Support for Ideas in Social Networks - Essay Example

Becoming an Ally for Social Justice Issues An ally can broadly be defined as an individual who helps and/or supports someone else. According to Ederer and Barnes (2000), an ally is “a member of the "majority" group who rejects the dominant ideology and takes action against oppression out of a belief that eliminating oppression will benefit the target group and the minority group”. This is to say that the ally is any person who defies the majority beliefs in support of a group or groups of people who are suffering in one way or another in society. Allies are those individuals who take it upon themselves to transform society for the better. Allies listen openly, pursue self education, learn other people’s cultures and beliefs, take responsibility for their personal socialization, privileges and prejudices, build better multicultural relationships, seek out others, understand and accept their own identities, educate others and take a strong stand against prejudicial tendencies (Bishop, 2002). According to Evans and Wall (1991), there are four basic steps involved in the development of an ally: awareness, knowledge/education, skills and action. The first level, awareness, requires one to become more self aware. This means that a developing ally should first know, understand and accept oneself before they start learning about and helping other people. This awareness helps one to know what makes him or her different from other people. Talking with and reading about other people is one way of creating self awareness. The second step is knowledge or education which is gained through learning about policies, laws and even practices of those people who are different from oneself. This enables the developing allies to understand the cultures, norms and beliefs of people and how these affect them as individuals (Ederer and Barnes, 2000). The third level, skills, requires the ally to develop those skills that will help him in communicating everything he has learnt about a certain group of people. These skills can be gained through workshop attendance, role playing, support connections and practicing real life interventions. The action level is the most important step which requires individuals to take the bold step of taking action in order to affect the kind of positive change that will make society better and more understanding. I live and work in an area where the gay community is looked down upon. Although this community is not as large as the rest of the ‘straight’ members of society, they constitute a considerable percentage of the entire population in the area. As a developing ally of the lesbians and gays, I normally try to understand their needs and issues from their own point of view. As a social worker I think that as I try to better understand the gay community in my area I will be able to fully develop the kind of personality that will enable me to not only fully support them, but also champion for their rights in society (Ji, 2011). I envision myself as not just a social worker amongst these people who are considered ‘abnormal’, but also as the person who will help others change their misguided perceptions about the gays and lesbians living among them. My three characteristics which I find relevant in developing myself as an ally of gays and lesbians are: I am a good listener, I am ready to learn about other people’s cultures and beliefs and I also believe that I am responsible for bringing about an attitude change in society in regards to gay men and lesbian women. Since I am a good listener, I can patiently listen to the issues and problems that this marginalized community have to go through in their daily lives. I believe that by listening to them, I will be encouraging the affected persons to open up and air their grievances so that I know how best to help them. I have read widely about the gay and lesbian community and I am always ready to learn more so that I can attain full understanding of how they think, work and live. I am also a firm believer that everyone should be regarded equally in society, regardless of their sexual orientation. To this end, I am committed to ensuring that the majority of the members of society grow to understand, respect and accept all people in spite of and despite their sexual orientation. From my practice, I value the characteristic of promoting a sense of community through outreach programs and awareness campaigns (Edwards, 2006). Some of the characteristics that I am currently actively developing include: learning how to acquire support from other allies, willingness to take responsibility of my own behavior, and willingness to make mistakes and learn from them. I realize that I have to gain the support of other like minded allies so that I can efficiently carry out my duties of making the homosexual community acceptable in society (Goldstein and Davis, 2010). I am also building on my willingness to take responsibility as I will need to take a strong stand against prejudice meted against the homosexual community whose only crime is related to the fact that are sexually different from the majority of the residents of the area I work in. I am also developing my willingness to learn for the mistakes that I commit in order to make my campaign stronger. One of the barriers that I have encountered as I try to look for support from other allies is lack of support (DiStefano, Croteau and Anderson, 2000). Not many people are willing to take the bold step to support the rights of gays and lesbians. The greatest barrier that I face in my effort to develop a willingness to take responsibility is fear that people will not be open minded enough to reject the existing status quo. On my willingness to make mistakes and later learn from them, I constantly have to face the fear of failure. Lack of experience in this field of social work is also a barrier that I am trying to deal with by ensuring that I learn as much as possible about the concept of allies. To further my process of becoming an ally, I plan to attend a rally being organized by the gay and lesbian community in my area. I also plan to attend workshops that are meant to bring closer the homosexual and heterosexual members of society. I will also increase my interactions with the gay and lesbian community so that I can learn more about how I can help them. In addition to this, I will read extensively about how to bring about change in a community where the gay and lesbian community is frowned upon by the majority heterosexual community. Timetable Activity Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Attend pro gays and lesbians rally * * Attend reconciliatory workshops * * Interact with the homosexual community * * * * Read material on social justice for homosexuals * * * * References Bishop, A. (2002). Becoming an ally: breaking the cycle of oppression in people. London: Zed Books DiStefano, T., Croteau, J. and Anderson, M. (2000). Experiences of being heterosexual allies to lesbian, gay, and bisexual people: A qualitative exploration. Journal of College Counseling, vol. 3, pp.465-86. Ederer, J. & Barnes, L. (2000). Allies for Social Justice. Retrieved 26 July, 2011 from: www.wesleyan.edu/reslife/asj Edwards, K. (2006). Aspiring social justice ally identity development: A conceptual model, NASPA Journal, Vol. 43(4), 117-37 Evans, N.J and Wall, V.A. (1991). Beyond tolerance: Gays, lesbians and bisexuals on campus. New York: Springer. Goldstein, S. B. and Davis, D. S. (2010). Heterosexual allies: A descriptive profile. Equity and Excellence in Education, vol.43(4), 478-494, Ji, P. (2011). Being a heterosexual ally to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered community: reflections and development. Retrieved July 26, 2011 from: http://jglp.haworthpress.com Read More