On Systemic Racism and The Power of the Unconscious Mind. Blog 146

Good morning and apologies to those who couldn't access yesterday's blog - all I can say is....... Gremlins! 

Late last night a colleague, Carl Blackburn (CEO Barking and Dagenham Council For Voluntary Service) posted on the CVS Facebook Group an important article about G4S in light of yesterday's news - A culture of casual racism - it was an important article to share.


http://www.irr.org.uk/news/a-culture-of-casual-racism/

Interestingly this particularly chimed with me yesterday for two reasons, one the many conversations I have been having with little Veronika (9) about how it is to be bullied by some children at school because she is Polish, and secondly the horrifying story of a young man trapped in the Mental Health System. A dear friend of mine is working to support this young man in circumnavigating a well meaning but hostile and toxic system that once it has labeled people as having a mental heath diagnosis proceeds to see every thing about that individual through a pathological lens. 

The treatment in particular of people from BAME communities in the Criminal Justice System and Mental Health system is nothing less barbaric at times, reducing already suffering people to less than human. And the thing is that half the time some of these well meaning professionals are ignorant of their unconscious behaviours, steeped in values and attitudes that are intended to keep the public and the 'patient/prisoner' safe. Its all good intention - or is it?

At Arc we have worked for many years on issues of oppression, abuse and bullying and in particular how these play out around race. Its easy to legislate, to write and amend laws and there are plenty of well meaning policies and statements of commitment to equalities and diversity in most organisations. But you know what - sadly many of these remain worthy documents at the back of the filing cabinet. Endless and often ineffective training helps professionals to tick the appropriate boxes, be let off the hook of examining their own hidden unconscious prejudices. And I say this from no enlightened place - after all we all harbour attitudes and beliefs about others that may only see the light of day only in exegis. Or not? In many ways the overt stuff is at least - overt! We can consciously choose to counter a direct act of racist or sexist abuse, or any abuse for that matter. The problem comes from the underlying toxic mood that pervades much of our society still. Especially at times of financial challenge, lack of jobs, perceptions about migration etc; the list is endless. All of these lead to an underlying xenophobia riven through organisations and communities.

The thing is of course its about those in power and those who are not. Its possible to live a largely uninterrupted life if you have money - it can get you out of most scrapes. Do we go on endlessly about the Australians who migrate to the UK? - not really. Of course some would argue that this is because they are not a burden to our welfare system - but how come so many highly skilled Asian and African-Carribbean professionals for example still experience direct and indirect racism in their work and on the street? I guess its much easier to take a pop at someone with a visible difference.

But the issues around encarceration, whether in the CJS or a Psychiatric ward are in my view deeply sinister. These organisations have the law to back them up. The young man I referred to earlier is diagnosed with bipolar, so everything he does or says is perceived through this pathology. The fact that he has experienced intense trauma, homelessness, fear and chaos hardly features in the circumstances that give rise to his desperate seeking of help in the medical system. Of course as he feels the noose tightening what he fails to understand is that he has colluded with the system, simply by seeking its help. And now its nigh on impossible to be heard by doctors or mental health workers. Imagine that - everything you do or say is closely observed, so if you cry or express anger you simply confirm the diagnosis - and God forbid if your trauma is intense you may find yourself sectioned and in a straight jacket (metaphorically) and drugged up to your eyeballs. 

This young man is African-Carribbean and as my friend who is supporting him said, the professionals see a big black guy who is in distress (agressive?) and they are frightened and ready to grab the sedation injections and lock him up. This is about them not him. Its about a set of uninterrogated attitudes and beliefs. I am not saying that this young man does not need help - he clearly does. But adding stress in a clinical setting to an already distressed person makes no sense at all. What he needs is to be heard and understood, respected as human being and afforded the basics of human dignity and rights, not spoken to like a naughty child. My friend who is supporting him has extensive experience in advocacy and understands what he needs to feel whole and she can articulate this to the professionals. Lucky him. But what of those who have no advocates, don't have a clue where to find someone to represent them? There's the rub. Its true in both the CJS and Mental Health system, and sadly in less dramatic settings too such as housing and welfare.

I have had personal experience of the Mental Health system on a number of occasions, and particularly in supporting a relative of mine who suffers with serious depression. Over a number of years I went with her to her case conferences and listened to her doctors speak to her disrespectfully or at best patronisingly, only really concerned with 'getting the medication dosage right'. Instructing her on how she must spend her day in the white austere walls of the ward. Dignity and human rights ripped away from her. Its woeful and actually terrifying. 

So what do we do? Endless highly expensive training courses at best introduce the legislation of which there is plenty, give examples of situations and prompt action plans. I think most a waste of money sadly. Why? because we can get people to conform in their behaviours to a certain extent, but this is intrinsically Pavlovian and ok its better than nothing. But we need to make the unconscious conscious. I don't believe that any of these professionals intend to be unkind or cruel, after all they have chosen these careers 'to make a difference', and indeed many are brilliant at their jobs. 

The work that needs to be done is on the way in which we interact with the 'whole' person, body, mind and spirit. Therein lies the possibility for true healing. Life is by nature very tough, and our ability to find inner resources and resilience often truly challenged. The loneliness of this is palpable in such people as the young man I describe. This existential truth so powerfully conveyed in plays such as Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett could lead us all logically to commit suicide. And sadly it does for some. The rest of us carry on in the faint pursuit of happiness and fulfilment maybe. But we need to be there for each other, to feel heard and understood in order to find a way back 'home' to an equilibrium that makes life worthwhile and joyful.

Bit of a rant today - thanks to my colleague's timely provocation!

Have a caring day! I am sure you will. I plan to.