damian wayne (injustice) (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
batricide) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
meadowlark2019-05-03 09:31 pm
batricide) wrote in meadowlark2019-05-03 09:31 pm
@hafid.alghul
Before we return to New Amsterdam, I wanted to bring something forward to all of you.
As things stand we're reliant on Morningstar to survive in the world. This worked while things were new, while there was still a chance we were just passing through, but some of our numbers have been here for months and as we grow it's important we find a way to handle ourselves, both for our own sake and the sake of the people we've been depending on.
What I propose is a plan to make us self-sustaining and ensure that we're doing more than surviving, we're thriving as best we can given circumstances.
We have no shortage of talent among us, meaning that this task is well within our ability to handle. Our different backgrounds have given us a diverse skillset that's currently being wasted by our own lack of order. I propose changing that by introducing voluntary groups that will focus on building specific areas we need to improve on and help move us forward as an organization.
Combat. Business and Finance. Research and Development. Medical. Internal Human Relations. And Public Relations and Outreach. All areas we need to be focusing on and expanding on, each with its own unique skillset.
Each committee will be under the supervision of one or more members of the Displaced, elected by the committee themselves. These Displaced will be in charge of organizing meetings and gathering any necessary supplies.
What I propose is membership of these committees would be strictly voluntary but strongly encouraged. Many of us are experienced in different areas, so I'm not ruling out serving on multiple committees - but to do what is within your limits.
I also suggest there be two "ambassadors" who will serve as the face and effective organizers of our collective as a wwhole, ensuring that things are running smoothly and the necessary conversations are being had and heard. And if the day comes that we're exposed, they'll serve as the face of our organization to the world itself.
This is only a proposal. I can't force anyone to do this, and this only works through voluntary participation. But I encourage all of you to think about it, and if this is something you want to do, think of how you want to shape our future. We can only do so together.
Thank you for reading this and for your consideration on these words.
As things stand we're reliant on Morningstar to survive in the world. This worked while things were new, while there was still a chance we were just passing through, but some of our numbers have been here for months and as we grow it's important we find a way to handle ourselves, both for our own sake and the sake of the people we've been depending on.
What I propose is a plan to make us self-sustaining and ensure that we're doing more than surviving, we're thriving as best we can given circumstances.
We have no shortage of talent among us, meaning that this task is well within our ability to handle. Our different backgrounds have given us a diverse skillset that's currently being wasted by our own lack of order. I propose changing that by introducing voluntary groups that will focus on building specific areas we need to improve on and help move us forward as an organization.
Combat. Business and Finance. Research and Development. Medical. Internal Human Relations. And Public Relations and Outreach. All areas we need to be focusing on and expanding on, each with its own unique skillset.
Each committee will be under the supervision of one or more members of the Displaced, elected by the committee themselves. These Displaced will be in charge of organizing meetings and gathering any necessary supplies.
What I propose is membership of these committees would be strictly voluntary but strongly encouraged. Many of us are experienced in different areas, so I'm not ruling out serving on multiple committees - but to do what is within your limits.
I also suggest there be two "ambassadors" who will serve as the face and effective organizers of our collective as a wwhole, ensuring that things are running smoothly and the necessary conversations are being had and heard. And if the day comes that we're exposed, they'll serve as the face of our organization to the world itself.
This is only a proposal. I can't force anyone to do this, and this only works through voluntary participation. But I encourage all of you to think about it, and if this is something you want to do, think of how you want to shape our future. We can only do so together.
Thank you for reading this and for your consideration on these words.
no subject
private.
But I also can't continue this discussion without my views being mischaracterized. Which means I can't communicate with anyone else.
And in the meantime, I'm led to believe that my points were considered before, when I have no evidence of it here. Right now, it feels as if what I'm saying might be better considered if it came from another party.
private.
this whole mess
he's tired. he's got damian in one ear, clarke in the other, and can see both of their points. can also see where things started to spiral. where they never would have been able to spiral if this whole thing were conducted in person like any discussion of this size and significance ought to be.
he's been blunt with one already. only fair to be blunt with the other. ]
It's too late to do anything about it now, Clarke. Your points are valid, but the two of you kept squabbling over miscommunications and personal matters on a public forum and now you're both discredited.
