article Sociatry

[James Sacks]

Dear Cynthia,
I just read the message below. It expresses what I would have said if 
I were so articulate. We represent a third stance that has to do with 
the terms of dialogue and which  encompasses all sides in a conflict. 
In the end, that purpose is usually more important than any single 
issue. If we get bogged down on one side of a conflict, we can have 
very little influence on important issue but if we adopt a "good 
umpire" stance we are more likely to reach a positive solution.That 
is not to say that we do not have personal views but as 
psychodramatists or sociodramatists or sociometrists we are neutral; 
not in the sense of "I don't care; It's your problem." But in the 
sense of helping by addressing how to conduct the interaction. It's 
much easier to induce a partisan to engage in role reversal than it 
is to admit s/he is wrong,.
Jim

>I want to respond to your point, ED.
>I do wonder if protest is a part of the process of change.  But it cannot be
>all the process of change.  I see it as ER (emergency) intervention.  But
>much social activism that I have been apart doesn't seem to go beyond that.
>Which is why I think the work you are doing, Ed, help in finding Moreno's
>keys of understanding of sociatry, is so crucial.
>
>Learning to role reverse and encounter is not a part of how the world works,
>or how most social activists operate.  EG, there is a leading activist rabbi
>who is always trying to confront a Jewish CEO of a lumber company about
>destroying trees with  Biblical teachings.  This is on top of years and
>years of physical protests by many at the venue.  Protesting and trying to
>shame the CEO into changing has not worked.  The activists aren't able to
>role reverse with the CEO of lumber industry, b/c they have demonized him so
>much AND most important, they cannot understand the CEO or corporation world
>view, b/c they see profit and business and how it's done as evil (and stop
>there).  What the CEO and company are doing is what has been the norm in
>business, and he would see no reason to do it differently.  This is the how
>the system works.  Trying to get the system to change by shaming, protesting
>and demonizing this CEO (or even confronting them with science of global
>warming)  is just not effective.  Getting a businessman to sit down and talk
>business, making it unprofitable, etc., might, b/c that would be part of his
>world view.  It's different worldviews, without enough information about
>each other's worlds to role reverse.
>
>I have learned much of this first hand, from trying to understand the world
>view of my father and his friends, who were in business and swallowed these
>view's whole....different planet....that most of us helper, touchy-feely,
>change the world types just don't begin to understand.  It's a trip, I'll
>tell ya!  But they are just people on the other side doing what they think
>they are supposed to be doing, stuck in their world view.
>
>The question is, what can psychodramatists offer to help with the bigger
>transformational process....the creating of the parallel universe...and I
>think it is a great deal.
>Cynthia
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: <edwschreiber at earthlink.net>
>To: <list at grouptalkweb.org>
>Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 3:22 PM
>Subject: Re: article Sociatry
>
>
>>  While I respect your perspect Cynthia, and I know from our
>>  conversations that we have a quite similar vision of a world
>>  of peace and sanity, I have difficulty with this statement:
>>
>>  "Pinter's reaction is typical of social activism that
>>  only knows protest and polarization to try to stop what is happening.  And
>>  is a reaction typical of social activists who demonize one side over the
>>  other, making one side seem the innocent victim, which also is not
>historically
>>  or currently accurate. That is confronting the dynamics of the problem
>with the same dynamics; Bush
>>  is demonizing, so demonize back."
>>
>>  Here is my concern:  To suggest that the problem is the back and forth
>demonization of sides to another
>  > does not recognize the soical implications of occupation, cultural
>destruction, invasion, and out and out
>>  rape.  The impact of just the rediation experiments the United States is
>deploying in Iraq is equal, in
>>  the long of it - the to gas chambers of the Nazi regime, in my view of
>things.  This is along side of
>>  what we have done here to the First Nations of this land and what we are
>doing - with the rest of the world -
>>  to the land, air, sea, fish, birds, plants, earth.
>>
>>  I take this point of view:  unless we address the situation, it remains
>unaddressed.  How we address it is
>>  critical.  We have the science in our hands.  Moreno left us with the
>science, albeit unfinished in the realization.
>>  The whole idea of sociatry is so interesting to me.  What if he left us
>formulas to address the whole of mankind?
>>
>>  That's my passion.
>>
>>  Ed
>>
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>>
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