DIY movement is being hijacked

[Pieter Waag]

Today I wrote a blog about what has been bugging me for a while now. The "DIY" narrative of self-sufficiency and independency is somehow being hijacked by extreme protectionists and nationalists. 

For example, the DIY antibiotics project (BioStrike) that I've been working on for a long time to bring across the urgency of the antibiotics , can be easily used as an excuse not to invest in antibiotics development. You can "Do It Yourself" right? 

Have we becoming the advocate of our own antagonist? 

Here's the full blog: http://waag.org/en/blog/diy-maker-movement-being-hijacked

Is anyone on this list confronted with similar situations? In the US you've got Trump, in the EU the Brexit, and with elections in about a month we've got plenty of trouble heading for us over here as well.

This whole "[Country X] first" and "Buy [Country X] Made" ideology has too much in common with the "mind your own business" interpretation of "Do It Yourself". I've got the feeling that the pretty DIYBio code-of-ethics is not going to cut it in the big picture. We need to do something.

Anyone interested in joining a more explicit statement on the indispensable necessity of collaborations, open attitude and reciprocity in the DIY movement?

[Koeng]

This seems rather politically slanted. 

The core philosophy is "Do It Yourself". You don't have to help anyone, and it seems counter intuitive to force that. I disagree with the statement "I perceive it as a moral obligation to create tools and knowledge that are accessible to everyone and ultimately for the benefit of all people", because the reason I am a DIYbiologist is to avoid all institutions forcing me to do things for the "greater good" (as perceived by the deans, granting agencies, and governmental institutions). I'll state this again: I believe that I have no moral obligation to help anyone with my knowledge and tools AND that noone has any moral obligation to help me with their knowledge or tools. I want to just "mind my own business". 

However, that doesn't mean I won't help others. I find personal satisfaction with helping build a new lab, and find great satisfaction having someone listen to my stories of experimentation. I am free to associate with some people, and free to disassociate with others. Some DIYers I would love to learn from, but I won't spam them to get answers to my questions. I like being a DIYer because it means that I have freedom to do what I want to, when I want to, without to be under the jurisdiction of someone else. I believe Eric Raymond put many of the concepts down better than I have for computer hacking, so I will leave this http://www.catb.org/esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/cathedral-bazaar/ here. 

Why do companies invest in antibiotics? Obviously so they can make money. Most people WILL NOT do it themselves, and thus there is an open market. If it is profitable to make antibiotics (hint: it is), they will continue to make antibiotics. The only large agency that cares if we make antibiotics might be the FDA for health concerns. I don't really know how this could even be a concern. 

Both left wingers and right wingers believe in different versions of "mind your own business" (for example, gay rights, abortive rights, privacy rights, liberty of expression/press, rights of illegal immigrants, etc). Who cares? I just like modifying organisms. I don't really care if you are a redneck god-fearing southern Trump-loving conservative or a white-collar Berkeley-graduate Leninist, if you would like to learn about GFP and GMOs, I can try to teach you.  

No one is hijacking the DIY movement.

Koeng

[Gerald Trost]

 

Hi!

I am not yet in to DIYBio right now but I have read some
articles in this group and I am interested in the matter.

I am totally in line with Koeng and I want to be more specific:

- in general any DIYer does the thing for himself and for his experience  no matter

  if its RepRap or Open Source Software or Open Souce Hardware or DIYBio.

- in general most DIYer is ready to help others DIYers with advice and with plans.

he has no other mission as to make things better or easier and find new ways
and to share this with people with the same intentions.

ThisIsWHY ILoveDIY!

Gerald

Sent: Monday, January 30, 2017 at 10:01 PM
From: Koeng <koen...@gmail.com>
To: DIYbio <diy...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [DIYbio] Re: DIY movement is being hijacked

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[Mega [Andreas Stuermer]]

"Who cares? I just like modifying organisms."

That was the attitude of Monsanto shortly after they developed the first GMOs. "People will see the benefits and agree..." 

[Cathal Garvey]

I feel similarly, Pieter, when I see a hard-libertarian rhetoric in DIY. There is a risk that people can jump from "I can DIY" to "Let Them Eat DIY"*, and that can allow you to ignore the responsibility that humans have to one another.

I've written on resilience-through-DIY before:
https://www.indiebiotech.com/post/diy-biosynthesis-of-insulin-and-thyroxine-disaster-resilience-and-personal-biotech/

But the idea was never that "we" should not make every effort to bring lifesaving medicines where other people need them. The idea was to offer a Plan B when we as humans fail in our duty to others, and they have no other options.

