the prism of diversity: culture gender religion age disability presentation by arthur v. n. wint,...
TRANSCRIPT
The Prism of Diversity:
Culture Gender ReligionAgeDisability
Presentation by Arthur V. N. Wint,J.D.
Respecting Culture
Two eternal truths about human beings are people differ from one another and people are similar to one another.
Dr. Brian Ogawa
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Responses to Conflict- ”Normal” responses -
Escape Responses (Flight)Denial - “This can’t be happening!”
Flight - “I’m out of here!”
Suicide - “I just can’t take it anymore!”
Attack Responses (Fight)Litigation - “Sue the bastards!”
Assault - “She made me do it!”
“Homicide” - “I just couldn’t take it anymore.”
Responses to Conflict (cont’d)
Conciliation ResponsesOverlook It
Discuss it
Negotiate it
Mediate it
Arbitrate it
Judge it
Confrontation Options
ASSERTIVE
COOPERATIVE
Confrontation Options
ASSERTIVE
COOPERATIVE
AVOIDANCE
Confrontation Options
ASSERTIVE
COOPERATIVE
AVOIDANCE
COMPETITION
Confrontation Options
ASSERTIVE
COOPERATIVE
AVOIDANCE
COMPETITION
ACCOMMODATION
Confrontation Options
ASSERTIVE
COOPERATIVE
AVOIDANCE
COMPETITION
COMPROMISE
ACCOMMODATION
Confrontation Options
ASSERTIVE
COOPERATIVE
AVOIDANCE
COMPETITION
COMPROMISE
ACCOMMODATION
COLLABORATION
The Change Cycle & CR- “Typical” Peacemaker Roles in CR
Contentment
Denial Confusion
Renewal
Contentment Phase:
Continue with the normal routine
Leadership Style - “Working the plan”
One doesn’t discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.
Andre Gide
Denial Phase
Help people understandAcknowledge this conditionAsk questionsActively listenBe patientGive little advice - Do Much Follow-upLeadership style - “Encourager”
Many a [person] would rather you heard [their] story than granted [their] request.
Earl Phillip Stanhope
He that lacks time to mourn, lacks time to mend.
William Shakespeare
Historic continuity with the past is not a duty, it is only a necessity.
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Confusion Phase
Get everyone together
Begin visioning
Encourage open input
Maintain high profile ~ goals/leadership
Leadership style - “Visioner”
Confusion is a word we have invented for an order which is not yet understood.
Henry Miller
There is no squabbling so violent as that between people who accepted an idea yesterday and those who will accept the same idea tomorrow.
Christopher Morely
If you cry “forward”, you must make clear the direction in which to go. Don’t you see that if you fail to do that and simply call out the word to monk and a revolutionary, they will go in precisely the opposite directions.
Anton Checkhov
Renewal
Help focus
Allow people to implement their ideas
Provide rewards
Allow healthy risk-taking
Match people with others in this phase
Clarify and expect setbacks
Leadership style - “Implementer”
Challenge
What does “normal reaction”mean?
Do we all respond the same way to conflict?
Of what value is it to know/understand cultural perspectives?
Is “diversity” important? If so, why? If not, why not?
Paul’s Approach
“I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.”
1 Cor. 9:22
Is this the “template” for peacemakers?
Does RJ involve “restoring the balance ” to any underlying cultural dissonance, as well as the presenting conflict?
Should cultural sensitivity/impacts have a “high” or “low” priority in ADR practice?
What’s Your Response?
“[O]ur goal as practitioners is of course to avoid or minimize errors of all sorts, and generally to practice in efficient, equitable, productive, and ethical ways…..which do you think is the worse error: underestimating culture’s impacts or overestimating them?”
Kevin Avruch, Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, Geroge Mason University
“DIVERSITY”
“Diversity”
What does the term mean to you?
Why should this be an area of concern for peacemakers?
Is “diversity” the same as “civil rights”?
If we believe in “equality”, and treating people “the same” why the concern for diversity?
