Thanks for the responses all, and apologies for the hefty response, I'm not quite so good at being succinct.
Thanks Wendy for sharing some of the attempts you made to ensure you continued to work in ways that were true to your values, ones that I imagine are shared here. I think you are spot on by saying that it is uncomfortable to think about and to talk about too. Other than those that are visible here, I received two other messages, both with similar themes; that it is a situation they also find themselves in and challenged by, but also that they didn’t feel comfortable to post online for a different reasons.
My hope is/was to develop allies online, as trying to find and crucially connect with allies in the space I work would be challenging for a number of reasons. I think that its important to stress as well, knowing there are people that share your values is helpful, being unable to connect with them makes it somewhat less helpful! This is what I value about this space online, that whilst I am not closely connected physically with allies, this provides a forum in which one hopefully can develop connections and meaningful discussions about working closer to ones values.
I have considered posts where I would work within a system which is more aligned to my values but I admit I like my income and am not keen to give that up! In addition, there is a large part of me that likes the fight....even though it can be tiring. This is obviously the subversive part of me! In this way, I am aware of how I can create, maintain and empower the very disempowering practices that I don’t like. Which obviously goes on to contribute to the challenges I feel.
I understand Craig’s point about the middle class having time to worry about ethics, I think we on the list spend time talking and thinking about ethics, the point that it is within the middle class only isn’t something connects with me. Furthermore, I’m not entirely sure at what point I entered into middle class-dom; whether it was when I began to question ethics or when I qualified or at birth! I think Danny puts this better than me though!
I wanted to touch on your point about trying to reconstruct ways in which the list can step away from collegial aims. I am aware that it sounds like I’m disgruntled because I feel that my concerns are not heard, this is not the case. There have been some great examples of collective action and thought provoking discussion on the forum, and I value that we don’t all share the same views, that would be boring. Often though, I am reminded of this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe1a1wHxTyo
I’m really interested in how many people are active subscribers to this list, and how we can continue to create a space that is inviting of critically evaluative voices and also voices that can enhance the community feel of the list. I’d like the community psych list to have a greater community feel whilst retaining its critical perspective.
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