I don't think the suggestion of a condensed version reposted to clear the way would be a bad idea if you want your thoughts seen without the association of the rest of it. And I wholeheartedly recommend you stop interacting with anyone who isn't currently trying to discuss your views in a productive way.
private.
private.
[ today I need
10 drinks ]
PRIVATE / @leo.fitz
[ YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE THE DAMIAN WHISPERER A-HOLE. ]
private forever
[ please, FITzROY, explain to him how you whisper tHAT
he was otherwise occupied with writing a sequel in response so it's entirely his bad but he'll never admit it ]
He's apologised. They both have.
no subject
[ he's not impressed by the triple-time lecture approach from any of them, not just Hafid. ]
She raises valid points. I'm glad they'll be considered.
[ FINALLY ]
no subject
She took time to raise valid points, they deserved a valid response. We came to an understanding by the end of the conversation and I wasn't aware the full weight of the Grimm brothers was about to slide down behind me.
no subject
[ it’s a teensy bit of judgment still, when this is often the way the brothers do business. And Stephen chose not to make his thoughts known on the post, and hasn’t publicly denounced the mudslinging tactics, instead only replying to debate with Clarke directly.
As a spy, Fitz is well-versed in optics. ]
Do you know how many people this went through before the public was able to discuss? I reckon a future debate should ask what we all want before telling us what we need.
[ he knows Stephen has Damian’s ear, too. And Fitz has taken issue with the implications that they’ve been struggling and haphazard before now (as well as the repeated mention of the potential loss of Morningstar as an impetus; they’ve been around for fifty years, and they’ll be around for fifty more).
There’s room for a softer approach than this. ]
no subject
[ but if optics are a problem, and he'll very much agree that they are - ]
Though if we're to start involving the word debate, we'll need to diversify access to the conversation. I was hopeful this time, but I think it's become clear that the network as an exclusive venue for these conversations isn't having the desired effect. Arguments that muddy the waters immortalized for any fresh eyes to see when they look back to find actual information on big issues has hurt us before and will most likely continue to inspire mistrust.
We have a habit of desperately derailing. Manageable in person, relatively damning over text.
[ example 1: this mess
example 2: murdergate ]
no subject
[ He wonders if any of their feedback was taken on board, however, when the ambassadorial position persisted despite his comments. ]
We'll have to disagree here, Stephen. In my mind, the network is a symptom, not the cause. I certainly wouldn't have liked to be in the room, after seeing the insults and threats thrown around. Even an in-person discussion would need to be minuted and verified on the network. Debates about the nature of how we govern ought to be captured as fully as possible. And you'd need a moderator willing to remain neutral and step forward, in the event of poor conduct.
Everyone should be asked what they want first, if we're to come together, whether that's in person or on the network. Do you agree?
[ Fitz would raise the countless examples of collaboration on the network, of which Clarke has managed a few. He doesn't think things are as simple as the means of communication: The content, too, needs refining. ]
no subject
as for the rest, it's not a conversation he has the energy for - not on this forum. enough words in his head today and with the outcome unlikely to be favorable he'll pass on any more. anyway, if Stephen's not going to be willing to organize any kind of overhaul, and God knows he's got enough on his plate, he's no horse in the race. ]
Obviously. Nothing on a mutual, group-wide scale can progress without majority agreement. And it won't have unquestionable value unless we're all considered in the end result.
[ he's tired, go and play in the snow. ]
no subject
Then I look forward to the next group-wide discussion opening with that sentiment, Stephen, for all our sakes.
And I hope there'll be a capable moderator in place, regardless of the forum.
[ someone needs to watch for this nonsense, and too many of their own are passive in the face of discord. ]
no subject
If not, me too. Perhaps you should look into that.
