Item Subject: Message text
Thereas ... I really enjoyed reading what you had to say.  Sounds like you "get
it" more than you let on ... subscribing to listservers is not always an easy
process ... the effort also pays dividends +++ with much to read.

Your comments have re-newed my optimism, that though we may never have absolute
"equitable access", some of us are moving in that direction ... as FAST as we
can "DRAG" our bureaucrates.

Debbie Bang
[log in to unmask]
St. Joseph's Community Health Centre
Hamilton, Ontario

> This posting is intended to speak to some of the comments Sam made in a
> posting of Feb 15.  In my paid work, I'm one of the senior management people
> in the establishment who "don't get it" thats referred to in that posting.
> Actually, I would more accurately describe myself as "really trying to get
> it - amid chaos, confusion and crisis".
>
> In my earlier days (before I was a faceless and empty hearted bureaucrat) I
> was intimately involved in an array of community empowering projects - some
> from my paid work and some as a volunteer.  Now, I have the privilage and
> responsibility of directing (within the Waterloo Region Community Health
> Department) a team of 60 people and associated resources toward the goal of
> creating healthy and supportive communities.  I try to remember and submerge
> myself in the grounded community work as often as I can (in between fighting
> for people's jobs) because this activity reminds me of the principles that
> underly all my actions.
>
> The tone of the posting I refer to sounds angry and frustrated, and I know
> that tone well.  I think there are 2 - very different - problems.  One
> problem  is that there are people who we have placed into positions of
> authority who have no grounding in human values - in fact, people who have
> been explicitly taught to keep their personal and work lives separate (as
> though one's values and beliefs can be separated in such a manner.)  These
> people still believe that information is power, and that competition rules.
> In my experience, the only way to "win" over these people is to lead by
> example - and that takes a long time,  a lot of personal energy and a lot of
> clarity in ones's actions.  Frankly, I personally struggle with whether
> these people are worth the effort.
>
> The other problem is one of "getting it" even when you want to. There are
> senior managers,  like me - who are trying to make decisions based in a set
> of explicit values and principles.  We are very isolated and we need the
> support of people like you to make the shift to fully using this technology.
> You seem to feel like your work is vulnerable (the should you be hit by a
> snow plough thing).  I can relate -  I was on a   self-funded leave last
> year (in this community I'd refer to this as being hit by a horse and buggy)
> and returned to see that one of the most community building projects I had
> started had been dropped to lower priority, leaving the community partners
> frustrated and bitter.  After an original bout of  anger though, I realized
> that this was MY fault - not the fault of my temporary replacement.  I had
> NOT established these projects with a vision of long term sustainability.  I
> had foolishly placed myself "in control" of key processes, rather than
> taking my role "out of the loop".  So, under the guise of empowerment, I had
> created dependency.    Its an easy mistake to make - especially when one
> works daily within a system that has a diffuse intelligence to perpetuate
> status quo.
>
> I want you to know that a lot of us are trying to "get it" - and we are as
> frustrated as you.  In my experience, we need cultural interpreters.  When I
> work with community groups (in the literal world as you call it) I always
> look for that person in the group who can act as the bridge between the
> bureaucratic  and the informal.  Its that person who can understand both
> cultures.   I think we need that kind of person with this internet stuff.  I
> feel like I've been trying to get it - I've bought books galore - and I get
> halfway through and throw it down - the jargon is thick and I want to reject
> the trick of holding onto power through language. I've spend lots of time
> surfing - but end up feeling like a passive consumer instead of a producer.
> I've enrolled on listservs to try to "learn by lurking" - but there always
> feels  like there is a powerful "in group"  prepared to judge me instead of
> seeing my capacity.  (And what is so ironic to me, is that these very
> barriers are the kinds of things that community and disenfranchised groups
> raise back to me when I work with them.)
>
> In my paid work, I want to make a strong committment of resources to using
> electronic vehicles and strategies as complimentary to our "walking the
> streets" and "door to door" approaches.     I want to learn enough to be a
> translator of this stuff, so I can be one of the "champions" within  my
> (modest, not rich) institution and increase access for others.
>
> So, first I'm interested in the infodev forum, and I've send the message to
> get enrolled. It returned with some error - but so far I have not let my
> bumbling stupidity halt me -  I'll try again.
>
> But further - I'd like to dialogue more to try to figure out this stuff.
> I'm ignorant about the technology - but I have a lot of (maybe too much)
> "inside" experience with bureaucracy, and I know how it works.  One of the
> barriers within institutions at the moment, I think, is that everything is
> ends oriented.  Process is secondary. We have to continually fight (and
> sometimes lie) to continue community development work - because this
> requires "faith" that people are solutions - not problems.  Institutions are
> not big on faith in people.  I see the electronic workspace as a similar
> problem.  In an environment where short term efficiency rules - its
> difficult even for us "champions" to argue for strategies where the "up
> front" learning curve and investment is great - and the short term outcomes
> are questionable.   So, don't judge me please - understand my environment,
> and help me make the case.
>
> Thanks for the opportunity.  (By the way, this was my first ever listserv
> posting !)
>
> Theresa Schumilas
> Director,
> Family and Community Resources
> Community Health Department
> Region of Waterloo
>
> phone:  (519) 883 2254
> fax:    (519) 883 2241
> email:  [log in to unmask]
>