Transcript The Prism of Diversity: Culture Gender Age Disability

The Prism
of Diversity:
Culture
Gender
Religion
Age
Disability
Presentation by Arthur V. N. Wint,J.D.
Respecting Culture
Two eternal truths about human beings
are people differ from one another and
people are similar to one another.
Dr. Brian Ogawa
Responses to Conflict
- ”Normal” responses -
Escape Responses (Flight)
Denial - “This can’t be happening!”
Flight - “I’m out of here!”
Suicide - “I just can’t take it anymore!”
Attack Responses (Fight)
Litigation - “Sue the bastards!”
Assault - “She made me do it!”
“Homicide” - “I just couldn’t take it anymore.”
Responses to Conflict (cont’d)
Conciliation Responses
Overlook It
Discuss it
Negotiate it
Mediate it
Arbitrate it
Judge it
Confrontation Options
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COOPERATIVE
Confrontation Options
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AVOIDANCE
COOPERATIVE
Confrontation Options
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COMPETITION
AVOIDANCE
COOPERATIVE
Confrontation Options
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COMPETITION
AVOIDANCE
ACCOMMODATION
COOPERATIVE
Confrontation Options
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COMPETITION
COMPROMISE
AVOIDANCE
ACCOMMODATION
COOPERATIVE
Confrontation Options
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COMPETITION
COLLABORATION
COMPROMISE
AVOIDANCE
ACCOMMODATION
COOPERATIVE
The Change Cycle & CR
- “Typical” Peacemaker Roles in CR
Contentment
Denial
Renewal
Confusion
Contentment Phase:
Continue with the normal routine
Leadership Style - “Working the plan”
One doesn’t discover new
lands without consenting to
lose sight of the shore for a
very long time.
Andre Gide
Denial Phase
Help people understand
Acknowledge this condition
Ask questions
Actively listen
Be patient
Give little advice - Do Much Follow-up
Leadership style - “Encourager”
Many a [person] would rather
you heard [their] story than
granted [their] request.
Earl Phillip Stanhope
He that lacks time to mourn,
lacks time to mend.
William Shakespeare
Historic continuity with the past
is not a duty, it is only a
necessity.
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Confusion Phase
Get everyone together
Begin visioning
Encourage open input
Maintain high profile ~
goals/leadership
Leadership style - “Visioner”
Confusion is a word we have
invented for an order which is
not yet understood.
Henry Miller
There is no squabbling so
violent as that between people
who accepted an idea
yesterday and those who will
accept the same idea
tomorrow.
Christopher Morely
If you cry “forward”, you must
make clear the direction in which
to go. Don’t you see that if you
fail to do that and simply call out
the word to monk and a
revolutionary, they will go in
precisely the opposite directions.
Anton Checkhov
Renewal
Help focus
Allow people to implement their ideas
Provide rewards
Allow healthy risk-taking
Match people with others in this phase
Clarify and expect setbacks
Leadership style - “Implementer”
Challenge
What does “normal reaction”mean?
Do we all respond the same way to
conflict?
Of what value is it to know/understand
cultural perspectives?
Is “diversity” important? If so, why? If
not, why not?
Paul’s Approach
“I have become all things to all men so that
by all possible means I might save some.”
1 Cor. 9:22
Is this the “template” for peacemakers?
Does RJ involve “restoring the balance ” to
any underlying cultural dissonance, as well
as the presenting conflict?
Should cultural sensitivity/impacts have a
“high” or “low” priority in ADR practice?
What’s Your Response?
“[O]ur goal as practitioners is of course
to avoid or minimize errors of all sorts,
and generally to practice in efficient,
equitable, productive, and ethical
ways…..which do you think is the
worse error: underestimating culture’s
impacts or overestimating them?”
Kevin Avruch, Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution,
Geroge Mason University
“DIVERSITY”
“Diversity”
What does the term mean to you?
Why should this be an area of concern
for peacemakers?
Is “diversity” the same as “civil rights”?
If we believe in “equality”, and treating
people “the same” why the concern for
diversity?
