[External Relations] Fwd: Update| GPUS P&P Template| BRPP Policies and Procedures

[Owen Broadhurst]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Owen Broadhurst <owen.broadhurst at gmail.com>
Date: May 19, 2005 7:36 PM
Subject: Update| GPUS P&P Template| BRPP Policies and Procedures
To: statecom-discuss at green-rainbow.org, outreach at green-rainbow.org,
adcom at green-rainbow.org, statecom at green-rainbow.org
Cc: co-chairs at green-rainbow.org, secretary at green-rainbow.org,
blackindian_art at verizon.net, SharronGrnRnw at hotmail.com,
jmelaniemazer at aol.com, Gracegrnrnbw at aol.com


Hello, folks,

GPUS = Green Party of the United States
BRPP = GPUS Bylaws, Rules, Policies and Procedures Committee
P&Ps = Policies and Procedures

Earlier this month, I had e-mailed a message to the Outreach and
Statecom-discuss lists, as well as to several AdCom members and our
GPUS Coordinating Committee delegation.

That e-mail concerned proposed language for the policies and
procedures of a committee that the State Committee had appointed me
to. These P&Ps, as they're called, are to serve as a template for
those other GPUS working committees seeking any model for dealing with
what we might call behavioral no-nos.

That e-mail I forwarded is here:

http://www.green-rainbow.org/pipermail/statecom-discuss/2005-May/001064.html

This previous e-mail contains the language arrived at by consensus of
a small BRPP subcommittee that was working on the question. I played a
role in the subcommittee hoping to help preserve state party rights to
representation and avoid draconian policies eliminating due process.

Since reporting the proposal to the full BRPP, some GRP members
expressed concerns relating to language that could conceivably have
helped institutionalize race and class bias in a GPUS document.

==============

I'm now posting an update on the progress of deliberations. Since at
least one BRPP member has both a) questioned my credentials, and b)
questioned how truly representative my efforts have been of the GRP -
I am also now sending this update direct to the AdCom and StateCom
e-lists, although this seems only tangentially related to StateCom and
AdCom business proper. Once again, I would welcome input.

Since my last e-mail on this subject, several revisions have been made
and the BRPP now has in essence three proposals on the table.

The full proposal is here:

http://home.earthlink.net/~rcollins/gp/proposal.html

The full proposal contains a link to one proposed alternative to that
section of the template that aroused class and race bias concerns:

http://home.earthlink.net/~rcollins/gp/alt.html

==========

I have been advocating an alternative even to this alternative in an
effort to move the BRPP towards consensus on the matter:

B) Responsibilities of the Committee and of Committee Members

1) The committee is expressly prohibited from using disagreements
regarding differing views on issues and/or business before the
committee as a cause for curtailment or elimination of membership
privileges.

2) The committee and its members have a responsibility for maintaining
an open, civil, productive working environment, whether meeting in
person, by telephone, online, or by any other means.

A) Committee members are required to behave in accordance with the Ten
Key Values of the Green Party and abide by netiquette guidelines as
posted at "The Core Rules of Netiquette," by Virginia Shea, which can
be viewed at: http://www.albion.com/netiquette/book/ .

B) Actions that will not be tolerated include:

i. misrepresentation of the committee's or a member's work,
ii. financial improprieties,
iii. violent personal attacks and/or threats, verbal or physical,
iv. discrimination against federal or state (where applicable)
protected  classes,
v. harassment,
vi. any other unethical or illegal activities related to committee
business or function.

C) Blatant and/or persistent violation of these guidelines can lead to....

=======

Several of us have also been suggesting to the BRPP that references to
the Netiquette code are superfluous, confusing, and should be removed.

Should anyone have further concerns and ideas, notify me please off-list

owen.broadhurst at gmail.com