[Community Rights Network] Fwd: Further Introduction...

[Peter Norris]

Dear Scott, et al
  Your critique is a bit disingenuous since you only include part of the
email and the timing is out of context.  Was this not the same email you
claimed that I was controlling, albiet you had never had a conversation
with me?
  Have you not found a place within the organization?  You and I both know
the truth(s), and so do most of the folks in this organization, so why
don't you just drop it, and move on.  I have left the organization because
of this silliness, but I will respond when my name is brought into the
conversation, especially when it is someone from the process team that
really doesn't know what he is talking about.  I really have to wonder
about the integrity of the group when the drama follows me after I have
moved on to next steps.
  I wish you the best of luck,  I know you are being brought up to speed.
 I think you have a tremendous amount to offer the group, and community in
general.  I watched you closely at Sunday's meeting and was impressed.
 Maybe someday we can have a heart to heart.
  Sincerely, Peter



"All things are subject to interpretation. Whichever interpretation
prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth."

-- Friedrich Nietzsche
*Peter Scott Norris 707.456.9968*
*The thought manifests as the word; The word manifests as the deed; The
deed develops into habit, And habit hardens into character. So watch the
thought and its ways with care, And let it spring from love born out of
concern for all beings.*


On Mon, Apr 7, 2014 at 8:38 AM, Scott Menzies <scott.m.menzies at gmail.com>wrote:

> Many thanks to the process team for their hard work on these difficult
> topics! Since it was alleged that my informing Peter & Shannon about my
> background and experience is untrue, I felt I should forward the response I
> received from Shannon to an introduction e-mail I sent to both Peter &
> Shannon on March 17. I also included Ali and Baile on that introduction,
> since they didn't know me well, either. My introduction is below Shannon's
> response, which was a reply-all to everyone listed, so everyone in that
> thread received her response, as well. I assumed that by sending my
> introduction to the leadership at that time, it would be forwarded to the
> rest of the community. I did not have access to the whole list of e-mails
> in order to send an introduction of myself, and I felt it more appropriate
> to go through the leadership to make that introduction.
>
> Thanks again to the process team!
>
> [Please see forwarded e-mail content below.]
>
> Thanks! -Scott
> Scott Menzies, M.A. (Environment & Community)
> Instructor/Proprietor
> Perfect Circle Taijiquan
> 330 N. Franklin St, Fort Bragg, CA
> 530-410-3333 (cell)
> 707-962-3009 (studio - ringer always off)
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Shannon Biggs <shannon at globalexchange.org>
> Date: Mon, Mar 17, 2014 at 10:45 AM
> Subject: Re: Further Introduction...
> To: Scott Menzies <scott.m.menzies at gmail.com>, peternorris at gmail.com
> Cc: Ali Boecker <alis_element at yahoo.com>, Baile <baileoakes at gmail.com>
>
>
>  Hi Scott,
>
> Thanks for all of this, such an inclusive introduction! I'm so glad to
> know more about you and so very excited to hear your thoughts and
> perspectives, which helps me better understand what the needs are as we
> strive to be of the best assistance to everyone in the County as you all
> make history and protect precious water and create a real local democracy
> in Mendocino.
>
> Looking forward to meeting you ALL so soon.
>
> My best,
> Shannon
>
>
>
> On 3/17/14 10:30 AM, "Scott Menzies" <scott.m.menzies at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hi Peter and Shannon,
>
> I thought it would be best to further introduce myself, since it seems I'm
> going to be involved in this campaign here on the coast. It has been awhile
> since I've done any community organizing, but it looks like my education
> and organizing training fit well with what is being attempted, here. So
> here's a bit about me and my past organizing experience and education, how
> I see my role as possibly being in this campaign, as well as what I feel is
> important for and to the group on the coast:
>
> Community Organizing Training
>
>    -
>    - Education for Action: Semester long seminar taught by long-time
>    organizer Eric Rofes (http://www.ericrofes.com/bio/general.php) using
>    the Midwest Academy's manual, *Organizing for Social Change* (
>    http://www.midwestacademy.com/manual/*)*, providing skills and tools
>    which have supported me from organizing my first efforts in election reform
>    and Instant Runoff Voting advocacy to starting my Taijiquan (T'ai Chi
>    Ch'uan) studio last May.
>
>
> Education
>
>    -
>    - Masters of Arts in Social Science, Environment & Community, Humboldt
>    State University, 2005 cohort
>    -
>       - Intensive seminars on mulit/inter-disciplinary subjects and
>       perspectives including Rights, Politics, and the Environment; Native
>       American/Ethnic Studies; Community & Place; and Sustainable Cities.
>
>
> Community Organizing Experience Highlights
>
>    -
>    - Voter Confidence Committee
>    -
>       - My first attempt at community organizing after my training.
>       -
>       - Advocated for the implementation of Ranked Voting in Humboldt
>       County.
>       -
>       - Held actions that included parallel elections to show how results
>       might have differed under a different voting system.
>       -
>    - Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County, under director Kaitlin
>    Sopoci-Belknap and 2004 Green Party Presidential candidate David Cobb (Paul
>    Cienfuegos founded DUHC, but was no longer involved in when I came along.)
>    -
>       - Worked on campaign that ultimately passed Measure T, which banned
>       non-local corporations from donating to local elections.
>       -
>          - Ultimately overturned as unconstitutional with help of the
>          Pacific Legal Foundation.
>          -
>       - Humboldt County Independent Business Alliance
>       -
>          - Co-founded with Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap as a project of DUHC,
>          using the American Independent Business Alliance model
>          -
>    - Healthy Humboldt Coalition Outreach Coordinator
>
>
> Other
>
>    -
>    - Heavily involved in journalism during high-school, which provided
>    skills that I use to write news releases that follow journalistic style,
>    read like actual articles, and often get printed verbatim.
>
>
> I knew Paul personally when he and I lived in Humboldt County, but it was
> during his hiatus from activism (from burnout), when he was focusing on his
> bookstore, 100fires. Since his move to Portland we haven't had any contact.
>
> I did not to go to Paul's workshop for a cpuple of reasons. For a few
> years I've actively avoided getting involved in activism due to my own
> burnout and concerns from my own "spiritual" perspective that my work had
> to come from the right place of inner peace before I could re-engage. As a
> practitioner of Taijiquan (T'ai Chi Ch'uan), which I studied in Taiwan and
> China, and which is a Daoist martial art, I take the concept of nonviolence
> (yet not pacifism) seriously, and any actions that come out of ego, anger,
> fear, or any other space other than peace are not technically nonviolent by
> Daoist (and Buddhist) philosophies. I had been that guy myself and I saw
> too many other "activists" who relied on their anger or passion to get
> things done, who were "driven" (and not, in my opinion, doing the driving),
> and, sometimes, even told me my efforts at internal work were a waste of
> time. I needed to figure out how to re-engage on my terms and without
> burning out. Though, I also know that by trying to develop Perfect Circle
> Taijiquan that I'm already doing right by my community. That could be all I
> do and I would feel it enough.
>
> Second, knowing the circles in which I worked in Humboldt, and considering
> the vast breadth and depth of subject matter my master's program covered, I
> also expected that little of what Paul had to offer would be new to me.
> This is also why I never had an intention of going to Democracy School. I
> already have $25,000 of debt surrounding my master's. Not really interested
> in spending more money and time unless it's strategically critical for me
> to do so.
>
> But, attending the Sunday meeting at John's gave me a sense that this was
> a clear, worthy topic that could actually get me out of my organizing cave.
> Noting that, while there were a few seasoned organizers there, there didn't
> appear to be anyone with formal organizing training similar to mine,
> especially amongst the very few folks who stepped up to take a leadership
> role in the tentative "Campaign Management Committee" for our local area, I
> decided to try to break off the rust and offer up my knowledge and skills
> by asking to be on the Campaign Management Committee myself. That resulted
> in the holding of a couple of regular meetings and regular communication.
>
> What I feel is important for the coastal group are as follows:
>
> One, that it be well-organized, especially considering our short timeline.
> This, to me, is where my training with the Midwest Academy manual comes in.
> I'm really not that concerned about the ordinance itself. I'm concerned
> about the community organizing. The ordinance is just what we're organizing
> to support (at this point), and I'm not really interested in participating
> in the drafting process.
>
> Two, that this campaign not just be treated as a campaign, but, as is the
> practice of the Midwest Academy and which has been shown in studies to be
> effective with Independent Business Alliances, as an action of an
> organization that sets up that organization for the NEXT action. In other
> words, creating a coastal group that can generate and store momentum, not
> just fizzle at the end of this campaign. I know that there are others who
> share this desire, and I believe this is a main premise for the group of us
> who have been meeting regularly since John's gathering.
>
> So there you have it. If you have any questions you can write me back or
> call me on my cell at 530-410-3333. I am still trying to develop and grow
> Perfect Circle Taijiquan, which is, at this point, just breaking even, so I
> won't be dedicating my life to this campaign, but I will be involved and
> hopefully assist it in being efficient in its work.
>
> Best,
>
> Scott
>
> Scott Menzies, M.A. (Environment & Community)
> Instructor/Proprietor
> Perfect Circle Taijiquan
> 330 N. Franklin St, Fort Bragg, CA
> 530-410-3333 (cell)
> 707-962-3009 (studio - ringer always off)
>
>
>
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