A Vast Array of Cultural
Differences
Race
Ethnicity
Religion
Language
Customs
Traditions
Disability
“Diversity within diversity”
Diversity & Human
Interchange
No one is just what we label and
classify them
People are inseparable from their
racial and ethnic backgrounds, but not
strictly determined by them
All people deserve to be treated as
individuals, even as the nuances of
race and culture are recognized
What Constitutes Culturally
Competence?
Is “Color Blindness” the standard?
Looking at Continuum of “Culture Competence”
Continuum of Culture
Competence
Culture Destructiveness: Conscious
denial of another’s culture, and/or the
belief that one’s belief system is
superior to all others.
Culture Incapacity: Understands that
there are many differences among
cultures, but refuses or does not do
anything to change
Continuum of Culture
Competence, (cont’d)
Culture Blindness: Overlooks
differences as though they do not exist
Culture Competence: Values others
and their differences; diversity is
recognized and accepted
Culture Proficiency: Occurs when
diversity works together
Foundations of Culture
Sensitivity
Compassion and Sincerity
Respect
Compassion & Sincerity
Not the same feeling of compassion,
but the same compassionate
interaction
Compassion = “foundation”
Sincerity = “expression”
No condescension
No manipulation
No insincerity
Respect
Withhold ethnocentric judgments about
the cultural practices of others
Don’t minimize the experience of
others
Be willing to expand your frame of
reference
Barriers to Culturally
Sensitive Interactions
Programmatic Barriers
Beliefs
Values/Attitudes/Beliefs
Have You heard of “Core Values” or Traditional Values?
Where Do These Values Come From?
What Would You Say Is THE Core Value held in our
society?
WHO DETERMINED THESE CORE
VALUES!??
Categories Of Values~ Primary
Personal Values
Indicative of an individual’s moral character
Social Values
Folkways ~ values people accept out of habit
Morals ~ set of core principles that govern values
Institutional ~ ways or practices set up under law
Taboos ~ emphatic do’s and don’t’s of a particular society
What are some other values that we encounter/share?
Categories of Values~ Additional
Political
“American Way”, public service, voting, civic duty
Way particular peoples are “labeled”/processed
Economic
Equal employment, money, stable employment, private property,
pride of ownership, paying taxes
Religious
Characterized by reverence for life,human dignity, freedom of
worship
Also can involve being a “zealot”~ women/out-groups/nonbelievers
Socialization
Major source of individual values
Which of these six have the most impact upon you? Why?
Caveats re: Values~ ways to view
“culture” vis-à-vis ADR practice
Cultures are “analytical categories”
They are not things
They are not “nouns”
Individuals are bearers of multiple cultures
No one in our society is just one culture
Culture is acquired
It is a part of ongoing social life
Culture is not embedded in our genes
Cultures do not “cause” conflict
Lenses through which people view conflict
Practitioners should be careful not to “overvalue” or
“undervalue” culture
So What?!!?
Be Self-aware
Know yourself
Anticipate values/power/control issues in mediation
setting
Monitor parties
“Really” monitor self ~ presumptions re: “culture”
Ethical Construct
Key is to “Make the Process Meaningful’
Protect parties from others’ illegitimate use of
“power”/cultural biases
“Check yourself!”
“[W]hatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is
admirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -think about such things.”
- Phil. 4:8 -
“Multi-culturalism”
Acknowledgement of the different cultural
definitions of well-being and recovery from
trauma
Support of the varied pathways to “mental
health” and incorporation of these into
appropriate victim services,ADR and referrals
Cultural awareness training
Multiethnic and multilingual teamwork (don’t
be afraid to ask)
Cross-cultural perspectives to benefit from
the principles and methods of other cultures
Eg: Native Cultures and use of circles
Learning Points
Accept the fact that each person is a culture unto him-/herself
Recognize that some of your personal values/beliefs may
need cultural adjustment
Be willing to change some of your attitudes/beliefs in order to
grow ~ better serve our community in culture proficient ways
Appreciate the fact that different is not necessarily bad or
wrong
Strive to rid yourself of filters that may skew your thinking
against a person or a group of people ~ impact on practice
Read/learn about different cultures
Try to accept people for who they are ~ individuals,not labels
Be careful not to “overvalue” or “undervalue” culture
Act justly…Love mercy…Walk humbly…