Timing the start of something is not a simple process. Punishing people for being late disproportionately impacts poor and disabled people. Not all of us can drive a car or even have a car to drive. We might have to wait on other people, or use public transportation, and the more steps we add to the process the more likely something is to go wrong. Punishing people for being late is systematic oppression towards these groups. This punishment can include starting without people, especially if that itself is framed as a punishment.
“Let the late ones be late and miss out (they can read the minutes), and reward the prompt ones by not wasting their time”
From the rusty’s rules of order, something the IWW uses to organize. They are ableist.
On the other hand, waiting too long to start can impact people with limited time or energy. Not everyone can stay awake an extra hour just to wait for something to start.
This means that there is not one singular solution for how to start things (although obviously don’t do punishment). In small groups the best solution is to talk things over with everyone and get an idea for what everyone wants to happen, what can go wrong, and plans to mitigate any potential issues. If public transportation is running late, maybe someone with a car can go pick you up.
For large groups, most things do not need a strict starting time. If it is a large group and it requires strict attendance then you brought hierarchy into it long ago and ableism and such was always the conclusion you were going to get anyways.
Hard agree. I think people just want to see that an effort is being made, even if it’s not necessarily “fair” that you have to make the effort.
I have sleep apnea and am basically dead to the world if I don’t use my machine every night. I didn’t ask for this and it’s not fair that I have to manage it, but I still recognize it’s my responsibility to do so.
If my machine has an issue one night and I can’t focus at a collaborative event the next day, I think people should be understanding. If my machine broke last week and haven’t put any effort into fixing it, getting it repaired, finding a replacement, or finding some kind of stopgap solution, I would expect people to be rightfully annoyed that I’m not doing anything to fix the problem now that it’s a known factor.