[TriLUG] Another Installfest? (long)

[Lisa Lorenzin]

i'm keeping this on-list because a) i'm not flaming kevin, and b) i think 
this is something we should consider as a group, since i actually see it 
as a great opportunity to expand our outreach.  flames off-list, debate 
on, please... :)

> Personally, I think we should help people of any race, creed, or belief
> system at the installfest. If they happen to want to install one of the
> Asian distros, more power to them, and I/we will gladly help. 

absolutely.  and since we don't always have the asian distros/packages on 
hand, it makes sense to have a subfocus within an installfest so that a 
minority group with unusual needs can know for sure that we'll have what 
they need if they do come out.

> However, having an installfest for a particular Ethnic, Racial,
> Religious or etc. group falls into the anti-discriminatory clauses of
> the AoI and against my personal beliefs. 

only if we strictly limit it to chinese attendees, and i think that horse 
is dead by now. :)

> We're all Linux users here, regardless of national or ethnic origin,
> right?

absolutely.  and if we have a chinese-focussed installfest, there's no 
reason whatsoever that a martian couldn't walk in and get linux installed, 
too (and i wouldn't be at all surprised if the redhat distro had a 
martian-language install option, too).

> If we went through with this suggestion, would we then have a
> African-American installfest? How about a Latino installfest? How about
> an installfest aimed at the homosexual community? A Catholic
> installfest? A women's installfest? 

sure!  i'm not kidding - i actually think that's a good idea.  not an
installfest LIMITED to a subgroup, but an installfest ORIENTED towards a
subgroup (while still welcoming anyone else who wants to show up).

people are more comfortable in a familiar environment.  if they're
intimidated by linux, and they're also intimidated by a room full of
people who don't look/sound like them, that makes them twice as unlikely
to show up and play with us.

on the other hand, if we can offer them a higher likelihood of being 
in the company of people that they're comfortable with, and (in the case 
of the non-english subgroups) the knowledge that we're specifically 
providing the unique tools and resources that they need, then they might 
be more comfortable coming out, giving it a try, and taking it home.

it's easy for me to walk into a trilug meeting - i'm white, geeky, and not
intimidated by a roomful of men. *grin* i'd imagine i'd be a lot less
comfortable attending a meeting held by a roomful of native chinese
speakers, just because of the language barrier.  (i've never actually
tried it.)  and, honestly, i'd even be somewhat uncomfortable being the
only white person at a meeting full of black people - because i know i'd
still stick out like a sore thumb.  (i have, and i was, and i did.  and 
everybody was very nice to me, but i still felt greatly out of place.)

it's not racism (or sexism, or language-ism, or any other discriminatory
-ism) - it's tribalism.  i'm more comfortable with people in my tribe - i
think that's an inherent human trait.  (imho, it only turns into racism
when people discriminate based on that discomfort, rather than trying to
bridge across it.)

so rather than ignoring it, let's try to accommodate it, and make spaces
within our installfests where different groups can be as comfortable as
possible.  plus, another bonus - whole new ways to reach people who might
not even have HEARD of our group because our activities don't overlap with
their daily life.

> I'm sure we've had members from all of these groups attend our meetings
> - should we have an installfest targeted at their demographic? And hey,
> maybe there are people out there that aren't happy with one of the
> previously mentioned groups - how would a "targeted" installfest affect
> their viewing of TriLUG and the linux community as a whole?

frankly, i think if we did a range of "targeted" installfests that covered 
a variety of minority groups / groups not usually immediately associated 
with linux users, it would demonstrate that trilug and the linux community 
are inclusive and reaching out to all kinds of people.  let's do it.
 
> I'm not against this idea, though. if a group asks for our help in
> throwing an installfest, I'm all for it. However, I will not accept
> unless *ANYONE* who wants to come in and install Linux can do so. 

absolutely.  i completely agree with you.
 
> That being said, how about we do our next installfest in August? That's
> about three months from now, and would be right on time for the third
> quarter. How about we do it at UNC (if they are willing to host us) and
> help *ANYONE* who shows up install whatever distro they want. 

...with the added benefit of also specifically providing the right tools 
and packages to help chinese people get on linux.  and next installfest, 
we work with the black student coalition, or the latino student coalition, 
or the women's center, and we provide specific materials for another 
group.

and yes, i'll put my time where my mouth is.  sinner seems to have
volunteered for the august installfest, but i'd be happy to help with the
organizing, too...

who knows?  it could suck.  but that's no reason not to give it a try.

							lisa

ps.  even if you're not comfortable with the tribalism / comfort zone
concept - and i realize not everyone thinks that way - we simply don't
have enough people to bring everything for everyone to every installfest.  
we can better encourage individual people in minority groups to get
involved with linux by focussing our efforts on one group at a time,
simply because it allows us to maximize our limited resources.

-- 
lisa lorenzin  |  lorenzin at 1000plus.com  |  http://www.1000plus.com/lisa/
of what avail is an open eye if the heart is blind? - solomon ibn gavirol