Now more than ever it should be obvious that a callous attitude to the less fortunate just permits their oppression. I don't support the SJW / "Shame All Rich White Males" meme at all. But I do think we should be comfortable talking about the politics of making. Being able to devote time and an educated hacker mindset into making stuff is not something everyone has the luxury to do, but that's easily forgotten.

* If you didn't get that, look up "Let them eat cake"

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[Lisa Thalheim]

Hi Pieter,

I don't see the libertarian interpretation of DIY (as in "Quit your
whining and fucking Do It Yourself, you freeloading crybaby") as
anything new.
The BioStrike project more or less fits the mold of crowdfunded science,
and crowdfunding of science, both traditional and non-traditional, has
always carried the possibility that it could be used to justify even
further cuts to public science funding (without also cutting taxes or
making donations to crowdfunded science projects tax-deductible, of
course, because d'uh).
Maybe all of this takes on a new edge with the political developments of
the last few years. Maybe not. What I'm saying is: I'm not sure I
understand why it became important to you to bring this up right at this
moment, but I agree in principle.

> I've got the feeling that the pretty DIYBio
> code-of-ethics is not going to cut it in the big picture.

True that. However:

> Anyone interested in joining a more explicit statement on the
> indispensable necessity of collaborations, open attitude and reciprocity
> in the DIY movement?

So your solution is to replace a useless declaration with a bigger and
better useless declaration?

I think the saying "We make the path by walking it" fits beautifully
here. I'm game if you want to discuss how exactly to go about that, or
whether there's a better way to do it.

Cheers,
Lisa

[Rikke Rasmussen]

+1 - what Lisa said.

Lead by example.

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[John Griessen]

On 01/30/2017 09:38 PM, Rikke Rasmussen wrote:
> Lead by example.

This could have gone wayover the top POL OT, and maybe it will tomorrow, but I like
the tone of these posts, and... now to get back to work on developing some diy/low-cost lab gear. :-)

[Pieter Waag]

I agree with you Lisa that we probably all much rather take the pragmatic approach and just keep doing what were already doing (creating open knowledhe and tools), but I am worried that the-path-in-the-making all of a sudden gets surrounded by the wrong crowd and supporters that don't see or deliberately ignore where it's heading.

Most DIYers start their projects just for fun, not interested in the political aspects. But what fun is it really once you find out that others steal your thunder and interpret the innocent label of f.e. "local produced" as a political statement instead of a eco-friendly indicator? Don't you agree?

Another teethless code of conduct is not what we need. Instead I am looking for more tangible actions.

I am now thinking of describing clearly how the DIY movement benefits from sharing and collaborations. Practical case studies, not in terms of ideological principles. Examples of how appropriation of biotechnologies that enabled a much bigger group of people from benefitting, like how the ODIN shop provides access to CRISPR kits that would otherwise be difficult to get. A few more examples would make the trajectory much more tangible.

Please make more suggestions in case you agree.

[Nathan McCorkle]

On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 11:14 AM, Pieter Waag <pie...@waag.org> wrote:
> Here's the full blog:
> http://waag.org/en/blog/diy-maker-movement-being-hijacked

Seems like the only real concern you mention for doing our business,
unimpeded, is the net-neutrality point. Your comment about 'Do it
without us' gives me the impression that you feel entitled to some
kind of help (the 'us' being the Government who hands out grants???)
... while I (and others) merely want to be unimpeded while we do
whatever it is ourselves. Ourselves isn't limited to a single person,
it could be Ourselves the biohacker community, or Ourselves the
nuclear family who does science experiments on the weekends, or
Ourselves the University student body and faculty (who society often
feels deserves some tax-sourced support).

I really don't see how DIY is being hijacked... I am not going to get
concerned until people start saying Do It This Way Only (DITWO) or Not
Okay To Do (NOTDO). Am I missing your point of concern?

I guess I'm not familiar with your mention of "the same general
narrative as nationalists"... my DIYbio narrative has been: make money
any way I can, funnel earned money towards research and development,
read journals. Can you provide an example of what general narrative
you're talking about, and who is pushing it, who is following it, etc?

[ukitel]

Hi Pieter,

I also would like to encourage you to come up with examples or situations that led to think you that the DIY philosophy is beign hijacked.

I think this conversation would benefit from that.

In general, even if the movement is known as DIY, it is probably better described as "Do It Together".