A Vast Array of Cultural Differences
RaceEthnicityReligionLanguageCustomsTraditionsDisability“Diversity within diversity”
Diversity & Human Interchange
No one is just what we label and classify them
People are inseparable from their racial and ethnic backgrounds, but not strictly determined by them
All people deserve to be treated as individuals, even as the nuances of race and culture are recognized
What Constitutes Culturally Competence?
Is “Color Blindness” the standard?
Looking at Continuum of “Culture Competence”
Continuum of Culture Competence
Culture Destructiveness: Conscious denial of another’s culture, and/or the belief that one’s belief system is superior to all others.
Culture Incapacity: Understands that there are many differences among cultures, but refuses or does not do anything to change
Continuum of Culture Competence, (cont’d)
Culture Blindness: Overlooks differences as though they do not existCulture Competence: Values others and their differences; diversity is recognized and acceptedCulture Proficiency: Occurs when diversity works together
Foundations of Culture Sensitivity
Compassion and Sincerity
Respect
Compassion & Sincerity
Not the same feeling of compassion, but the same compassionate interaction
Compassion = “foundation”
Sincerity = “expression”No condescension
No manipulation
No insincerity
Respect
Withhold ethnocentric judgments about the cultural practices of others
Don’t minimize the experience of others
Be willing to expand your frame of reference
Barriers to Culturally Sensitive Interactions
Programmatic Barriers
Beliefs
Values/Attitudes/Beliefs
Have You heard of “Core Values” or Traditional Values?Where Do These Values Come From?What Would You Say Is THE Core Value held in our society?
WHO DETERMINED THESE CORE
VALUES!??
Categories Of Values~ Primary
Personal ValuesIndicative of an individual’s moral character
Social ValuesFolkways ~ values people accept out of habitMorals ~ set of core principles that govern valuesInstitutional ~ ways or practices set up under lawTaboos ~ emphatic do’s and don’t’s of a particular society
What are some other values that we encounter/share?
Categories of Values~ Additional
Political“American Way”, public service, voting, civic dutyWay particular peoples are “labeled”/processed
EconomicEqual employment, money, stable employment, private property, pride of ownership, paying taxes
ReligiousCharacterized by reverence for life,human dignity, freedom of worshipAlso can involve being a “zealot”~ women/out-groups/non-believers
SocializationMajor source of individual values
Which of these six have the most impact upon you? Why?
Caveats re: Values~ ways to view “culture” vis-à-vis ADR practice
Cultures are “analytical categories”They are not thingsThey are not “nouns”
Individuals are bearers of multiple culturesNo one in our society is just one culture
Culture is acquiredIt is a part of ongoing social lifeCulture is not embedded in our genes
Cultures do not “cause” conflictLenses through which people view conflict
Practitioners should be careful not to “overvalue” or “undervalue” culture
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So What?!!?
Be Self-awareKnow yourselfAnticipate values/power/control issues in mediation settingMonitor parties“Really” monitor self ~ presumptions re: “culture”
Ethical ConstructKey is to “Make the Process Meaningful’Protect parties from others’ illegitimate use of “power”/cultural biases“Check yourself!”
“[W]hatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -- think about such things.”
- Phil. 4:8 -
“Multi-culturalism”
Acknowledgement of the different cultural definitions of well-being and recovery from traumaSupport of the varied pathways to “mental health” and incorporation of these into appropriate victim services,ADR and referralsCultural awareness training Multiethnic and multilingual teamwork (don’t be afraid to ask)Cross-cultural perspectives to benefit from the principles and methods of other cultures
Eg: Native Cultures and use of circles
Learning Points
Accept the fact that each person is a culture unto him-/herselfRecognize that some of your personal values/beliefs may need cultural adjustmentBe willing to change some of your attitudes/beliefs in order to grow ~ better serve our community in culture proficient waysAppreciate the fact that different is not necessarily bad or wrongStrive to rid yourself of filters that may skew your thinking against a person or a group of people ~ impact on practiceRead/learn about different culturesTry to accept people for who they are ~ individuals,not labelsBe careful not to “overvalue” or “undervalue” culture
Act justly…Love mercy…Walk humbly…