Macro Practice in Social Work for the 21st Century by Steve Burghardt

Author:Steve Burghardt [Burghardt, Steve]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781412972994
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 2010-06-02T00:00:00+00:00

Her progress, both personal and professional, in confronting racial matters was achieved through her application of tactical self-awareness to emotionally charged situations fraught with social content. By spotting the contexts in which she herself had great difficulty—in this case, situations where racism and sexism were prevalent—she then used her responses to unravel why she reacted so poorly. Instead of maintaining a rigid response of either anger or indifference, she patiently set out to deal with her reactions to such issues over time, allowing needed reflection in action as the issues arose within the work itself to help her improve her responses.

In other words, utilizing reflective practice over time allowed her to work on unresolved tensions (her hostility, her blanking out) so that eventually she created a synthesis in her response to bigotry: calmly stated but firm dialogue on alternatives to racist ideas. Each effective response on her part generated effective ways to use the anger. Over time, she was not only a better practitioner but also more relaxed! Problems did not disappear, but she worked with them more effectively. She became a model of the restorative social work practitioner: calmly confronting others with internalized biases as they worked on their social justice campaigns, slowly yet firmly restoring a balance of genuine respect for others, an appreciation for difference, and a commitment to a common cause. This more dynamic approach is the essence of the genuinely engaged practice that is at the heart of this book.

The Power of Patience

The dynamics discovered in confronting inequities within society and among ourselves are not only seemingly timeless; they also are varied, with new people and new situations re-creating old patterns of caution and reticence before trust is established. This is perhaps where some people become either hostile or indifferent to maintaining active commitments to fighting racism, homophobia, and sexism. Each new situation, especially with new people, demands some form of guarded reaction from them toward a macro practitioner who seems to have more power than others. The reaction may be as minimal as it is repetitive: Perhaps it's a new group member's quiet reservation toward you that, on a superficial level, can appear gnawingly unfair. But is it? After all, your history will not be theirs. That joint history must patiently be developed with them, too, before genuine acceptance can occur.

A gay man active in civil rights struggles, the late Scott Jacobson, recounted his own realization of this dynamic:

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