<img aria-beschreibungby = "caption-attachment-25235" data-attachment-id = "25235" data-permalink = "https://ct.counseling.org/2021/07/from-the-president-shaking-it -up-and-tapping-you-in / sylvester-kent-butler-branding-session / "data-orig-file =" https://ct.counseling.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Butler -Head-Shot.jpg "data-orig-size =" 800,1000 "data-comments-opened =" 1 "data-image-meta =" {"aperture": "8", "credit": "RTW Photography "," camera ":" NIKON Z 7_2 "," caption ":" "," created_timestamp ":" 1621265534 "," copyright ":" RTW Photography "," focal_length ":" 98 "," iso ":" 125 "," shutter_speed ":" 0.008 "," title ":" Sylvester Kent Butler – Branding-Session "," orientation ":" 1 "}" data-image-title = "Butler" data-image-description = "
Professional portrait of S. Kent Butler, the 70th President of the ACA
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p. Kent Butler, 70th President of the ACA
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S. Kent Butler, 70th President of the ACA
O Over the years I have found that social justice is complex. In many ways, these layers can positively support or negatively hinder the real struggle for justice. When I look back on history, I often wonder how "Prosperity For All" ever went so wrong. Shouldn't life include an equitable distribution of wealth, opportunity, and privilege for each of us? How did we go astray?
In this column I only want to hang out with one of the levels mentioned above – the "You are not really helping" level. In other words, it's the "You call this seriously helping?" Layer. In truth, it's the "you're in the way" level (this last one is a greeting to Jill Scott, but it reflects how I feel when I'm sincere). Sometimes we have to recognize when our “helping” is more about us than about the cause.
So, for what purpose do I illuminate this particular aspect of social justice? In order to be transparent, I would just like to shake things up a little and help us to take a critical look at our representation of interests and the effects of our actions on global society and the customers we serve. Perhaps it's a way to get us thinking about what social justice advocacy really is and what isn't. I want to challenge us to think about how we enter rooms. If this section had a title it would be “Knowing when to take care of your own business!”
Here's the lean: Sometimes when we open our mouths to fight a cause we are more angry than effective. We often jump on train wagons without getting context or knowing why we are doing a certain thing. Everything is not a cause! Sometimes we protest too much.
One of my favorite passages comes from the novel Reckless Appetites by Jacqueline Deval. It says: “Understand how passion makes you strong, but also recognize when it makes you weak.” Put simply, we need to recognize the times when our desire to help actually weakens us.
Know when to boycott
Automatically pulling out of everything is not always the right approach. We sometimes need to avoid ourselves and really engage and listen to the people who are being marginalized before going our own way. We should act on the points of view of those we want to advocate, recognize and strengthen their voices, and meet them where they are. How do you see the situation? What are their needs?
To be honest, shouldn't it really be about their needs and not about helping our own exuberance? Sometimes our good intentions and particular ways of solving problems just don't help. This is a very important lesson in learning about social justice. The overarching need to help – but to offer that help based on our own perspectives and worldviews – sometimes hinders our ability to provide the support we actually intended.
How I once did everything wrong
The case of Mr. Think-He-Do-Right: My situation made me think that my only concern is social justice and advocacy for people with disabilities. My personal topic started as a nuisance: the abuse of doors for people with disabilities.
It bothered me immediately when I saw how seemingly carefree people came up to me and thoughtlessly pressed the silver button so that the door opened automatically for them. Sometimes they had to stop in mid-step and wait for the door to open wide enough for them to slip through. I shook my head and said things to myself like, “Why are you doing this? This automatic door is not for you! You could have opened the door on your own and got through much faster. "
I would consider how constant use of the door in this way by able-bodied people can result in the door functioning much earlier than normal. What would the really needy do then?
Here comes the catch: In conversations with people who live loved ones with hidden disabilities, I learned my error. For example, I found that people with Parkinson's may not have the strength or flexibility in their arms to open doors easily. Therefore, they could rely on the silver button for help.
Learned to read
When I received this wake-up call, I had to change my mind. From this perspective I now understood that people can experience innumerable disabilities, not just the physical ones we are conditioned to.
So here's a challenge for you. Ask yourself in what areas your passion for advocacy, in which you sincerely and with all your might participate, could actually be a weakness. What do you possibly need to open your eyes and see in a different light?
#ShakeItUp and #TapSomeoneIn.
