nl_e17

Report of the Meeting
nicknames is more usual. One does not know one another’s name and address, so nobody can
make it public. For good communication, so has been said, one needs no real name. People who
want to meet one another in real life, can make their own individual choice. Such a group exists
in the Netherlands, a group of mostly young people full of ideals and idealism, some of them
active on their own web sites or otherwise - maybe later becoming the successors of the greyhaired
people.
However, infiltration by ill-motivated people cannot be entirely prevented. One has to be
conscious of the risk. Anonymous chat sites are quite easy to infiltrate. In more personal
groups, it is more difficult but still proven to be possible. The German infiltrator had prepared
his job very carefully. He had a real existing address, a good story, and even was sometimes
accompanied by two young boys who also told lies.
So, the general rule is: do or say nothing that you won't have published on the front page of the
newspapers. This requires self-discipline. Meetings such as we have now, do not interest
newspaper journalists. What we discuss here - and publish now - is not the kind of information
they or the public want. Because there is always a risk, one should also be courageous enough
to remain active, to form and lead groups, which might be organized according the Steering
Committee model or the chat site model. Both have their risks. A certain level of publicity is
needed, otherwise new people cannot find the group. There is no choice, as long as you want to
reach and help people - and because there are not many people really active in this field.
These people should be also able to create leadership: to have the knowledge, vision and
capacity for organizing human power. For example: do not ask for more active membership of
board members during a meeting: prepare this and ask people personally before. Also: divide
tasks so that simple concrete tasks can be undertaken by new active members.
Risks? Life is risky. Living implies the expectation of risks and problems. A group as a whole
has a shared responsibility, but no group can be trusted completely. Thus, you can trust only
yourself - and remember the general rule given here above. Do not be surprised if you discover
your phone is tapped, as happened in the Netherlands. Caution should be your style of living.
But it should also include being courageous and active in helping one another, and studying
carefully the laws of your country.
For example: a person, arrested on the basis of false accusations is scarcely able to defend
himself because police or prison guards may block every communication. He needs help, and
the helper needs a good knowledge of the law and the judicial system. An idea is: make
pamphlets for your members with the juridical knowledge they must have.
Another example is this meeting. Different feelings and ideas are expressed about the taking of
photos at informal moments like meals in a restaurant. At the one end of this spectrum are
those who express fear of wrongful use of photos of a group, which serve to help those who
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