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Maybe we are focussed too much on the rock and pay no attention to the road that we are all on together. That could of course be a function of the second kind of power Alden referred to, which has encultured us to think that way. Erik Alden Chadwick wrote: > Hello John and all > > > As I am neither disabled nor an academic, but a retired hands-on engineer, I > > have a somewhat different view of the world than you have. > > > Hmmm, I'm not so sure that your disability status (disabled or > non-disabled) or your employment record (engineer) should automatically be > seen as causal factors in your world view. By trade I was a motor mechanic > (not a very good one) and by job I am a bureaucrat. > > > Oppression to me implies a force. Delving into high school physics, a force > > is made up of two components: mass and acceleration: f = m x a. > > The way oppression is being presented is as a directional force which means > > that the acceleration component which is directional as well as quantitative, > > is quite substantial. It also implies that the acceleration component > > represents a deliberate act. > > > > The effect of a relatively large acceleration factor and small mass can be > > quite devastating ... It is however also vulnerable as the acceleration > >component can be eroded, change directionally, or be scattered. > > > > The alternate scenario is where an equal force is made up of an > > infinitesimally small acceleration factor, and hence an enormous mass. > > Oppression just sits there, it is not going anywhere, nor does it intend to. > > Why should it? > > Yes, it seems that we do have a different view of power. Mine can be spelt > out as follows. > > What is power? > > Historically power has been thought about in many different ways, and > various ideas of power and how it operates influence current thinking. > Here are two examples: > > An individual model of Power > > Power can be described as a commodity in the possession of individuals that > can be given or taken away. Power in this sense can be explained as a > force used by A to make B to do something that B would not otherwise do. > Compliance is enforced through fear of the consequences for example an > employee may undertake a task at their managers request because they will > be disciplined if they donıt, or an individual in debt to a loan shark will > make payments because physical violence is threatened to defaulters. > > Power is thus a thing held by some individuals; it is used intermittently, > through real or threatened punitive action, to gain very specific ends. > > A Social Model of Power (Foucault's model?) > > Power is not a thing that belongs to individuals it cannot be given or > taken away. Rather, power rules the action of individuals and society > indeed, it is the rules. The building material of this form of power is > language and meaning. > > The rules are sustained through the knowledge that gives them legitimacy > and are subject to negotiation and change. They may change gradually to > reflect shifts in historical consensus or rapidly in response to social > upheaval and crisis for example in times of war or economic collapse. > > Collective knowledge(s) shape the rules and set the social boundaries that > distinguish right from wrong, norm from deviance, ideal from actual. > Social power is therefore rooted in the material structures of the social, > cultural and economic institutions that regulate; its effects are constant. > For example, a debtor repays what is owed and an employee does what they > are asked to because their motivations and actions are shaped and described > through a complex web of rules and social interactions and not simply > because of the threat of force. Similarly, a manager may have the > authority to instruct employees, however the policies procedures and > practices of the organisation will determine the content of their > instructions (the logic, reasoning or analysis used). The manager would > soon loose their authority if they deviated too far from the established > rules. > > In short, individuals do not possess power in this sense of the word, > rather they draw on the power built into the knowledge(s) of the > organisation they can move into (and out of) powerıs sphere of influence. > > > I believe that the oppression we are dealing with is ... a > > very large rock of public indifference and ignorance sitting in the middle > > of the road. With the very limited mass the disability movement has it would > > take a very large acceleration component to move the rock out of the way. > > Not a realistic option. What is a realistic option however is to keep on > > chipping away at this rock, breaking bits off, and reducing its mass over > > time to a level where it can be moved. It will take a lot longer, it may be > > generational, but - to mix my metaphors - the bits chipped away may form a > > sound basis for the construction of our yellow brick road into the future. > > To maintain your 'rock' metaphor - in a social approach to power, the rock > would be the dominant medical / individual approach to disability (a > disability discourse). The task of organisations of disabled people and > their allies is, as you rightly say, to chip away at the rock. However, > (and this is where the rock metaphor fails) the rock isn't a single solid > and visible mass - it has been carved, by numerous social masons > (scientists and welfare professionals), into building blocks which underpin > many of our welfare institutions - the rock is everywhere, in the language > of social workers, the structure of health service provider organisations > and the legislation constructed to 'care for' disabled people, there > families and friends. A further difficulty is that disabled people's > organisations can be tempted to use the chips of broken rock to build their > own structures, which simply maintain the mass of the individual approach. > > One other thing to keep in mind is that there are lots of different rocks > (Discourses) which are strewn across the social landscape - and picking the > right type of rocks to chip at or build with is a real sod of a job. > > Regards > > Alden > > ________________End of message______________________ > > Archives and tools for the Disability-Research Discussion List > are now located at: > > www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/disability-research.html > > You can JOIN or LEAVE the list from this web page. ________________End of message______________________ Archives and tools for the Disability-Research Discussion List are now located at: www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/disability-research.html You can JOIN or LEAVE the list from this web page.