Thank you, Emily, for bringing the focus back to the Shared Weight priorities! And especially thanks for reminding us of them! 

These values and attitudes are what motivated me to be involved in organizing participatory music and dance events in the first place. I’m glad they are core expectations for this list serv.

Chrissy Fowler
Belfast, ME

FIRST AND FOREMOST – we are supportive of each other!
As members of Shared Weight, we treat our fellow list members with kindness, understanding and support. 

From: Emily Addison via Organizers <organizers@lists.sharedweight.net>
Sent: Monday, August 23, 2021 7:28 PM
To: organizers shared weight
Subject: [Organizers] Maintaining respectful and kind tone on the SW organizer list
 
Hi All,

I'm not a list moderator for this particular SW list but I am a list moderator for two other SW lists.

What I've noticed over the past few days on this list is that some pretty divisive and inflammatory language has come up.

Here is text from the Shared Weight website which applies to all SW lists:
FIRST AND FOREMOST – we are supportive of each other!
As members of Shared Weight, we treat our fellow list members with kindness, understanding and support.  
We enjoy lively debate but prize civility.  Be conscious of the difference between facts and opinions.
Language that puts down the ideas of others or that is aggressive will not be tolerated. However, it’s also important to remember that most people do have an occasional bad day and are capable of change.

I appreciate the conversation about COVID specifically as it relates to organizing dances. However, it doesn't seem as though that the broader discussion about COVID and vaccines belongs on this particular list.

And I encourage us all to consider looking at our emails through the lens of being supportive of each other and treating each other with kindness and understanding.

Emily