Violence, Psychology, and Privilege
Playing catch-up here...
On violence: I feel that violence is another one of those terms that needs to be adequately defined before you can answer a question like this. There are all kinds of violence, and we need to understand what form of violence we are addressing. There is interpersonal violence (physical & emotional), self-directed violence (self-harming, eating disorders, etc.), natural violence (storms, etc.), creative violence... The act of creation can be violent (art, music, sex, etc.). Dictionary.com defines violence as "swift and intense force" (among other definitions). The answer to the question depends on your definition of violence. Some violence (e.g. creative violence) is necessary; violence can provide an impetus for change. Nature can be incredibly violent, but sometimes this violence is necessary for the beginning of new life (e.g. forest fires, the creation of new islands following volcanic eruptions, etc.).
I think that most people usually think of violence in terms of interpersonal violence (or war). I feel that while certain forms of interpersonal violence can be useful, the lasting effects of its utilization often undermine the success gained by implementing it. In this, I agree with Gandhi that you should try non-violence first, but using violence is better than ignoring the problem.
On psychology: Psychology is the science of human behavior. It is the process by which we come to understand social, emotional, developmental, behavioral, and cognitive phenomena. In popular culture, psychology is often portrayed as a pseudo-science, ruled by psychoanalysts who believe that the root of all your problems is your desire to have sex with your mother. Therapists are but a limited representation of what psychology is. While therapy has immense potential to help people, in some forms it is barely more scientific than a visit with a witch-doctor. However, therapy IS NOT psychology. Therapy is the application of some psychological theories and research for the purpose of helping people. Whether or not they are actually helped depends on which research you are reading. HOWEVER, psychology is much more than just therapy. Psychology is used everywhere in life. Psychological research is crucial in shaping educational and social policy reform. The study of psychopathology gives us insight into the nature of mental illness, which is an important step in de-stigmatizing psychiatric/emotional/behavioral problems. Psychology helps us understand decision-making and motivation, and can give us the tools to be better problem-solvers. Psychology is a lot of things, and I plan to spend the rest of my life engaged in the study of it. I could go on for way too long about this, so I'll stop here.
On Privilege: I just did this whole thing in my Critical Pedagogy class...
I consider myself to be incredibly privileged. I am "white" (racially--color-wise I am brown-cream-pink-yellow), my family has been middle-class for generations, I have lived for the majority of my life in the U.S., and I am educated. When I was living in Indonesia, however, I became incredibly aware of how much we take for granted here in the States. I mention this in most of my classes, but in Indonesia there is an advertising campaign whose catchphrase is "White is Beautiful," the purpose of which is to sell skin-bleaching products. I was a minority there--I could go weeks without seeing another Westerner, but I was constantly being praised for the paleness of my skin. I feel that this is an example of cultural imperalism and hegemony at their most insidious.
My privileges: The majority of the list compiled by McIntosh as well as others based on my SES, education-level, and nationality. My disadvantages: Being female (but not always--it can also be an advantage), being single (goes against hegemony in our culture that says a woman's worth is defined by her ability to "catch" a man), being young (a disadvantage in terms of financial judgments), current low-income due to being a college student (as separated from SES, which relates more to class; family income is also not currently high however due to stupid exchange rate between dollar and euro).
A student in an earlier post (Patrick) raised the notion of "intersectionality," which I believe is incredibly important. Each person's experience of the world is often determined by the intersection of the culturally-significant boxes they fit into. A chicana lesbian is going to have a very different experience of privilege than a caucasian, heterosexual male. Factor in SES (socioeconomic status), religion, educational level--and you have two people inhabiting the same space and time that are in virtually different worlds. Race isn't the only conversation that we need to have.
~Tara
On violence: I feel that violence is another one of those terms that needs to be adequately defined before you can answer a question like this. There are all kinds of violence, and we need to understand what form of violence we are addressing. There is interpersonal violence (physical & emotional), self-directed violence (self-harming, eating disorders, etc.), natural violence (storms, etc.), creative violence... The act of creation can be violent (art, music, sex, etc.). Dictionary.com defines violence as "swift and intense force" (among other definitions). The answer to the question depends on your definition of violence. Some violence (e.g. creative violence) is necessary; violence can provide an impetus for change. Nature can be incredibly violent, but sometimes this violence is necessary for the beginning of new life (e.g. forest fires, the creation of new islands following volcanic eruptions, etc.).
I think that most people usually think of violence in terms of interpersonal violence (or war). I feel that while certain forms of interpersonal violence can be useful, the lasting effects of its utilization often undermine the success gained by implementing it. In this, I agree with Gandhi that you should try non-violence first, but using violence is better than ignoring the problem.
On psychology: Psychology is the science of human behavior. It is the process by which we come to understand social, emotional, developmental, behavioral, and cognitive phenomena. In popular culture, psychology is often portrayed as a pseudo-science, ruled by psychoanalysts who believe that the root of all your problems is your desire to have sex with your mother. Therapists are but a limited representation of what psychology is. While therapy has immense potential to help people, in some forms it is barely more scientific than a visit with a witch-doctor. However, therapy IS NOT psychology. Therapy is the application of some psychological theories and research for the purpose of helping people. Whether or not they are actually helped depends on which research you are reading. HOWEVER, psychology is much more than just therapy. Psychology is used everywhere in life. Psychological research is crucial in shaping educational and social policy reform. The study of psychopathology gives us insight into the nature of mental illness, which is an important step in de-stigmatizing psychiatric/emotional/behavioral problems. Psychology helps us understand decision-making and motivation, and can give us the tools to be better problem-solvers. Psychology is a lot of things, and I plan to spend the rest of my life engaged in the study of it. I could go on for way too long about this, so I'll stop here.
On Privilege: I just did this whole thing in my Critical Pedagogy class...
I consider myself to be incredibly privileged. I am "white" (racially--color-wise I am brown-cream-pink-yellow), my family has been middle-class for generations, I have lived for the majority of my life in the U.S., and I am educated. When I was living in Indonesia, however, I became incredibly aware of how much we take for granted here in the States. I mention this in most of my classes, but in Indonesia there is an advertising campaign whose catchphrase is "White is Beautiful," the purpose of which is to sell skin-bleaching products. I was a minority there--I could go weeks without seeing another Westerner, but I was constantly being praised for the paleness of my skin. I feel that this is an example of cultural imperalism and hegemony at their most insidious.
My privileges: The majority of the list compiled by McIntosh as well as others based on my SES, education-level, and nationality. My disadvantages: Being female (but not always--it can also be an advantage), being single (goes against hegemony in our culture that says a woman's worth is defined by her ability to "catch" a man), being young (a disadvantage in terms of financial judgments), current low-income due to being a college student (as separated from SES, which relates more to class; family income is also not currently high however due to stupid exchange rate between dollar and euro).
A student in an earlier post (Patrick) raised the notion of "intersectionality," which I believe is incredibly important. Each person's experience of the world is often determined by the intersection of the culturally-significant boxes they fit into. A chicana lesbian is going to have a very different experience of privilege than a caucasian, heterosexual male. Factor in SES (socioeconomic status), religion, educational level--and you have two people inhabiting the same space and time that are in virtually different worlds. Race isn't the only conversation that we need to have.
~Tara
posted by Tara at 10:14 PM
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