nursingforsocialjustice

Judging from my newsfeed and my Facebook feed and the chit chat in my dentist office the world is tense right now. Some distressing events have happened this year: multiple police caused deaths of black people in the US, multiple police deaths and incidents of police violence of police towards people of colour in a Canada, social media captures of overt racist acts in healthcare (this is violence towards the patient), increased opiate poisoning deaths, Covid-19, the whole mess of the US election.

My Facebook feed is blowing up with misinformation. My Facebook feed is blowing up with people (likely some bots) arguing with messages of hate. Too much of my time is eaten up by my commenting, furiously typing in responses, thinking that my attempts to put reliable information and my perspective out there. At the end of the day my underlying message is the same: let’s just be respectful. You don’t need to earn my respect, you just have it until you are so persistently shitty that i re-visit my perception of you.

The logic of hate fuelled replies is flawed. It is easy to reply “you are an idiot” or “hey stupid, go read some peer reviewed evidence” and dig my heels in on me being so right and them, not only being so wrong, but being hopelessly stupid. But does it change anything? Does a distant online social media exchange of comments that may not even be with a real person do anything other than make me more frustrated and solidify my belief that I am right and that they are stupid? I am the smartest, if you don’t agree with me clearly you are the stupidest…right?

Hating those who hate doesn’t translate into more love to spread around. It doesn’t pave the road to communication and compassion. It’s doesn’t build relationships and help humanity. If we want people to meet us where we are at, then we, in turn, need to meet people where they are at. It’s a process.

Social media is an opinion free-for-all, but in real-life, do we avoid these conversations with the people who we interact with everyday? Is it weird that we say things like, don’t discuss politics or religion with family? Should we discuss social and political issues more at home and at work? Those are the things that divide us…so why do we avoid taking about them with people who’s views differ from our own. Or does it become to real when the person in front of us, the person who we have to interact with everyday might have a different understanding of the same issue?

When we stay in a bubble, at home, we try surround ourselves with those who think the same as us, but that does not leave space or make time for those who don’t. And, we need to make space and time to talk to people that don’t agree with us. When we take the time to listen to and understand different perspectives, that is how change happens. In many ways we become too invested in being morally right that we cannot even begin to try and understand why everyone does not agree with us.

I have my personal beliefs, my values, my biases, my judgments. I work really hard to recognize them, and think about them. I work really hard to try and understand where someone who doesn’t share my views is coming from. I’m not even sure how I could be nurse if I didn’t do this. Reflexivity is hard work. It is not a passive process. It takes time to write down your thoughts, to admit your own biases, to admit that sometimes (often?) I am wrong, and to engage is a process of deconstructing my social constructions. It is equally hard to maintain a stance that is not on solid ground, and be open to change. And it is all change, all the time. That’s just life.

Love,

Michelle D.