subtle oppression

[Ann Hale]

I would tie this to the Canon of Creativity.  When shut down, you read a situation and stay with the cultural conserve. When normally you would respond, accept the "springboard to creativity" and play with an idea, muse aloud or online, the restrictive nature of the culture you are in or the state of mind you are responding to, keeps you in a conservative role taking position.  I see all those ventures along the cyclical Canon of Creativity as "feedback loops", returning to the cultural conserve for connection to the whole. If your cycling through is harsh, you energy wains and you stay put. If there is receptivity (Moreno used this word in the CofC)  then you continue cycling until you have sufficient momentum to move toward role creating during your dialogue.  

What defeats subtle oppression is the strength of conviction and the quality of supportive reception to you ideas.   Even though you may not receive overwhelming numbers of support, the presence of support is sometimes enough to encourage continuation.
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Adam Blatner 
  To: list at grouptalkweb.org 
  Cc: iagp-psychodrama at yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2008 3:04 PM
  Subject: subtle oppression


  Dear Colleagues, I've been thinking of the category of sublte oppression, mainly referring to the kinds of dynamics that make you shut down in group settings. (These may not be just group therapy settings; they can also be classes, workshops, seminars, conferences, or other contexts in which one norm is that the group is on the surface inviting participation and openness, but at the same time certain dynamics can operate so that it feels too bold, out-of-it, insensitive, presumptuous, or otherwise potentially isolating and/or drawing rejection should you dare to speak up about certain topics. 

       This email is an invitation to share anecdotes. 

       I've come up with a few categories that tend to make me want to not assert myself, though on occasion I force myself to go against my tendency or temptation and speak up. (I've sometimes been supported in doing so, and sometimes condemned.): 
            1. I can't understand what the other person is saying because s/he is speaking too fast, too softly, with too much of an accent or dialect, using too big or unfamiliar terms or vocabulary, and so forth. In trying to bring up the problem of understand-ability, I've at times been met with blame.
             2. Someone takes offense to what I say, which then makes it difficult in that escalated emotional context to seek clarification and make amends. Explanations are often perceived as trying to avoid responsibility when in fact they are seeking to find a way to work out the miscommunication.
             3. Feeling one has a minority opinion when the group is perceived to have a certain bias. (Example: In one group many years ago a protagonist was complaining about a vague memory of possible sexual abuse---this was when this complaint was seen as always to be believed. I asked, "Well, there seems to be some question whether this event actually happened." Caught a lot of flack.)
             4. ...and so forth. Does this evoke any associations?

       My goal is to identify the underlying patterns that stifle discourse and think of ways we can better keep people feeling safe enough to express themselves. Any further examples or ideas will be appreciated. Warmly, Adam Blatner
  Adam Blatner, M.D.
     website: www.blatner.com/adam/   


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