RPV Advance: Show Some Respect, People!
By Steven Ovaska
At last weekend’s RPV Advance, I reached my limit of angry and dissenting opinions.
During the Saturday workshops that I attended, sessions often devolved into comments from the attendees who were attacking the presenters or offering their own opinions on the topic. Near the end of the Article V session, someone in the crowd kept saying loudly, “shame on you” whenever Michael Farris concluded his statement. Wow.
During the Q&A portion of the immigration “red card” workshop, the moderator finally stopped one woman who was in the midst of a minutes-long diatribe in order to ask if there was going to be a question somewhere. Her response? “There’s no question here, but I think….” And that’s when I walked out.
Was there a good reason to speak out-of-turn and proclaim a different opinion for everyone to consider? Is the evil RPV trying to control what people think on these important issues? Was last Saturday every patriot’s last chance to speak or forever hold his peace?
Of course not.
Yes, the RPV selected and invited speakers and panels to discuss relevant issues. But then they set aside time specifically for questions and answers from the attendees. That’s not a smart move for people intent on control.
On perhaps the most controversial issue, Article V, the RPV even chose a debate format, giving equal time to both sides. And then, to go the extra mile, they added Q&A after the debate. Again, that doesn’t seem very controlling to me. The RPV could have easily invited Michael Farris to present his take on the issue and not allowed any Q&A at all. But that didn’t happen.
The moderators did their best, but this wasn’t a facilitation issue: this was an issue of how to be a respectful attendee.
So here are some humble recommendations for those considering attending next year’s Advance:
1. Q&A time is a chance for attendees to ask questions and presenters to answer them.
Asking questions is a great way to clarify a speaker’s position or solution. They don’t have to be easy or nice questions–go ahead and ask the hard ones. But you are out of line if your “question” starts with “I think…” or “You’re wrong because…” Instead, give yourself a head start by starting with, “What did you mean when you said…”
2. Q&A time is not an appropriate time to give your perspective.
These workshops weren’t supposed to be anarchist roundtables; they were supposed to be opportunities for us to learn from experts on certain issues. You should never attend someone else’s session intending to speak. You are not the speaker. You are the listener.
3. At no time is it appropriate to be rude or childish.
If you don’t respect the presenters, and you aren’t going to be open-minded and listen to them, then why did you attend? Showing open disdain for a presenter is disrespectful. Folks, it is possible to disagree with someone and still be an adult about it.
No one is forcing you to adopt a new position. No one is telling you what to think. If you disagree with a presenter’s solution, feel free to talk to your friends or post something on your blog.
If you see all the gaps in the Red Card immigration solution, why don’t you develop your own approach? Invest the time and resources to create a presentation, develop some supporting materials, and then approach the RPV with your list of endorsements. Prove that you can dialogue on the issue and show some dignity.. Perhaps next year, you’ll have a seat at the presenters’ table.
Maybe, deep down, those who attempted to make these workshops their own personal forums are all policy wonks and are all looking for the perfect solutions, but their actions seem to indicate that solutions were far from their objective. It seemed that the preference was for debate for debate itself.
I’m not suggesting that we discourage a healthy level of dissent. I just think we need to learn how to coalesce around good solutions and strategies rather than endlessly bicker about the details trying to find the perfect answers:Growing up would be a good start.
Steven Ovaska is a strategist and writer based in Richmond.
