Rol, to me you always make sense. In situations which don't always make
sense to me, I find it helps to let the task or desired outcomes be the
boss. Then the judgement part comes as to whether or not particular
behaviors/actions are appropriate for achieving the outcomes intended.
Racism, etc., whatever the etiology, impedes task accomplishment.
As a personal coach, my customers want to manage change in their best
interests and in the company's best interests. My job is to help them
think through all the consequences of their actions/non-actions relative
to their goals and at the same time, pull from their strengths so they can
accomplish their goals. I don't offer them understanding qua understanding
or judge their actions by themselves.
In a way, I think this is the flip side of what you write below. Each
position carried to extremes is problematic. Does this make sense??
Carol
Rol Fessenden wrote:
> I find myself agreeing with many points of view on the issue of whether
> judgment is good or not. I wonder if it doesn't depend on your job.
>
> I heard a Rabbi today say that his job was in many ways similar to that of
> a therapist. Despite the similarities, he said, what he did was
> nevertheless quite different than what a therapist did. So for example,
> if you commit adultery and you want to talk about it, it is the Rabbi's
> job to tell you there are consequences. Impact on children, spouse,
> church and so forth. It is the Rabbi's job to tell you it is wrong. On
> the other hand, the therapist offers understanding. The therapist's job
> is not to tell you it is wrong, but to accept you.
>
> Some of the other stories may fit the same pattern. As a parent, I can
> relate to Ivan's stories. His role really was to not take sides.
>
> Robert's examples may also fit. As an employee I must take a stand on
> workplace theft, even if I know the thief is only doing it to feed his or
> her family. The thief may also get vastly different judgements from a
> policeman & a social worker.
>
> How does one not make a judgement on behaviors like racism or
> anti-semitism? I think we must. At the same time we may be able to see
> the roots of such behavior in ignorance, habit, fear, anxiety, and so
> forth. In this case, we may wish to condemn the behavior, but not the
> individual, especially if understanding will help alleviate the root
> causes of the behavior. Therefore, even within ourselves, we may wish to
> play different roles even simultaneously.
>
> Does this make sense?
-- Carol Sager, Sager Educational Enterprises http://www.erinet.com/patterwc/CLIIN/ Critical Linkages II Newsletter; 21 Wallis Road, Chestnut Hill, MA 02167; V.(617)469-9644; Fax(same)-9639Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>