In addition to the comments above, I don't think that there is a moral obligation in helping the other DIYers. However, if you see DIY as a movement, and you feel part of a community, then you will and must contribute by sharing your knowledge, otherwise you are not part of the movement/community.

Even though this hijacking threat is new to me, I would welcome a discussion to work together on definitions and directions. If, as a community, we would speak with a single voice, we might gain more control over our narrative.

[Dennis Oleksyuk]

+1 for providing more evidence to this alarmists claim. It is quite concerning if it is true.

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[Otto Heringer]

I probably interpreted what was meant with "hijack" different from some, and also share the feelings Pieter expressed... but it is not something new to me too.

"Hijack" not necessarily indicates that someone is appropriating someting by DOING it, but also by just USING it as an affirmative symbol of values (in general) contrary to the ones defended by people who actually are doing the thing.

I experienced this intention to "hijack the movement" two years ago while fundraising for a biotech competition. We received an support offer from one of the leaders of a newly founded far-right party here in Brazil, so they could use us to say: "While you [the government] are spending money inneficiently with those free univeristies [the public universities are completely free here], bureaucrats and stupid research funding, those kids with this innovative project have to beg for money!". Of course we didn't accepted anything from them.

Pieter's concerns and this discussion are rooted, IMHO, on what is "being political". It seems to me that every motivation, "pragmatical" or "moralist", that orients the practice of something IS POLITICAL (even when you belive in something as "apolitical", or in a "impartial" social practice of science - this is actually also a political stance).

My point is, as Cathal wrote, we should feel confortable discussing the "politics of making". But before we have these "being political" issues. Whats the matter on "being political" if you can't escape from that?

Interesting discussion!

2017-02-01 11:01 GMT-02:00 Dennis Oleksyuk <den...@oleksyuk.me>:

+1 for providing more evidence to this alarmists claim. It is quite concerning if it is true.

On Wed, Feb 1, 2017, 7:12 AM ukitel <marco.r...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Pieter,

I also would like to encourage you to come up with examples or situations that led to think you that the DIY philosophy is beign hijacked.

I think this conversation would benefit from that.

In general, even if the movement is known as DIY, it is probably better described as "Do It Together".

In addition to the comments above, I don't think that there is a moral obligation in helping the other DIYers. However, if you see DIY as a movement, and you feel part of a community, then you will and must contribute by sharing your knowledge, otherwise you are not part of the movement/community.

Even though this hijacking threat is new to me, I would welcome a discussion to work together on definitions and directions. If, as a community, we would speak with a single voice, we might gain more control over our narrative.

On Tuesday, 31 January 2017 18:59:57 UTC+1, Pieter Waag wrote:

I agree with you Lisa that we probably all much rather take the pragmatic approach and just keep doing what were already doing (creating open knowledhe and tools), but I am worried that the-path-in-the-making all of a sudden gets surrounded by the wrong crowd and supporters that don't see or deliberately ignore where it's heading.

Most DIYers start their projects just for fun, not interested in the political aspects. But what fun is it really once you find out that others steal your thunder and interpret the innocent label of f.e. "local produced" as a political statement instead of a eco-friendly indicator? Don't you agree?

Another teethless code of conduct is not what we need. Instead I am looking for more tangible actions.

I am now thinking of describing clearly how the DIY movement benefits from sharing and collaborations. Practical case studies, not in terms of ideological principles. Examples of how appropriation of biotechnologies that enabled a much bigger group of people from benefitting, like how the ODIN shop provides access to CRISPR kits that would otherwise be difficult to get. A few more examples would make the trajectory much more tangible.

Please make more suggestions in case you agree.

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[Pieter Waag]

Thanks for the support and those reaching out via email. At the very least I believe it's important to raise the overal level of awareness. And I am glad that many recognize the issue at hand.

For example, although not bio-related, this was also a great statement:
https://medium.com/@littleBits/why-littlebits-placed-an-arabic-billboard-in-times-square-3310c2556fa1#.akzeoh1sa

[Nathan McCorkle]

On Tue, Jan 31, 2017 at 3:34 PM, Nathan McCorkle <nmz...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Can you provide an example of what general narrative
> you're talking about, and who is pushing it, who is following it, etc?

Pieter, can you respond to this? I still don't understand.

--
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[ws kamau]

Hi Pieter, 

I agree that we need both more communication and accountability within the DIYBio community. Frankly the "code of ethics" we have is rather weak. Perhaps more pressingly, I see a real and present lack of intracommunity communication about how the movement has benefitted from sharing and collaborations.