[ he's absolutely too tired for the even the concept of fitz' possible sorely misplaced belief in him. let's just shut that down real quick and offer the floor to somebody better suited.
if Fitz wants it to be a discussion from the ground up, he's going to need to have a hand in setting the ball rolling and facilitating at least their arrival at the starting gates. because building something from scratch without an existing idea as foundation, ensuring everyone has a voice in it and making sure the conversation doesn't devolve into explosive squabbling is a bigger job than either one of them has time for alone.
Stephen can think of exactly one person designed as a perfect fit for the job and he's not putting this on Markus, the only sane mediating individual he actually thinks they have. ]
no subject
In all honesty, Fitz doesn't consider either of them suited for this work. ]
We've had a loose structure in place for some time now, and I think the committees are quite a clever way to advance that, don't you? All of you and Clarke's efforts with medical, everything Hafid and Daisy have done in training, even Bobbi's Welcome Guide.
I take greater issue with the implication that everything we've done before now has been simply surviving or that we need outward facing positions when we haven't yet all agreed to come together under the umbrella of Displaced, a collective and team, not just a group forced together by circumstances. We are stronger than we know — and more divided, too.
But there's hope for us yet, if we're willing to listen to one another, as Hafid and Clarke have both demonstrated. The softer touch applied in that compromise is one I can get behind. An openness to shifting terrain is essential; that's all I mean to advocate for.
[ and they'll see what lovable idiot will die on the moderator hill another day. ]
no subject
but Fitz brings up something else that derails his focus on the issue at hand for a moment - the umbrella of Displaced as an optional concept. not anymore, that's out of their hands. the choice now is whether to be ready when whoever's holding it over their heads decides to lift it aside and let the rain in.
Fitz is entirely too close to Damian for him to risk venturing onto the topic now. it's frustrating to be bound by a promise, to not be able to properly express the immediacy of his concerns and how they inform his position here, but he's given his word. and Fitz would ask the kinds of questions whose answers or lack thereof would both speak as loud. ]
Here's to hoping somebody picks up wherever this lands.
[ it's all he has left to say. Fitz' hopes may come to pass or they may not. for now, all they can do is sit and watch - Fitz to run damage control, Stephen to keep out of the way and wait. ]
no subject
[ together or not at all. ]
@margaret.carter / private
Given the development in the discussion, your contributions, and Mr Al Ghul's answer to my initial inquiry, I wonder if you can shed some light on what makes this proposal any different to the structure we already have in place, then.
As you’ve said, you and Mr Manfred have management of our new safehouse and the business you've taken on with the specific purpose of getting the Displaced on the road to self-sufficiency. Very well, that’s underway. Ms Johnson and Mr Al Ghul have taken point on combat lessons for months so nominating them for positions they volunteered for seems unnecessary. You and Ms Griffin already made the call to galvanise medical efforts and training several weeks ago and our more engineering and technologically savvy fellows have been known to collaborate on projects. And there's our collective efforts on Ms Philips' Welcome Guide, of course, with a directory of helpful contacts (however short it may be for now). I also recall Mr Kogane suggesting the displaced engage in a monthly town hall some weeks ago and reception seemed favourable, particularly with a new safehouse on the horizon as a meeting spot.
[ To say nothing of how they banded together during the raids this past September. Stephen on medical, the rest of them in the field, a successful rescue of over half of Morningstar’s people and the acquisition of the UNA weapons cache. That was under more drastic circumstances, but everything else they’ve done has been life as it happens in New Amsterdam. ]
I’m bringing this to you because you’ve had a vested interest in the displaced becoming independent from Morningstar for some time now and clearly have a horse in this particular race. I’m curious as to why you believe we’re lacking in cohesion. And as I said to Mr Al Ghul, there's no harm in calling for unity. But it appears to me, as someone who arrived just a few short months ago, that it's been in place much longer than this discussion implies and rather successful at that. This group is not starting from nothing and it’s frankly a disservice to the work and discourse that’s come before suggest that we are.
private,
exhausted.
but all of peggy's point are good and fair and right. she's come to him directly and she's arguably better equipped to be a voice in this arena. she deserves a response. ]
While I'm not married to this exact plan, and I do agree that we've already shown ourselves to be capable of organising productively without a structure in place, I do think there is room for significant improvement on or current model. Many newcomers here don't have the same foundation a lot of us have gained from our pasts. You're Peggy Carter. I'm a sorcerer tasked with defending the dimension from outside threat. We have experience with entering stressful situations and adapting accordingly, some of us with a large bank of skills at our disposal to make that happen.
