[Lnc-business] Suspension motion; Adam Mayer

[Alex Merced (Region 8 Alt)]

My condolences to the Mayer family.

Sent from my iPhone

> On Apr 12, 2018, at 10:52 AM, Caryn Ann Harlos <caryn.ann.harlos at lp.org> wrote:
> 
>   My condolences as well.
>   In reference to the other matter, there are solid good faith positions
>   all around in this very difficult manner.  Many of us asked Mr. Vohra
>   to resign which is far preferable, and I renew that request here.
>   I would like to bring to your attention that there was an additional
>   MeWe post on the same issue which raises the same very troubling issues
>   in which Mr. Vohra stated that if he thought it would be effective that
>   he would have shot up a school board already.  So..... is that not
>   advocating the initiation of force if it could be proven to work?
>   Here is the exact post - what Mr. Vohra gives with one hand, he takes
>   away with another.  That is precisely the problem.
>   ===
> 
>   A few have, interestingly, asked why I don’t support violence against
>   the government. After all, given how much I hate the government, why
>   wouldn’t I want to see it shot up a bit?
> 
>   Here’s an analogy. Suppose you wanted to destroy a church. If you just
>   bomb the church, the adherents of the religion would just create a new
>   one. To truly destroy a church, you need to destroy the religion.
> 
>   Religions are ideas, and are destroyed by ideas. Belief in the welfare
>   state, especially government schools, is an idea. It will be defeated
>   by ideas, not by guns.
> 
>   Listen, if I thought shooting up a school board would end the welfare
>   state, or even just government schools, I would have already done it.
>   My life is not so precious that it’s worth destroying the minds of tens
>   of millions of American kids a year. But such an action would be
>   futile.
> 
>   We don’t need to kill individuals or blow up buildings. We need to
>   destroy the ideology that creates those institutions.
> 
>   We need to destroy the belief in the welfare state, especially
>   government schools. And while that requires a certain verbal
>   aggressiveness, it doesn’t benefit from violence.====
> 
>   On Thu, Apr 12, 2018 at 8:36 AM, Starchild <[1]starchild at lp.org> wrote:
> 
>             My condolences to the Mayer family on their loss, and my
>     thanks for their efforts on behalf of freedom and the LP.
>     Love & Liberty,
>                                        ((( starchild )))
>     At-Large Representative, Libertarian National Committee
>                             [2]RealReform at earthlink.net
>                                     (415) 625-FREE
>                                       @StarchildSF
> 
>>   On Apr 12, 2018, at 7:02 AM, James Lark wrote:
>>  Dear colleagues:
>>      I hope all is well with you.  I am writing to provide some
>>  information about a couple of matters.
>>  1)  In a separate message I shall send my vote on the motion to
>   suspend
>>  Arvin Vohra.  While I believe several of Mr. Vohra's actions are
>>  reflective of poor judgment, I am not convinced that the recent
>   MeWe
>>  post in question or his previous statements constitute a violation
>   of
>>  the certification (also referred to as the "membership pledge").
>   In
>>  particular, I believe that the post in question was an attempt at
>   humor
>>  (albeit an attempt that failed badly), and I accept his statements
>   that
>>  he does not advocate violence against the state.  (I have some
>>  additional concerns about the wording of the motion, which I shall
>>  discuss if the need arises.)
>>      On Mar. 31, I sent a message to Mr. Vohra about the MeWe post.
>   I
>>  stated my belief that the intentional posting of the message in
>   such a
>>  place suggested questionable judgment, and perhaps an indifference
>   to
>>  the negative effect such posts may have on the LP, especially with
>>  respect to some of our affiliate organizations.  I also requested
>   that
>>  he resign from the LNC, preferably with immediate effect.
>>      For whatever it is worth, this is one of the most difficult
>   votes I
>>  have cast during my service as an LNC member.  I am concerned that
>   some
>>  of Mr. Vohra's statements have caused damage to the LP, and may
>   cause
>>  damage in the future.  Thus, I understand very well why the motion
>   is
>>  supported by many people whose character and judgment I greatly
>>  respect.  I am also concerned that passage of the motion may cause
>   as
>>  many problems over the long term as it may alleviate.  In most
>   cases
>>  when I have such uncertainty concerning a motion, I abstain.
>   However,
>>  in this case, since an abstention functions as a "nay" vote, I
>   believe
>>  it is appropriate to vote "nay."
>>  2)  A few days ago I received word that Adam Mayer, former chair of
>   the
>>  Libertarian Party of Oregon, had passed away.  Mr. Mayer and his
>   wife
>>  Christiana were stalwarts of the Libertarian Party of Oregon for
>   many
>>  years.  On a personal note, they were extremely kind and hospitable
>   to
>>  me when I had the honor of addressing the LP Oregon conventions in
>   2005
>>  and 2007.  I hope you will join me in offering condolences to the
>   Mayer
>>  family on their loss, and in offering thanks for their work for
>>  liberty.
>>      As always, thanks for your work for liberty.  I look forward to
>>  seeing you soon.
>>      Take care,
>>      Jim
>>      James W. Lark, III
>>      Dept. of Systems and Information Engineering
>>      Applied Mathematics Program, Dept. of Engineering and Society
>>      Affiliated Faculty, Dept. of Statistics
>>      University of Virginia
>>      Advisor, The Liberty Coalition
>>      University of Virginia
>>      Region 5 Representative, Libertarian National Committee
>>  -----
>>  Motion (contained in e-mail ballot 2018-05) concerning Arvin Vohra:
>>  WHEREAS, the Libertarian Party holds the non-initiation of force as
>   its
>>  cardinal principle and requires each of its members certify that
>   they
>>  neither advocate or believe in violent means to achieve political
>   or
>>  social goals.
>>  RESOLVED, that the Libertarian National Committee suspends Arvin
>   Vohra
>>  from his position of Vice-Chair for sustained and repeated
>   unacceptable
>>  conduct that brings the principles of the Libertarian Party into
>>  disrepute, including making and defending a statement advocating
>   lethal
>>  violence against state employees who are not directly threatening
>>  imminent physical harm. Such action is in violation of our
>   membership
>>  pledge. These actions further endanger the survival of our movement
>   and
>>  the security of all of our members without their consent.
>>  -----
>>  -----
>>  From [1][3]https://www.lp.org/membership/:
>>    * Certify Your Membership*
>>         + [ ] YES, sign me up as a member of the Libertarian Party.
>   To
>>           validate my membership, I certify that I oppose the
>   initiation
>>           of force to achieve political or social goals.
>> 
>> References
>> 
>>  1. [4]https://www.lp.org/membership/
> 
>   --
>   --
>   In Liberty,
>   Caryn Ann Harlos
>   Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska,
>   Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington)
>   - [5]Caryn.Ann. Harlos at LP.org
>   Communications Director, [6]Libertarian Party of Colorado
>   Chair, LP Historical Preservation Committee
>   A haiku to the Statement of Principles:
>   We defend your rights
>   And oppose the use of force
>   Taxation is theft
> 
> References
> 
>   1. mailto:starchild at lp.org
>   2. mailto:RealReform at earthlink.net
>   3. https://www.lp.org/membership/
>   4. https://www.lp.org/membership/
>   5. mailto:Caryn.Ann.Harlos at LP.org
>   6. http://www.lpcolorado.org/