[pp.int.general] Update surrounding my term as Administrator of the Pirate Party

[Ryan Martin]

There have been a lot of problems within the Pirate Party that exists in the
United States.  I have been the administration officer at a time where there
are more vacancies in officer seats than officers. A vote of no confidence
was called, questioning my suitability on the day of my election, though no
vote on the matter happened then and was dropped as a frivolous and personal
attack.  I have received neither email or even ideas from most of the Pirate
Party members who take control of meetings, and have been outright berated
for performing tasks that would be applauded in any other volunteer.  It is
apparent to me that the existing membership of the Pirate Party is not what
I thought it was, in number and in focus. I feel that no coworkers exist
within this group.  There is an insular and vocal minority that seems to be
dictating the tone of the party, a tone I do not agree with.  There was a
dubious vote to remove me from office once again. This reoccurs most times
any party gatherings take place. This vote was not done appropriately and
doesn't even meet the constitutionally mandated requirements such as
requiring 3 sessions. I have contested these allegations in the past,
however, this time I have decided to go along with it.  I will be stepping
down from my office and over the next few weeks, handing over the relevant
logins and passwords I have in my possession.



As I spend the time to draft the documents and try to prepare the next
volunteer or committee that will take over the responsibilities I currently
have, I reflect a bit on the last 5 months and what I have learned.  I feel
the concern that the Pirate Party doesn't have an concrete identity is
somewhat justified now.  I assumed the Free Culture Movement was a social
part of the Pirate movement. I assumed also that the DIY culture was an
important group for the party, and I considered these metacommunities to be
a part of the overall Pirate identity.  It is now obvious to me that here,
at least, this is not so much the case.



A piece of the pirate identity that I feel is of some contention is the real
application of the 'remix culture' that, for now, is in early ‘alpha
stages’.  One example of this is the makerspace movement.  I see elements of
coops, corporate workspaces, independent contractor relationships, and DIY
cultural aspects being mixed together in ways that vindicate some of the
Free Culture movements stances on creative community.  Additionally, I see
this in the geocentric regional Burning Man communities, which seem to have
penchants for all sorts of themed lifestyles, even if made somewhat easily
available to the cultureless tourist.  These things are not only interesting
examples but are possible recruitment grounds for Pirates who may or may not
already be interested in involvement in municipal politics. I cannot fathom
how the possibility of such a relationship being beneficial escapes any
individual.  If these types of groups are not our constituency, then I've
been under some very serious misconceptions.  I will note that I chose those
examples because they are communities that I have approached officially,
spoke with, and was met with resistance from party members. I know that I'm
not alone in some of these assumptions, as approaching the makerspace
community was an idea born from this list. It is hard to know what the
'majority' of us think, today.



The current situation is as bleak as the one I came into initially.  I am
passing my information over to someone who wanted to be the promotions
officer, who is, in turn, not sure they are going to be holding the
administrator office position in a month.  Spending a lot of time trying to
walk him through the emails and logins and ongoing discussions might very
well be in vain.  The party will undergo, here, another complete reset, most
likely as everyone scrambles at the disjointed pieces.  There isn’t even a
concrete single method to communicate with all membership today, so it
remains impossible to gauge action or even guess at will.  Right before I
got involved, this reset appears to have happened as well, leaving us with 2
'official' groups (the US Pirate Party and the Pirate Party of the US)
registered with a huge legal morass, implied by just ‘moving’ to the new
legal title and IRS entry and transferring funds and assets over.   I will
do everything in my power (involving a lot of typing, I assume) to create a
log of what the admin needs to know, and hopefully things will move ahead
quickly. On that note, I admit I am deeply concerned for the future of the
Pirate Party.



I am relieved, frankly, that soon, I shall no longer be the single most
important topic to the entire Pirate Party US / US Pirate Party. The Pirate
Party brand was on the front page of the Wall Street Journal just days ago.
Because all the internal struggles that the US Pirate Party US party has
been dealing with, we have been unable to use this to our advantage at all,
and I find THAT to be a shame.  I will continue doing the volunteer work
that I have been. I need not be an official officer to start a podcast,
promote ACTA awareness, try to find people who might run for office, and so
on. So, now, it is likely I will move to more of a content creator role for
the next few months.


I must add that I am touched at the sheer number of people who have
contacted me to inform me that they support my actions and my efforts and
hope to work productively together in the future. I can't think of much more
I could ever ask for than that.


If you are in the US and are reading this, I would implore you to please
become active in the party.  It needs your help.  It currently has  no
leadership. This is certainly both the time and the place in our world for
the Pirate Party movement, and I eagerly anticipate what happens next. Moving
forward, I hope to work with many of you, and I know I shall see you again
soon.
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