Incident 1
Testimony from: ANONYMOUS #1
INTERVIEWER:
Hey there… I just learned that you’ve had some eye witness encounters with [officer 1]?
Looking for a story that might be helpful to shine a light on any verbal abuse at the space.
ANONYMOUS #1:
Yeah I’ve witnessed 2 actually. The first involved [member 1] . He and another guy (can’t remember his name) were transporting a large piece of machinery from the old space to the new space via the car ramp on the large rolling dolly (I believe it is used to hold a car engine up). They had it secured with chains as well as several heavy duty ratchet straps. They were starting to ease it down the ramp when [officer 1] walked up from the par lot. I was sitting on the bench outside with several others. I can’t remember exactly who was there but maybe [member 2]? Anyway, he yelled out “What the fuck are you doing?” It startled me because he yelled so loudly. [member 1] explained that he was transporting the machinery (I can’t remember what it was called) to the new space. [officer 1] started yelling at him telling him that he couldn’t do that. I originally thought he was [member 5] because I couldn’t believe someone was speaking that way seriously. I quickly realized he was serious. [officer 1] yelled that it was unsafe. [member 1] explained that was the only way to transport it, that the dolly could hold x amount of pounds and the straps were rated for x amount of pounds, and that the machinery weighed less than half of either of those weights, and that it was properly strapped. [officer 1] continued to yell, telling [member 1] to stop, that he couldn’t do that, that it was unsafe, etc. [member 1] stayed calm the entire time and just talked to him explaining how it was safe under the circumstances, and continued to transport. [officer 1] continued to yell. Us at the table were really uncomfortable (I believe there were 3 of us). [officer 1] finally decided to call a board member. He got on the phone in front of us and made a few calls. He finally reached someone and they weren’t present at the space but he told them what [member 1] was doing and kept saying how unsafe it was. By this time [member 1] had the item to the door at the other space.
I don’t know how safe that practice was in and of itself, but I do know that the straps were for something heavier than that. No one got hurt and it was transported. I know that [member 1] stayed calm and spoke in a regular tone, explaining how it was the safest way to transport, and [officer 1] acted like a crazy person screaming and yelling, dropping f-bombs every few words. Cussing doesn’t bother me and I’ve been around plenty of yelling, I’m not sensitive to any of that, but I was very uncomfortable. If someone else would have witnessed that, especially a new member or someone loo to join, it would have deterred them from the space. Even if [member 1] was wrong and [officer 1] was right, the way he handled that was atrocious. I’ve seen plenty of disagreements and confrontations at the space and this one was way out of line.
The other instance was with [officer 1] in the office that Stan used to occupy. I was in the new common room on my computer and I started to hear yelling. I looked and saw someone standing in there with him (door wide open) and [officer 1] was yelling at him. I think his name is [member 3]. I was sitting at the far end of the room, right by the door that leads to the front, and I could hear every word [officer 1] was yelling but could not hear the other guy’s responses because he was staying calm as well. [officer 1] was yelling about the corporation and that he would get rid of that guy and have him banned. It was coming from a very pompous position of I run this and you don’t. Anyone in the common room or nearby would have been able to hear this but there weren’t many people there that day. [member 4] might have been in there. Anyway, he tore that guy a new one. I was shocked at what I was hearing because he made it seem like he personally owned the space and that guy was threatening the entire thing. I’m not sure what he did that got [officer 1] so upset but it shouldn’t have been handled that way. I was embarrassed to even be there. The crazy thing was that as this was going on, [board member 1], the board member, walked up and stood in the doorway throughout a good part of the verbal lashing and didn’t say a thing, just watched. This went on for a good 5 minutes of him just yelling at this guy. Finally, the guy left and [board member 1] went in and sat down by [officer 1] and they were laughing about it. I was appalled at the time and at that point I didn’t even realize that [board member 1] was a board member. Now that I know that I’m disgusted at the behavior of both of them honestly. I’m pretty tough but I probably would have cried if I were in that guy’s position. It just isn’t right. I don’t know what he did, but regardless of that, he should have been approached by someone in a calm and respectful manner. He was not yelling or raising his voice so why did [officer 1] feel the need to scream at him at the top of his lungs? It really bothered me to see someone get treated that way, and I honestly considered jumping in to try to diffuse the situation. I didn’t because I knew that the board favored him and that others who have opposed him have been banned and I did not want a target on my back. I didn’t even feel safe reporting it through the proper channels because of that fear.
I’m no longer a member, in part because of these things: feeling like I’m in a war zone, fearing being targeted if I stood up for what is right. Also because of the bans that were made - too many bans! That’s before the recent wave of bans which are horrible! Also because of the loss of classes and teachers due to the new rules and conditions. I used the space to learn new skills and hang out with cool people. Those things were being taken away and I no longer felt the investment was fruitful for me.
INTERVIEWER:
Would you happen to have an approximate date that these two events transpired? Exact date is ideal if possible, but even the month or season would be useful.
ANONYMOUS #1:
The second incident happened Oct 7th [2019]
I don’t know the date of the first
Testimony from Member 3
INTERVIEWER:
Thank you for sharing … Do you mind explaining what was going on when [officer 1] was yelling at you in the finance office?
Member 3:
[officer 1] was basically throwing his weight around about being a corporate officer, and that I wasn’t. Then he criticized my technical solution in several areas, such as how chemical were stored, which I pointed out were in compliance.
I also explained that I didn’t actually store chemical in that manner, but that there was nothing actually wrong with the way were. There were several issues like that. Unqualified and erroneous opinions of the "Corporate Officer” mostly of which I was just one person involved.
INTERVIEWER:
Do you remember who else was there?
Member 3:
[redacted gender] member of the board, someone else.
INTERVIEWER:
Do you remember about when this all happened?
Member 3:
The tone from [officer 1] was overwhelmingly negative, authoritarian and derogative, and I tried to end the conversation in a cordial manner.
Not the date, but I remember in relation to other events. probably around September-October [2019]