On your effort to describe clearly, in practical case studies, of how the DIY movement has increased accessibility, I would be glad to help. I was at the first BioHack the Planet (fall 2016) and wrote about what I saw as being tangible steps towards this end for BioCoder -- https://www.oreilly.com/ideas/defining-open-biohack-the-planet

-- ws kamau 

[Pieter Waag]

Hi Nathan,

Apologies it was getting hard to track all the responses. I posted this to a similar request on Facebook:

"First of all the statement is about raising the level of awareness on the similarities in language and metaphors. Second, it has become clear that the Maker Movement is becoming more and more political. For example on the meta level, in the US there's the Congressional Maker Caucus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congressional_Maker_Caucus you can read a statement by Rep. Taken here https://takano.house.gov/.../the-maker-movement-is-about... Also, in 2016 I participated in the European Maker Week event at the EU parliament, while the website has a statement on DIWO and a "think global, act local" attitude, the member of parliament speaking at the event had a much more conservative vision: makers lead to innovation, to EU startups, to more EU jobs, to a more competitive economy, etc. http://europeanmakerweek.eu/about-us/
Apart from that there are numerous encounters that we have when we go out and present our work, and especially when talking to people that are completely new to concept of Makers and DIY we start to notice a different bias towards terms like "self-sufficiency", "local produced", etc. So if we keep using the same language we have a choice: ignore the current political interpretation of our terminology and run the risk of becoming an advocate of our own antagonist or becoming much more explicit about our values and what we stand for."

[Nathan McCorkle]

Hi Pieter,
Thanks for the response. I read through the links you posted, but didn't get any sense of the term DIYbio being hijacked. Actually I am slightly confused, as it seems what you posted is in support of DIY/DIWO whatever. It still isn't clear to me what your concern is, or who you purport is hijacking DIYbio for some different meaning.

-Nathan

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[Christian de Lutz]

Hi Pieter, Christian de Lutz from Art Laboratory Berlin here. I'm not sure the far right is specifically 'hijacking' the DIYBio or DIY science movements. I think what you're (mis?)interpreting is their general appropriation of counter-culture language from the late 20th century. Generally this language was developed by various 'lefts': from 1960s anti-war movements of the 1960s to eco/green movements of the 70s and 80s, left anarchists, feminists, gay rights and minority rights activists, etc - basically most of the left with the exception of mainstream Social Democrats and Third Way neo-liberals.

 

Take the word 'alternative', which in US politics in the last year has become associated with Breitbart and various far-right, nationalist-populist groups in the US. As recently as two or three years ago it was generally a term of the left meaning the rejection of a unified mainstream monoculture (which is exactly what the neo-traditionalist right wants to re-instate - hence the Orwellian absurdity of their use for 'alternative')

 

I'm sure if you search far and wide enough you will find somebody from the DIYBio movement from any part of the political spectrum. But I'd be curious if you could find (m)any actual practicing 'Biohackers' who are far-right. I suspect you're more likely to find people far more representation from the left (and perhaps a number of people claiming to be apolitical).

 

Libertarianism is another question. It's not unconnected with the 'counter-culture,' especially in the US and specifically California. I still meet people claiming to be 'left-libertarian', which always sounds like an oxymoron to me but...

 

In the US there are certainly a fair number of DIYBio practitioners who use labs to develop their own private projects outside of universities (which are extremely expensive!) But you'll still find a big DIT/DIWO ethos there.

 

Personally, I'd like to replace DIY with DIWO completely, I think it's much closer to what the movement is about - collective exchange and production. Of course this isn't sexy to bureaucrats in Brussels, who still haven't seemed to have become aware of the after-effects of 2008 (and this cloistered lack of awareness may be the undoing of the European experiment, but being in the NL, I'm sure you're aware of that).

 

Also refreshing here would be viewpoints outside of the Western (ie US+EU) ghetto. Indonesia seems to have a thriving DIWO/Maker scene and a sense of community development and ethos that may be ahead of Europe. Returning back to Berlin from Java, I felt like going back in time...

 

The far right may be able to hijack individual states (Trumpistan, NL next month? France in May? Hopefully not!) but I can't imagine them hijacking a maker movement that they probably can't even understand. Generally success in Making seems to come from an openness to exchanging ideas that contains an implicit cosmopolitanism and curiosity at odds with what far-right ideologies are based on.

 

So if the EU survives I think our priority should be to convince Brussels on the myriad value and potential of these many grass root maker/hacker/DIY/DIWO orgs.