For newcomers who don't have that, who are perhaps young or terrified or slow to trust, there's room for people to drop off the map. Not everyone fresh off the boat from their own universe is going to want to approach established strangers to access training, information, seek out like-minded individuals, no matter how welcoming the welcome guide.
We're disparate. Capable of uniting for necessary causes, yes, but we exist for the most part as many small groups of people focused on specific areas. We don't meet often on a larger scale outside of when we're given the call to collect new arrivals or show up to tackle an emergency we're not all equipped to cope with. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, people have their own lives and their own interests and their own friendships and that's something we need to foster, but it's my belief that we also need something in place to ensure an established sense of community and belonging. For the sake of newcomers if nothing else. A monthly meet is a start, but sizable pockets of us meeting more often than that outside of stressful situations or a full group discussion is another step I believe we need to take. For socialization and familiarity with one another if nothing else.
The proposed welcome committee will help. But once a trust is established, having somewhere for people to go to immediately feel in touch with a group of people who share their skills or interests, to be able to work as part of that group towards achieving something in this world, would be an invaluable resource to settling newcomers. A selection of people they're able to access and get to know without having to be the one to reach out to individuals. Groups of people set up to have discussions that cover each area of life here will not only help us with ensuring we're always progressing and always prepared, but enable swift and wide-reaching integration to the group for people freshly deposited in a brand new life, most often without a familiar face to fall back on.
[ but something bears saying here. it's been brought to his attention that his contribution to this has been narrow and ill-advised and he doesn't disagree. this isn't his area of expertise - he's unused to teamwork of this nature, of balancing the needs of a group quite as diverse as this one.
this isn't his wheelhouse. it's not even close. that much he'll absolutely concede. ]
Having said all this, I'm very far from a politician. I am, as you've said, invested in establishing a degree of self-reliance for the displaced and have an interest in assuring we're all catered for and protected given that we seem to be here for the long haul. If this isn't the structure that'll work for everyone, so be it, and I hope that somebody will open a wider net with the next discussion. But it seemed to me to be a natural progression from the efforts you've already highlighted, welcoming in everyone instead of leaving a handful of individuals to take point, and an opportunity for us all to collaborate in a more focused and accessible way.
private onwards
[ She knows who she is and who she becomes and she doesn't think she is as special as Strange seems to believe time and time again. He's right in that some of them are better equipped to handle the weird and wonderful future they've stumbled into — she's said as much to Al Ghul, to Forbes — and she doesn't disagree that those backgrounds mean they can help others. Why would she? It's why she joined up with Morningstar, why she's bloody well here in the trenches with the rest of them (all of them, local and displaced alike).
That's not what she's pushing back against. ]
Just as I'm aware of the uniquely unpleasant situation we've found ourselves in and the points made throughout this discussion. I see that you want to encourage the sense of community that's already in place and reinforce a safety net for our new arrivals. I don't disagree, I believe everyone can benefit from that. What I do disagree with is the implication that we are not united until we share a common goal.
Is it because we cannot seem to agree on our priorities? It's as you said, we're people with our own lives, interests, and concerns. Disparity is only natural. Do you feel we lack cohesion because we lack focus? I would argue, after this discussion, that it's civility we lack. I noticed Ms Griffin wasn't the only one to lay out her reservations and yet she was the only one faced with a thorough rebuttal on all sides. Just because her point was strongly made doesn't mean it's invalid and as you've all said, this is merely a first draft. If this is meant to impact the displaced as a whole, then it should be able to stand up to questioning until everyone is heard — not just those of us already present, but those who arrive after its implementation, too.
