Feedback on Mackenzie's abolition workshop "Punishment is not Accountability"
Thank you Friends, for helping me reflect on and improve this workshop! Your responses below are anonymous and no identifying details will be shared, though I might use short quotes from them to let University Friends Meeting know what Friends who attended my workshop thought, when I am asking them for a travel minute.
RantWoman is often deeply allergic to others speaking on her behalf or taking something out of context. So RantWoman is proud to speak for herself and happy to own whatever may result. Valuable discussion occurred. RantWoman offers a number of points for further discernment.
RantWoman is a language geek. She can ALWAYS start a conversation asking to define terms. Readers are asked, PLEASE do the best you can not to take this personally and to attend to RantWoman's need to be faithful to her Light.
Travel Minute? Would there be any plans for a support and accountability committee? For formal recognition of an elder to help hold space at events? Oh, wait: RantWoman in "teach a person to fish" mode is not going to comment here about existence of any shared understanding of such Quaker pastoral support concepts. RantWoman would be WAY too happy to comment about people trying to wear too many hats and cultivating such practices takes attention. Those are topics for another day.
Punishment?
Accountability?
In RantWoman's estimation there was interesting discussion of several points which could have maybe gone further. However the Interest Group never wandered very near definitions of either term.
RantWoman notes this without comment about whether that is a catastrophe. RantWoman appreciates information in the interest group description to a shortened version of a 6-hour workshop. In RantWoman's experience the arc for an interest group of 1.5 hours is very different from on for 6 hours.
There is a formatting issue for the rest of this post. RantWoman is having trouble dealing with in the rest of the survey. RantWoman interacts with Google forms all the time without accessibility issues. The difference is that RantWoman wants to share both questions and her responses. RantWoman hopes Readers can bear with jumping back and forth
Did RantWoman feel safe...dignity and humanity respected?
Mackenzie has done and continues to do MANY things that make RantWoman feel shoved aside, ignored, and like serious concepts important to RantWoman do not matter at all. None of this makes RantWoman feel like her dignity and humanity are respected. On the contrary, Mackenzie's actions like those of many others make it abundantly clear to RantWoman that she needs to continue to be faithful to her Light.
Mackenzie is not alone. RantWoman wanted to see how the interest group evolved and is clear about ongoing issues but VERY unclear about paths for better discussions. Apparently, one of RantWoman's ONGOING access needs is for time and paths to discussion events and circumstances after the fact. RantWoman would VERY much appreciate BEING ASKED--and NOT JUST BY MACKENZIE-- what "do better next time" might look to RantWoman. RantWoman also reminds one Friend who had her characteristically superficial reaction to RantWoman's inquiry that she probably has in her email multiple suggestions about how to "pick one thing" to do next.
RantWoman felt "safe enough" for several reasons:
--There were many people RantWoman considers wise Friends and / or wants to uphold in their various forms of witness.
--"abolition" was probably not the sense of the whole room.
--RantWoman managed not to blurt out everything that came to mind when an article in the Atlantic about gun violence came up. RantWoman figured she should at least read the article because her "whoa!" was not going to make it out of her mouth kindly during the interest group.
--RantWoman had the option of attending by Zoom. This cuts way down on options for "grab the blind person and bless them" or "RantWoman is saying something we object to so let's give RantWoman a hug never mind whether it makes RantWoman feel smothered." Speaking of bodily autonomy and why, besides recent Supreme Court rulings, this remains a hot button bring it up over and over topic for RantWoman, ...
How comfortable....?
See answer above: Also, whether or not RantWoman feels comfortable may or may not have anything to do with a clear sense of call to be present! RantWoman considers it bad form to dump out everything in her bag of OUCHES in another person's interest group. RantWoman generally considers it ableist to assume that just because one has good intentions and does SOME things right that there cannot be other forms of ableism going on. Somehow, this topic probably belongs with further work around oops Ouch Whoa.
Did you feel heard and valued...?
RantWoman has NO idea how to judge that. Partly that is visual cues. Partly it is realities of Zoom including everyone staying muted so non-verbal reactions can't be heard.
RantWoman cannot remember whether there was a separate Zoom host. RantWoman STRONGLY believes that a person conducting an interest group should have a co-host. At best, this can help hold space if something comes up that flusters or upsets the presenter.
Somewhere in this Interest Group it dawned on RantWoman that it would be good to have a set of accessibility tips to send to presenters in future years.
Did you feel Spirit moving?
RantWoman can't decide whether just to leave it at "Yeah, I guess" or to have a rant about how this question seems very theologically superficial to RantWoman. Since RantWoman was asked...
Honestly, RantWoman feels like she has TRIED to have conversations about this very topic. Just because email may not be the best venue does not mean there are not conversations to have.
And just like that, RantWoman looked away from typing and two related links popped out.
because frankly, the words "Discipleship" and Contagion BOTH matter.
The article referenced in the above extract
Several Multiple Choice questions:
RantWoman is going to admit she has no brain cells even to interact but would VERY much appreciate some kind of compilation of how others responded. Given certain ISSUES, some kind of public compilation is what RantWoman is asking for.
Any other advice?
This whole blog post is full of advice and suggestions. RantWoman is happy to talk further about any of them. NO ONE should try to carry the weight of all of them. RantWoman hopes these comments offer points for Mackenzie and others to work with.
RantWoman generally appreciates boldness and initiative.
RantWoman can cite a long list of "Do Better Next Time." Some of the time RantWoman can relate to the advices something like " you have to tell people something seven times..." Some of the time RantWoman feels a little like Charlie Brown and the football. Why RantWoman feels like that is for another post.
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