For those attending Dragon*Con

[thatwordgrrl]

Please take a moment to read this statement regarding Backup Ribbons.

I'm asking people to do two things:

1. google for "Ed Kramer and Dragon*Con"

2. leave comments on the Dragon*Con thread voicing their concerns.

Comments

[contradictacat]

Most of my screaming and raging is already in the comment thread there (and oh man, what I learned about their "harassment policies"? make me never want to go), but I just wanna say.

The whole Readercon thing just happened. Like, in the last few weeks just happened. And now this? Have they all been asleep?! How the hell could they think this was a reasonable step to take after Readercon and less then 2 weeks before the convention? AUGH.

[shadefell]

Yeah, their "harassment policy" is... somewhat lacking.

[benndragon]

I hate to say this, but I'll bet you money that *is* their response to the Readercon thing. Two steps forward, one step back. . .

[thatwordgrrl]

FWIW, the person on the Dragon*Con concom with whom I was dealing was aware of ReaderCon and decried it as a fiasco.

[capybyra]

There's a frequent lack of common sense displayed by some folks. It causes avoidable Drama or worse. The majority of TRUE Fen "Get It" about overt communication as to *CONSENT* being Inviolate! Not all, but more than among the mundanes. We've not yet got a Lensman Patrolling the gates, much the pity..So we hope we can do whatever we can to self police and mitigate any "Social Fails" to keep them as painlessly handled as possible for mere humans

[maladaptive]

What the shit? Seriously? Women take steps to protect themselves/each other because no one else would and "oh no it's dangerous!"?

Right, because I'd feel much safer without any help at all.....

Also: APD. Seriously? I'm supposed to feel safe with more cops? Cops who are notorious for not giving a shit about marginalized people? Riiiiiiiight.

[magenter]

Also: APD. Seriously? I'm supposed to feel safe with more cops? Cops who are notorious for not giving a shit about marginalized people? Riiiiiiiight.

THIS. I left a comment to this effect on the D*C LJ comm. I doubt anyone will give a shit but it needs to be said.

[maladaptive]

Like, honestly, I'm way more afraid of engaging cops than I am in dealing with a harasser, because at least I have more recourse against a harasser than I do a cop.

Harasser harasses, I tell them to fuck off.

Cop harasses, if I tell them to fuck off I'm arrested.

Not to mention that cops can't do anything if there hasn't been some sort of altercation. If they're a good person they might wade in to break things up, but that's not their job, and I've heard "there's no crime here" waaaay too often (well, I'm in law, which is why I've had a lot of interactions with cops, good and bad.)

And the last thing I want is to get a cop, be told there's nothing they can do, and have the harasser see that they've essentially got the law on their side. At least with a civilian, non-official volunteer that's a "wolf in sheep's clothing" the harasser doesn't have official sanction to continue doing what they're doing if the volunteer reinforces them instead of me.

[meleth]

usernameanumber's comment was perfect. Good post: "we appreciate and respect the work of the members of the Backup Ribbon project, but here's a few things to remember when reporting an unpleasant situation: [public locations, inappropriate touching, etc]. We want to work with the BRP to ensure that this con is an enjoyable and safe experience for everyone, some people like to hide behind a badge or ribbon, just a casual reminder." Bad post: "all this stuff that we said instead."

[meleth]

Damnit. usernamenumber. *sad trombone*