Sounds like some standard tactics by some folx to ensure things went their way in terms of Chengdu. I am sad to hear of those spreading to a group like this. Shouting people down or shutting them down doesn't make for a fair competition, and drives away those who have an honest interest IMHO.
My concern with those non native visitors to Chengdu was a) as mentioned below, if a new outbreak happened, could you be stuck there for a lengthy time? b) could the government drum up charges against anyone not following the propaganda party lines, c) whether the CON could be run appropriately and d) whether the world conflicts would impact travel or the ability to leave the country when you wished to do so. I was glad to hear you returned unscathed except the sinus issues. Racism isn't the actual issue, as far as I could see, but it is a rallying cry some use when they have nothing else to throw in defense of their position or actions.
Re: people not understanding how WORLDCon membership works--Many years ago I belonged to an international group that had governing boards or membership teams, however, they had some interesting rules that most of the membership did not grasp. One was that there was *no way* to get rid of a member that was acting out or inappropriately, or disharmoniously unless the local group had a 2/3 passing vote to drop that person's membership AND that the international governing board ALSO then had a 2/3 passing vote to remove the membership; or if the member did not pay their dues on time (hint, the problem children always make sure to pay on time so they can't be gotten rid of!). Often, the international governing board would ignore pleas for help from a local governing board/team with a problematic member, causing undue stress on the local membership, which drove good members away. The calls from the local governing boards or concerned members were always "Why can't we remove them from membership rolls if they are causing such disruption to the group?". One would think that would be an appropriate action, or easy to place in the membership rules, but the Standing Rules were not written that way, ergo...problem children everywhere. I did go back and re-read what I was given before I joined and found that there were no references to those Standing Rules that were accessible before one was accepted as a member of the group, which I took up with the governing board before I eventually left the group. Most people don't read the fine print before submitting a membership application, assuming it is even available to them and I suspect most WORLDCon memberships have not read that teeny print, that you've pointed out many times about how it is "run".
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
CONsequences
Date: 2024-01-21 07:02 pm (UTC)My concern with those non native visitors to Chengdu was a) as mentioned below, if a new outbreak happened, could you be stuck there for a lengthy time? b) could the government drum up charges against anyone not following the propaganda party lines, c) whether the CON could be run appropriately and d) whether the world conflicts would impact travel or the ability to leave the country when you wished to do so. I was glad to hear you returned unscathed except the sinus issues. Racism isn't the actual issue, as far as I could see, but it is a rallying cry some use when they have nothing else to throw in defense of their position or actions.
Re: people not understanding how WORLDCon membership works--Many years ago I belonged to an international group that had governing boards or membership teams, however, they had some interesting rules that most of the membership did not grasp. One was that there was *no way* to get rid of a member that was acting out or inappropriately, or disharmoniously unless the local group had a 2/3 passing vote to drop that person's membership AND that the international governing board ALSO then had a 2/3 passing vote to remove the membership; or if the member did not pay their dues on time (hint, the problem children always make sure to pay on time so they can't be gotten rid of!). Often, the international governing board would ignore pleas for help from a local governing board/team with a problematic member, causing undue stress on the local membership, which drove good members away. The calls from the local governing boards or concerned members were always "Why can't we remove them from membership rolls if they are causing such disruption to the group?". One would think that would be an appropriate action, or easy to place in the membership rules, but the Standing Rules were not written that way, ergo...problem children everywhere. I did go back and re-read what I was given before I joined and found that there were no references to those Standing Rules that were accessible before one was accepted as a member of the group, which I took up with the governing board before I eventually left the group. Most people don't read the fine print before submitting a membership application, assuming it is even available to them and I suspect most WORLDCon memberships have not read that teeny print, that you've pointed out many times about how it is "run".