Yesterday at a conference I'm attending in Portland, I sat through a three hour session led by a professor and advocate for social justice. Her critique of the current state of affairs resonated: Neoliberalism has taken over higher education and the same dehumanizing ideology in the mainstream P-12 educational system destroys human spirits. However, the relevance of her message was eclipsed by her visibly angry, patronizing, and judgmental delivery that came through in "mini lectures" and in the way she offensively criticized participants who spoke up during the discussion parts of the session.
I do not question her sincerity or the importance of her message, but the delivery reminded me of a Donald Trump rant rather than an informative, thoughtful, and provocative message about such an important and timely issue. Interestingly, more than once as I read the pre-conference article that she authored and during her live presentation, the thought crossed my mind that she is doing exactly what she is criticizing the oppressors of doing: She is presenting a dogmatic, simplistic dualism that places participants in a position of having to choose between a commitment to social justice based on her point of view or remain in the safety of their unearned privilege. There was no space for respectful dialogue, different perspectives, dissent, or the complexities of dispositions and development related to individuals' commitments to social justice.
I do not question her sincerity or the importance of her message, but the delivery reminded me of a Donald Trump rant rather than an informative, thoughtful, and provocative message about such an important and timely issue. Interestingly, more than once as I read the pre-conference article that she authored and during her live presentation, the thought crossed my mind that she is doing exactly what she is criticizing the oppressors of doing: She is presenting a dogmatic, simplistic dualism that places participants in a position of having to choose between a commitment to social justice based on her point of view or remain in the safety of their unearned privilege. There was no space for respectful dialogue, different perspectives, dissent, or the complexities of dispositions and development related to individuals' commitments to social justice.
The presentation prompted a several questions as I consider my personal engagement in social justice work and the approach of broader movement. For instance,
- What is the goal in these types of presentations? Is it to unveil what is going on and invite others to share in the struggle for social justice? Is it to shame people from privileged positions? Or is it to voice one's own unresolved, internal anger and hurt?
- To what extent has the presenter--the advocate--done his or her own work? By work, I mean the internal work related to positionality, privilege, and the emotions related to these parts of our experiences and identity. I would dare to bet that the extent of effectiveness is directly correlated with the extent to which one has processed his or her own issues, reactions, and identities related to these themes.
- In what way does the presentation create unnecessary defensiveness and resistance? I realize there are folks who do not want to see their personal privilege or the ways the "system" benefit them at others' expense. I'm not referring to these individuals, although they too need to hear the message. Rather, I'm referring to folks already committed to social justice, who see how structural issues create and perpetuate injustices and want to make a difference. The presentation yesterday unnecessarily dismissed and marginalized many of these people.
- What role might contemplative approaches play in creating the conditions for individual and social transformation? I think we have to go deeper, look beneath the surface and consider what it takes to change from the inside out while also emphasizing and never losing touch with the necessity for real life, on the ground action. This work is not about mind games or generating warm and fuzzy feelings. Instead, it is about facing intense suffering and taking actions that relieve suffering at the individual and collective levels.