[ But what does she know? She's just Peggy Carter, after all. ]
no subject
I'm aware of my misstep, Fitz and hindsight beat you to it. Clarke and I will speak in person sometime that she's not just weathered an unexpected storm and in the meantime I'm keeping my nose out of the public debate.
Though I wouldn't say uniquely unpleasant. We seem to have started a tradition of managing something this bad or worse at least every other month.
[ he's too close both to the recent flare up of and come down from his temper at the mess that's been made (in part by himself, an extra level of frustration), and to Hafid, to be a useful voice in the wider conversation for now. he helped vet the idea, something he can understand others not appreciating, and in doing so has already in some way injected his thoughts to the sphere. it's time to butt out. ]
On the matter of cohesion, I feel we lack both it and civility because we lack regular contact.
Joint focus can be a unifier and the one I'm most personally familiar with, but it isn't the only one or crucial to the idea. What is necessary is face time and greater communication with the people we're sharing a boat with if we're to continue to foster a sense of community.
no subject
So much of this still strikes her as a need to organise for the sake of organisation, which isn't always a bad thing. Maybe the idea will firm up with time and she will give it that. There are good points to be made. But she still has her reservations about how and why they were made at all when what is meant to be a proposal open to modification has been so staunchly, and sometimes aggressively, defended. (Malone's hostility towards Ms Griffin in spite of a truce between her and Mr Al Ghul has been especially distasteful.) ]
That may be what you feel is necessary, but I see no harm in asking the rest of the displaced what they believe is necessary, too. I'm aware you consulted a few in private. But given our differences, as you and Mr Al Ghul have often highlighted, it would be beneficial to ask a few more in that public forum you're advocating. It seems that discussion has already begun on this post.
Clearly everyone wants what is best for the group. I only hope that aim isn't lost to the belief that there is only one way to make that happen.
[ If people felt they had more of a hand in this, it may just work. Time will tell. ]
no subject
[ there are certain misunderstandings here. the highlighting of differences she cites with him and Damian only came to be involved in further dialogue, on his part, from hearing what Clarke had to say. before that he was operating under an unchallenged assumption that their shared circumstances should be enough common ground to be getting along with. it's an example of an open-mindedness in this that their mistakes suggested they may not have. something he ought to reassure her they do.
the nature of the conception and early sharing of the idea also seems to be suffering from the lack of immediate transparency. he's being given more credit than he's due. in reality a young man saw what he perceived to be an absence of something, wanted to fill it, and sought feedback on his ideas from friends before presenting to the group at large. it's not, as far as Stephen's concerned, the one true cure to one undeniable problem (though there are undeniable problems, mostly pertaining to their safety here, which more than anything are what had him responding to Clarke and wading with her through their own little mire of misunderstandings). it's just a possible model for potential progress.
before it can blow out of all proportion, there are some clarifications to be made. Damian's reputation is fragile and has suffered new blows today under Stephen's encouragement. that's something he needs to put as right as he can. ]
To be clear, I was the consulted. Hafid brought this to me and a few others as an idea, I asked him some questions, helped him to focus his thoughts and encouraged him to present them to the group. I considered his proposal to be a strong foundation on which to build following feedback should it be well received. If not? A discussion's been had. A conversation started. No harm.
[ he wasn't alone, to his understanding, in thinking it would do Damian good to be the one to instigate those conversations and engage positively with his fellow displaced. build some confidence in his own abilities and outlook as a vessel for progress rather than exclusively a point of contention.
that isn't what's happened here. the concept wasn't Stephen's idea but its delivery did happen on his encouragement - and despite Hafid's consistent protests.
believing in someone doesn't always work out in their better interest. ]
He didn't want to be the one to do it, predicting essentially what happened here. I insisted. And then failed to provide him with the mediating presence I assured him I'd be should he need it.
The outcome was unfortunate and avoidable. Personal issues were raised and two teenagers had a fight they shouldn't have had as part of a public discussion, not helped by the involvement of a grown man who was busy making his own mistake while he should have been putting a stop to it.
It doesn't speak to a lack of malleability in Hafid. Or in myself. If you're worried that we're united behind this and will be unwilling to adapt, you don't need to be.