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Guidelines for possible use. The chalking event discussed earlier is one example. The use of mailings to a random sample of residents near to a bias incident is also a possibility, but announce in a cover letter that the mailing is only to a random sample; this avoids accusations of use or nonuse. It also allows someone to fib and say, "We didn't get one," if for any reason they decide not to take the WIMBY pledge and display the sign. Group videos such as this one is other approach for team building and community education. Also, remember, some choose to sign the pledge for themselves, but not post it publicy for various reasons. The policy for use should be one of attraction, not promotion. If offering a sign, do not pressure use. When we went door to door, we knocked on doors and said we were from the Welcome in My Back Yard campaign and that “we are going door to door to talk about community concern about the recent bias incicent in the neighobrhood" and where necessary briefly described what happened, using a written description that was prepared in advance and was fact checked. We did not hand out anything but the WIMBY sign, choosing to communicat verbally. It has also been used on campuses, where faculty and staff have put the sign on their doors or office windows (university regulations permitting) and by campus service groups. Remember, the WIMBY campaign is just one way to respond to a bias incident.
In door to door work or in a cover letter, one would explain, “We wanted you to have a copy of the free and noncommercial WIMBY sign and pledge. WIMBY stands for Welcome in My Back Yard, and the WIMBY pledge is something that we would like you to read and consider signing in the privacy of your home. Once you have read the pledge, we would like you to consider putting up the WIMBY sign in your window over the next year, as a personal expression of your concern for the need to speak out against the kind of thing which just happened here in our community. We are not here to collect a signature from you on the WIMBY pledge, or to collect money from you for any cause. We do not keep track of the names of the people we have visited, or even the addresses we have visited. We do not photograph the homes with WIMBY signs on them. We do not keep track of which households have or have not put up the WIMBY sign, although we do sometimes try to get an idea of how many WIMBY signs were put up in any one area. We do keep track of which households we have been able to speak with in order to ensure we don’t visit them a second time. However, we make no effort to reach every household in a neighborhood. Thus, if one of your neighbors isn’t displaying the sign, or if you choose not to display the sign, for all anyone knows you just weren’t home when the WIMBY canvassing was done.”
Provisos: The WIMBY material has never been used in response to a workplace incident. It is not likely that the WIMBY campaign would work well in a workplace. Most larger workplaces already have opportunities for verbal exchanges and dialogue or formal provisions for responding to concens about discrimination and harassment.
Welcome in My BackYard does not endorse or support any other organizations or activities. For more information about emerging uses of the WIMBY campaign (for instance, mailings to randomly selected households along with a cover letter), please email wimby@wimby.org
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