2012

Florida is still undecided (all votes have not been counted yet), but leaning towards Obama.

Support for marriage equality won in all four states where there were referendums on that issue!
(P.S. J.M.G just reported that the count of the ballots in the referendum in Washington state has not been completed yet, although things look good.)
UPDATE: Washington state has now declared that marriage equality won in the referendum!
---

I couldn't stay awake long enough last night to get the result of the presidential election but it was althemore sweet to wake up to the news in the morning!

Governor Romney gave a nice concession speech and president Obama gave an awesome victory speech. Life is wonderful, living is beautiful and exciting!

Thank you so much my sisters and brothers in the U.S!

Lena Dunham: Your First Time

(via J.M.G.)

I remember my first time too. How very important it felt to get it "right"! That was of course a very, very, long time ago and was way before I became a jaded and cynical old slut...

The New Board of Second Pride

The elections for the board of Second Pride 2013 ended at midnight on Sunday. The voting procedure was done electronically on the Second Pride website and seems to have worked without any fault.

As a member of the Election Committee I am proud to present the new board to you:

Doc Spad, Chairman

Kyle Beckett, Secretary/Co-Chairman

SquirtN Wonder, Treasurer

Kharissa Indigo, Events Director

Dextrum Boucher, Membership Director

Mr. Gracemount, Building Director

Tootsie Nootan, Security Director

Tylo Mabellion, Marketing Director

Baz Caewlin, Communications/IT Director

My warmest congratulations to those who have been elected. I also wish them the best of luck with the important work that lays ahead!

Upcoming Election for Board of Directors of Second Pride 2012

Second Pride and its LGBT Festival finished it´s 2011 edition. The organization is not permanently owned by any person, it has democratic elections each year to allow anyone to get involved and be part of the next Board of Directors to organize the event.

SP 2012 ELECTIONS ARE HERE! Make a change, get involved, go to http://www.secondpride.com/

Register to be a voter for elections (Not needed if you already registered a previous year).Click here http://www.secondpride.com/secondpridevotes.htm and follow ALL steps for registration.

APPLY TO BE PART OF SECOND PRIDE 2012!

Elections are coming up and you may register to become a Second Pride Board member and join the adventure of organizing the biggest LGBT Festival in Second Life!

Challenge, Teamwork, Creativity, Perseverance, Dedication, Optimism, Leadership, Imagination, Respect, Change, Purpose

WE NEED YOU  

TO HELP US WITH YOUR SKILLS AND TALENTS!

Applications are open from June 25th until July 9th 2011!

Apply for a position on the Second Pride Board of Directors here

http://shortlinks.secondpride.com/boardapplication

Submit your details to be part of the 2012 staff helping the Board here

http://shortlinks.secondpride.com/staffapplication

Second Pride - To serve, support and empower 

the diverse LGBT communities of Second Life!