[Xmca-l] Re: Rogers day

[Jacob McWilliams]

I write now as someone who years ago gave up on xmca—primarily because of
my experiences of sexism in responses to women vs. responses to men. My
specific expertise in that area is that I began participating as a
female-identified contributor. Now that I identify as male, I assume that
when I weigh in on xmca I’ll be accorded the higher level of respect and
leeway that I often saw accorded to male contributors.



But what I want to say is simply this: This thread has smacked of ableism.
This isn’t to discount anybody’s experience of sexism, but experiences of
sexism don’t serve as an excuse for visiting other forms of prejudice on
anybody. I’ve been appalled by how mental health diagnoses are represented
and discussed (perhaps even by some folks who don’t live with a mental
health diagnosis themselves), and I’m appalled by how someone who
identified as holding an Othered mental health-based identity has been
treated. I think this thread should end now, and we should move toward the
better angels of our nature—or at least away from this topic.



--Jacob McWilliams




-- 


Jacob McWilliams
Educational Psychology and Learning Sciences Program
University of Colorado Boulder
j.mcwilliams@colorado.edu
http://www.jennamcwilliams.com


On Mon, Aug 13, 2018 at 6:39 PM, Annalisa Aguilar <annalisa@unm.edu> wrote:

> Hi Adam and venerable others,
>
>
> I acknowledge that we are sifting through the interpersonal and attempting
> to onramp to the transactional, and in that spirit I will set aside the
> topic of antagonizing emails of the immediate past for now, but I will
> briefly assert that I have received offlist emails from community members
> (who are women) who agree with me and my analysis, but tragically they will
> not post because, as I said earlier, women are expected to defer to the
> discomfort of others, and their view points are not considered important
> enough to hear "out loud," but only in an intimate circle of other women.
> What that means is that these women do not feel safe to post to the list.
> So those who praise your efforts to ensure this a safe place for discourse,
> well, respectfully... please don't feel so secure in that belief.
>
>
> Onwards! ...as Helena W signs her emails (She was not one of the women who
> replied).
>
>
> Adam, perezhivanie was the only Vygotskian concept I could think of that
> adheres to the emotional aspect of development and I was also reminded of
> the problem of the environment essay, thanks for bringing that up. I am
> almost hoping my friend Fernando L will post right about now, because his
> reading of Vygotskian/CHAT text is impressively encyclopedic and I think he
> would be able to identify some additional texts that might provide us with
> answers.
>
>
> I thought that "threat to self" is what Freud would say creates the
> unconscious, and I'm apologizing but my Freud reading is quite frugal if
> non-existent. In the Vedanta paradigm of mind, we would say that an
> obstruction is created in the mind. Just like roads, there can be different
> kinds of obstructions. There can be too much traffic, something blocks the
> way, bridges washed away, accidents, flat tires, etc.
>
>
> I'm guessing that Vygotsky's reply would be that the child, based upon the
> material on hand (i.e, the biological development completed up to that
> point, á la Piaget) comes up with a solution of some kind, which may be an
> appropriately(but also unappropriate) functioning compensation, born from
> the struggle of the crisis. The danger is that unless a trauma is
> addressed, children's minds remain distorted until such time a new crisis
> arises later, perhaps because the initial compensation strategy no longer
> works, and then a new structure reveals itself. That is, when the child
> must work without the help of a therapeutic support.
>
>
> This is where and when the function of unconditional positive regard seems
> so critical. Particularly to a traumatized child. But even in the case that
> a child hasn't been traumatized there is something about positive regard
> that allows a kind of relaxation. Metaphorically, I visualize this like
> taking a wrinkled tablecloth, unfolding and unfurling it and allowing it to
> float above the table and rest upon it flat and neat and allowing the
> wrinkles to relax flat.
>
>
> Adam, I'm unsure if I understand what you mean by the unconscious being a
> symbolic tool. Would you say more about that?
>
>
> Thanks for posting the link and also your contribution. I haven't had the
> opportunity to check out your article, but I shall. "Funds of identity" Is
> an interesting phrase.
>
>
> Kind regards,
>
>
> Annalisa
>
>
>
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