Dear All,
i have kept quiet so far but am very happy about the
discussions on how to implement an activist stance.
Re. the choice of dates for conferences, i have a
little idea, though not necessarily for the conference
as such but perhaps for some small extra-meetings.
For example, there are these UN days, around which i
have previously organised poetry and discussion
events, such as for UN International Human Rights Day
on 10th of December every year. Maybe days such as
this one are good. it's of course only 2 months after
the conference, so it could be just a small meeting to
make a statement about something we feel strongly
about...
just a thought, Ursula
--- "Paul@home" <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
> David,
> In relation to the point you make about the context
> of your writing:
>
> With foresight, I wonder if we might have held our
> UKCP conference in
> Auchterader during the time of the G8 summit. With
> hindsight, I wonder what
> that CPUK conference might have been like....
>
> I am looking forward to visiting
> Newcastle-upon-Tyne, but in future should
> we also look at the sociopolitical map and calender
> rather than solely the
> geographic map and academic calender when planning
> when and where (and why)
> we have our gatherings?
>
> p
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: The UK Community Psychology Discussion List
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of
> David Fryer
> Sent: 07 July 2005 11:03
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [COMMUNITYPSYCHUK] community psychology in
> relation to the
> issues raised by G8 and more generally by US
> domination: "have we on the
> CPUK list just gone a bit silent?"
>
>
> Dear Paul, Paul, Mark and all,
>
> Thanks for raising these issues. I have been one of
> the silent ones. I
> break that silence below . . .
>
> Like many others, I am also concerned (but not at
> all surprised) about
> the complicity of psychologists in the theory and
> practice of torture
> but from a community psychological perspective
> surely the complicity
> runs far deeper and more systemically than the level
> of the professional
> ethics of individual psychologists? This collusion
> with oppression and
> injustice could not conceivably be adequately
> addressed by a
> professionals' organisation like the APA (whose
> whole raison d'etre is
> after all to promote the interests of psychologists)
> by weeding out 'bad
> apples' through sanctions against individuals: an
> individualistic,
> reactive, intervention which would be wholly
> inadequate and problematic.
> The issue is not surely one of individual ethics but
> of the social
> practice of psychology within current
> political/militaristic societal
> arrangements being an ideologically problematic
> discipline which in so
> many domains provides the tools which can be used to
> inflict sustained
> survivable pain and anguish, psychological, physical
> and community
> destruction. Why is our voice as community
> psychologists not being heard
> more often more loudly about these matters?
>
> Like many others, I too am deeply worried and
> ashamed of the silence and
> complicity of many psychologists in relation to G8.
> In my view the
> policies of the countries which make up G8, but
> especially those of the
> USA and the UK, which have led them to wage illegal,
> unjust, hideously
> destructive wars abroad with incalculable human
> damage at all levels and
> 'the war without bullets' fought daily on the poor
> and powerless in all
> countries, including our own, leads to a daily
> tsunami of misery,
> psychological and physical health and community
> destruction. Why is our
> voice as community psychologists not being heard
> more often more loudly
> about these matters?
>
> Third, like many others, I too am concerned about
> oppressive, US-led,
> global domination: militarily, economically,
> culturally and
> ideologically. But surely this is as evident in the
> domination of
> community psychology by the USA as it is anywhere?
> Colonisation through
> domination of journals, textbooks, professional
> lobbying groups like the
> APA, international evangelising by celebrity
> academics and most
> problematic of all through . . . ideas . . . . ideas
> which are products
> of a largely ideologically acritical, culturally
> specific, community
> psychology born out of its liberal individualistic
> culture but
> 'exported' around the world as a universal model of
> community
> psychology. Through UK community psychology too? Why
> is our voice as
> community psychologists not being heard more often
> more loudly about
> these matters?
>
> My context of writing? I am writing from Stirling.
> As you will know the
> G8 leaders, their entourage and many citizens who
> wish to express their
> opposition to the G8 policies which create and
> maintain poverty and
> ecological destruction globally and locally are
> currently visiting this
> part of Scotland. Like a quarter of a million
> citizens I went to
> Edinburgh last weekend for the Make Poverty History
> March. It was a
> moving event regrettably eclipsed by the London pop
> circus. Yesterday
> was very different except that again voices for
> sanity and justice were
> drowned out by an olympic circus. Where I live was
> cut off by police
> road blocks trying to stop people moving about the
> country to exercise
> their right to speak out. The road in which I live
> was turned into a
> conduit for truckloads of riot police. Young people
> walking through
> where I live, walking many miles to get to
> Gleneagles because other
> means of transport had been made unavailable, had
> verbal abuse hurled at
> them by terrified 'ordinary citizens'. Why terrified
> - almost all
> sources of information created a climate of fear
> suggesting a siege by
> subhuman anarchists hell bent on violence (actually
> of course for some
> of us they were our children). Even at the
> University of Stirling, a
> message was sent round electronically yesterday
> afternoon to all staff.
> Part of this read as follows: "The University has
> been informed that the
> situation in Stirling has now worsened and there is
> significant
> disruption in the Central Stirling area in
> connection with the G8
> meeting. All First Bus services in the Stirling area
> are currently
> suspended. Travel in and around Stirling over the
> next two hours could
> be severely disrupted. In view of this members of
> staff are advised to
> stay on campus for the time being. If your personal
> circumstances are
> such that you feel the need to leave early please
> notify your line
> manager."
>
> To business . . . has space been set aside at the
> Newcastle UK CP
> Network for critical debate about the position of
> community psychology
> in relation to the issues raised by G8 and the
> issues more generally
> raised by US domination generally and in community
> psychology also? If
> not who is interested in collaborating in developing
> a proposal - now?
> The deadline for Newcastle porposals is, I believe,
> tomorrow.
>
> David
>
> David Fryer
> Community Psychology Group
> University of Stirling
> FK9 4LA
> Scotland
> +44 (0) 1786 467650 (tel)
> +44 (0) 1786 467641 (fax)
> [log in to unmask]
>
> -----Original Message-----
>
=== message truncated ===
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