Guidelines
for Volunteer Conduct
In Indivisible Charlottesville, we believe in a world where everyone has equal rights, equal access, and equal power. This means that we model the values of inclusion and tolerance in all of our work.
We expect our volunteers to reflect those values when we work together. We believe these guidelines will make it easier to work with and be kind to each other; we expect everyone to follow the spirit of these guidelines, not just the letter. (These guidelines are not arising out of any crisis, but are an effort to prevent one.)
First, and most importantly, we do not tolerate harassment of any kind. Harassment includes offensive verbal comments related to race, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, social status, physical appearance, body size, or religion; deliberate intimidation; stalking; following; spamming; harassing photography or recording; sustained disruption of meetings or other events; inappropriate physical contact; and unwelcome sexual attention. Organizers and safety team members may exclude anyone who harasses another person from an Indivisible Charlottesville meeting or event, block them from social media and mailing lists, and to the greatest extent possible ban them from attending future meetings or events.
The rest of these Guidelines cover more mundane types of conflicts that inevitably arise in our organizing work.
Many of us find tight-knit friendships and a deep sense of community working with people with whom we share so many values. And, our organizing brings together people with different perspectives, personalities, and communication styles. The Left is a big tent—and that’s a good thing—but it means we often experience conflict when we work closely together.
When organizers do not fully understand each other’s beliefs or identities, people will often stumble and offend one another, even if they earnestly wish to build from a place of solidarity. … organizing on the scale that our struggles demand means finding common ground with a broad spectrum of people, many of whom we would never otherwise interact with, and building a shared practice of politics in the pursuit of more just outcomes. It’s a process that can bring us into the company of people who share our beliefs quite explicitly, but to create movements, rather than clubhouses, we need to engage with people with whom we do not fully identify and may even dislike. (Kaba and Hayes).
We ask all community members organizing with Indivisible Charlottesville to:
Be Respectful. We are open to and eager for principled disagreement, critiques, and discussions for the sake of growing stronger and more unified movements. However, we should not allow frustration and disagreement to turn into personal attacks. This goes beyond being respectful to each other; we should also be respectful to organizers in other volunteer groups and to people who staff offices and businesses we interact with. For example, we often deliver very assertive messages to our representatives through their staff – and we may also inconvenience them and take up their time – but we can also be mindful that the staff do not make the final decisions on our representatives’ actions and positions. Individual staff members may even agree with us, but are required to faithfully represent their employer’s views. Employees we encounter in our actions are potential comrades and allies, not the enemy.
Avoid Tone Policing, Bad-Mouthing, or Interfering with Others’ Organizing. We expect volunteers to abide by the Solidarity Principles from St Paul, MN in relation to all organizing with Indivisible Charlottesville. These principles help us ensure that when, in our organizing, we work with people and groups that have different tactics and modes of expression, we treat them with tolerance and respect. Outward civility and respectability are not our organizing goals. As such, we don’t tone police, gossip, or bad-mouth others. If you have a concern, please find a direct, respectful, non-public way to communicate that.
(WAIT) Why am I talking? Take Space/Make Space. When in discussion, consider what you want to say and if it has already been said. Is there a better time or place to speak? Are there other methods for you to show how you feel about the conversation, such as nodding your head or snapping your fingers? Respect others by recognizing how much and how often you’re speaking and if you might be dominating conversation. We all know that some people find it easier to speak in groups than others. If you are one of those people, we ask that you “make space” for people who find it harder. Conversely, if you are one of the people who finds it harder to speak in groups, we ask that you try to “take space” for yourself.
Speak from Personal Experience. Speak from your perspective and experience, rather than assuming those of other people.
Listen (don’t just wait to talk). Genuinely pay attention to what others say. Active listening is important in any discussion.
Assume Full Humanity and Good Intent. Expect people to be acting in good faith and with good intentions unless there’s reason to believe otherwise. Although we recognize that merely having good intent does not mitigate the impact of problematic speech/behavior, we can recognize that we were all raised with biases and prejudices, and approach each other with this in mind.
Oops, Ouch. Acknowledge when you’ve made a mistake. In some circumstances, it may be appropriate for you to be explicit about how you might avoid that mistake in the future, and/or find a way to make restitution. Nobody is perfect and everyone will make mistakes!
We are all adults here. For minor disagreements and personality conflicts, we ask that you try your best to talk out any hurt feelings and miscommunications among yourselves—at least enough to maintain a good enough working relationship to complete the project at hand. In other words, remember that we are creating “a movement, not a clubhouse,” and prioritize the work. Focus on solutions, not blame.
Everyone needs boundaries. Only you can determine where your boundaries are and how far your comfort zone will stretch. We want you here for the long run, not just on an individual project, so if you need to take time away or to step off a project or team, please talk to someone in Indivisible Charlottesville leadership and we’ll help you do that.
We value your time and commitment to the Indivisible Charlottesville community. Our goal is to find ways to collaborate, communicate, and nurture our community together. Thank you for being part of this!