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IJC Code of Conduct

Guidelines

The Community Code of Conduct covers our behavior as members of the IJC community in any public meeting, online forum, mailing list, website, or private correspondence.

We have a few ground rules that we ask people to follow to ensure that the IJC community is welcoming to people of all backgrounds and an effective example of the kind of change we advocate for.

This is not an exhaustive list of things that you can’t (or shouldn’t) do. Rather, we encourage you to take it in the spirit in which it’s intended — a guide to make it easier to be excellent to each other. Please follow the spirit of these guidelines, not just the letter.

  • Show solidarity. Our mission is one of justice, liberty, and respect for human dignity. We reject bigotry in all of its forms and strive for a better, more inclusive, and more equitable world. Prejudice based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical appearance, disability, or age have no place here.
  • Be respectful. It’s okay to disagree with other members, and even to have strong feelings about those disagreements. Our discussions can occasionally provoke feelings of discomfort surrounding issues of privilege and systemic power, and strong emotions are often a natural result of that process. However, it is important not to let those disagreements and emotions turn into abusive language or behavior towards each other. We accept that mistakes are inevitable, but we should still strive to learn from them and to do better in the future.
  • Be mindful of your privilege. The testimonies of people of marginalized communities are frequently silenced through tone policing and other similar behaviors, often under the guise of moderating discussion or enforcing standards of etiquette. While treating each other with respect is important, it is also important not to silence legitimate grievances out of discomfort. We ask members and guests to do their best to examine any impulsive feelings and reactions such as defensiveness in the moment, rather than expecting people with direct lived experience of oppression to do the additional emotional labor of accommodating those feelings in others.
  • Be thoughtful. There are many possible actions we could take in response to authoritarianism in Iowa and the United States, but not all of those actions are equally effective. Even if they are, we only have finite time and resources at our disposal. Every action we take has an opportunity cost: another – potentially better – action we could have taken instead. Therefore it is our responsibility to candidly evaluate our possible actions (as individuals and as an organization) in terms of their efficiency and effectiveness in advancing our mission, while still endeavoring not to be dragged down by indecision or perfectionism.
  • Respect others’ privacy needs. Political organizing can be a very public act, which can be risky for some members of our community. We want everyone to be able to participate according to their preferred risk tolerance. To make sure everyone can do so, please do not share personal information about other participants without their consent. This includes posting photos or videos of events on social media without the consent of everyone identifiable in the photos, sharing names or contact info of participants, or describing people in sufficient detail that they may be identifiable.
  • Be patient. This mostly applies to forums and mailing lists. Communities are often built on volunteer time both from participants and organizers. It is possible that your question or suggestion might not receive an immediate response. Be patient and consider the norms of the community. An occasional reminder is welcome, many reminders in rapid succession are not a good display of patience.
  • Be kind. Please be courteous, respectful, and polite to fellow community members. No offensive comments related to gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion.
Harassment Policy

Harassment includes offensive verbal comments related to gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion; sexual images in public spaces; deliberate intimidation; stalking; following or harassing photography or recording (not related to legitimate documentation, such as of law enforcement carrying out duty-related actions); sustained disruption of meetings or other events; inappropriate physical contact; and unwelcome sexual attention.

Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately. All members of the organization and any invited guests are subject to the anti-harassment policy. If a member or guest is found to have engaged in harassing behavior, the steering team may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning the offender, excluding them from online forums, or excluding them from public meetings.