The ongoing discourse on race, law enforcement and justice has been a constant buzz in our cyber landscape. Like other issues that hit close to people's core values and private experiences, sentiment runs deep and perspectives become more firmly entrenched the further we go in this national dialogue.
Actually, the truth might be even bleaker than this, as our polarized impressions of the state of America have yet to manifest into an actual dialogue. And how could they? The myriad of different media sources that we find ourselves immersed in provide little more than an echo chamber, with the magic of social media reflecting our own private beliefs assumptions back at us.
If all of this offers a damning assessment of our capacity for growth as a society, it is not strictly the fault of our current forms of media, but our misguided use of media that is at issue.
There is nowhere that this would seem more evident than in the current Black Lives Matter movement and the response that the movement has evoked from other interest groups. The emergence of Blue Lives Matter and All Lives Matter movements constitute a curious counter to the Black Lives movement, which seem to divert attention from the cause and perhaps dismiss the movement all together. None of this seems to place us as a society in any way closer to a solution with regards to these areas. Whereas to some, the the emergence of counter movements serve to neutralize the salience of the Black Lives movement, to others these reactionary responses only further substantiate the need for a Black Lives movement to begin with. All of this can leave any one of us to rightfully ask, #WhyDoesItMatter?
This is a legitimate question that should be given some legitimate consideration. In a society where information overload only serves to make us all the more insular in the end, what benefit could there possibly be in our collective and personal appraisal of what is happening to others outside our most immediate sphere of virtual existence? Why does it matter how we as a society respond to Black Lives movement, or any other movement for that reason? The answer to this might be far more consequential than any of us may truly appreciate.
On September 23rd, this question is given clinical consideration, as husband and wife team Dr. Melissa Kraemer-Smothers and Dr. Brian Smothers explore psychological and sociological impetus behind groups compelled to testify to the hardships they have endured.
Applying a trauma lens to the organizational efforts of public action groups, Kremer-Smothers and Smothers will turn their perspectives as psychotherapists and surveyors of the human experience towards exploring this insatiable pull to speak out in response to tragedy and to be heard. What does it do for us as humans to be able to share our stories with others in the world around us? Conversely, what happens within the individual and between groups when this need is thwarted or when one's words or viewpoints are misconstrued or distorted? What impact does silence have upon us and what violence is inflicted upon an individual who's experience with violence is suppressed or diminished?
More than providing a framework for considering the impetus for the current discourse on Black Lives Movement, this presentation will help us consider what it means to be human, and the power of community relative to healing that occurs through empathic connections and feeling heard.
Who Will Hear me when I Call is open to the community and will be a part of this year's Social Living Conference, this Friday and Saturday at Mount Mary University. The presentation will take place from 2:10pm to 3:10pm at Mount Mary University in room 243 of Notre Dame Hall. The conference is open to the community and interested learners and will offer continuing education credit for licensed clinicians.
For more information on the conference, e-mail us at MASLCommunity@gmail.com. Request a PDF version of our conference brochure and registration form or register here. You can also register for the conference on site the morning of the 23rd (begins at 7:45). Please- join us for this timely and powerful consideration of Community and Healing.
If all of this offers a damning assessment of our capacity for growth as a society, it is not strictly the fault of our current forms of media, but our misguided use of media that is at issue.
There is nowhere that this would seem more evident than in the current Black Lives Matter movement and the response that the movement has evoked from other interest groups. The emergence of Blue Lives Matter and All Lives Matter movements constitute a curious counter to the Black Lives movement, which seem to divert attention from the cause and perhaps dismiss the movement all together. None of this seems to place us as a society in any way closer to a solution with regards to these areas. Whereas to some, the the emergence of counter movements serve to neutralize the salience of the Black Lives movement, to others these reactionary responses only further substantiate the need for a Black Lives movement to begin with. All of this can leave any one of us to rightfully ask, #WhyDoesItMatter?
This is a legitimate question that should be given some legitimate consideration. In a society where information overload only serves to make us all the more insular in the end, what benefit could there possibly be in our collective and personal appraisal of what is happening to others outside our most immediate sphere of virtual existence? Why does it matter how we as a society respond to Black Lives movement, or any other movement for that reason? The answer to this might be far more consequential than any of us may truly appreciate.
More than providing a framework for considering the impetus for the current discourse on Black Lives Movement, this presentation will help us consider what it means to be human, and the power of community relative to healing that occurs through empathic connections and feeling heard.
Who Will Hear me when I Call is open to the community and will be a part of this year's Social Living Conference, this Friday and Saturday at Mount Mary University. The presentation will take place from 2:10pm to 3:10pm at Mount Mary University in room 243 of Notre Dame Hall. The conference is open to the community and interested learners and will offer continuing education credit for licensed clinicians.
For more information on the conference, e-mail us at MASLCommunity@gmail.com. Request a PDF version of our conference brochure and registration form or register here. You can also register for the conference on site the morning of the 23rd (begins at 7:45). Please- join us for this timely and powerful consideration of Community and Healing.
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| blogger Ben Rader w/ son Solomon |
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