Operacija D: Na smešni strani stroke (operacije 17, odnos 6)

Komični element socialnega dela je podcenjena, kakor je komedija podcenjena v dramskih umetnostih. Ne prepoznamo ga kot uporabno orodje. Splošno mnenje je, da socialno delo nekaj »mrtvo resnega«, da se ukvarja s človeškimi tragedijami, oziroma da gre za nekaj uradnega. Na drugi strani pa ni nič nenavadnega, da si socialne delavke in delavci ob kavi pravijo smešne anekdote o svojih uporabnikih. Nekoč je pokojni Zoran Sedmak pripomnil: »Zakaj pa se ne smejimo skupaj?« Bi se nam kolcalo.

Na žalost se je tragedija v naši civilizaciji ustalila kot paradigma razumevanja človeške narave in usode. Komedija pa je le zato, da jo laže prenašamo. Velja za umetnost zabave, pozabe in pobega. Tragedija je prav zares naprava spominjanja (pa čeprav lažnih spominov), humor pa je način pozabljanja (etimološko so anekdote utrinki, ki se jih ne sme objaviti). S humorjem ujamemo situacijo na prefinjen način, se ji nasmejemo in gremo dalje. Si je zato težko zapomniti šale? Ali se jim zato najbolj smejijo tisti, ki jih pripovedujejo?

Smeh ne le preoblikuje situacijo v znosno, omogoča nam jo razbrati. Brati med vrsticami izjav in dejanj. Nerazrešljiva (tragična) protislovja se spremenijo v duhovite paradokse. Morda je treba biti neumen, da si pameten, ali pa pameten, da si neumen (težko bi rekli), vsekakor pa ni treba biti duhoven, da si duhovit.

Humor situacijo spodnese, a pri tem ostanemo pokonci in stopamo naprej. Preobrne miselni in situacijski okvir. Omogoča nam, da v situaciji ostanemo, ko iz nje izstopimo. Presenečenje je dobrodošlica.

To je dober model za socialno delo. Humor ni le ventil, s katerim laže prebrodimo težave. Je tudi dober način, kako priti in biti skupaj, kako stvari narediti na drugačen način, kako se imeti fajn, medtem ko resno delamo. Ni le talent, je tudi spretnost – ki jo je treba negovati. Ni le uporaben, da situacijo razrahljamo, »prebijemo led«, se premaknemo naprej in deblokiramo delo na in v situaciji; je tudi, sam po sebi, etična deklaracija.

Pomembno je biti Ernest

Klasična profesionalna (tudi znanstvena) drža je biti nevtralen. Ne le z vidika socialnega dela vemo, da temu ne more biti tako. Ne glede na to, koliko si strokovnjaki prizadevajo uprizoriti, ali celo uresničiti, kaj takega, bodo na koncu, v ključnih momentih, na strani močnejših.[1]  Nasprotno pa je socialno delo odkrito na strani najšibkejših. Tako jasna pozicija in vokacija (klic) sta v poklicnem svetu redkost in luksuz. Ni le nujna, da lahko prevzamemo perspektivo uporabnika, podpiramo okrepitev in zagovarjamo uporabnike – socialnemu delu omogoča, da svoje vrednote jasno in odločno razglasi, in da v skladu z njimi deluje. Vseeno pa, moramo kot strokovni delavci ohraniti nepristranskost in negovati poklicno disciplino, ki nam daje kredibilnost, zaupanje, da ne delujemo zaradi svojih zasebnih razlogov.[2]

Obstaja veliko orodij in načinov, kako delati socialno na pristranski način. Vendar pa zgolj empatija[3], perspektiva uporabnika in vrlin, pa tudi upoštevanje etičnega imperativa, da smo na strani najšibkejšega niso dovolj. Ne le v antropologiji^[4], ampak tudi v socialnem delu, poznamo celo vrsto prestopov na drugo stran, nenapisano zgodovino, kako so strokovnjaki postali »domorodci«, se odrekli podeljeni vlogi in mandatu oblasti in se pridružili uporabnicam in uporabnikom. Ne gre samo za prestop v mladinske subkulture, ki je pogost med socialnimi delavci, ki so delali z mladimi, ampak tudi za pristop k sindikatom, skupinam aktivistov in družbenim gibanjem. Pa pri tem ne gre le za bežne izlete, preskoke, temveč za vozovnico v eno smer, brez povratka (s porušenimi mostovi, zažganimi ladjami). Postati nekdo drug ni zgolj biti sposoben se vživeti, kako je v koži nekoga drugega, ni le začasni izstop iz vloge, je tudi opuščanje moči, ki je investirana vanjo. Princ mora zares postati berač, da pridemo do izvirne sinteze.

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[1] Čeprav vemo, da to ni mogoče, pa od strokovnjakov nepristranskost vseeno pričakujemo. Če jo je nemogoče doseči do absolutne mere, pričakujemo, da bodo, denimo, sodniki nepristranski, kolikor je le mogoče, da se bodo asimptotično približevali temu idealu. Pa čeprav bodo njihove sodbe nasploh in v povprečju razredno, spolno, rasno in na več drugih načinov pristranske. Hkrati pa obstaja splošno pristranska usmeritev v presojanju, saj je aksiom, da je treba soditi posamezniku, presoditi njegovo krivdo, pa četudi je zločin strukturne narave. Ni le vprašanje, ali naj bo pravica retributivna ali restitutivna – lahko je tudi transformativna (kakor mi je prišepnila Asja, ko smo se o tem pogovarjali v Dubrovniku). Sodišče bi lahko nalagalo tudi družbene spremembe – ne le spremembe posameznikov.

[2] Klasična definicija profesije, poklica navadno enači osebno in zasebno. V socialnem delu je treba med njima vzpostaviti razliko. Mora biti docela jasno in povsem očitno, da iz situacije socialnega dela ne črpamo, razen plače, nobenega drugega zasebnega dobitka, oz. da se kaj takega zgodi le naključno in nenameravano. Socialna delavka ali delavec, ki pelje otroke na poletni tabor, sicer mora v tem tudi sam ali sama uživati, motivirati ga mora tudi njegova ali njena osebna izkušnja, hkrati pa ne sme biti nobenega dvoma glede glavnega namena tega »podjetja«, o tem, da je za skupno dobro udeležencev in da tabora nismo organizirali v korist socialnega delavca (npr. da ima hkrati počitnice in je zato plačan).  

[3] V socialnem delu sta pomembni dve vrsti empatije – medosebna, v pogovoru, zato, da ustvarimo čustveno mostišče med dvema, in pa socialna oz. situacijska, s katero se vživljamo v družbeno situacijo, v kateri se je nekdo znašel. Vendar pa se pojem in tehnike empatije pogosto uporabljajo kot trik, ki nam omogoča, da ostanemo neprizadeti, da se obranimo intenzivnega povezovanja z uporabniki, da dojamemo in razumemo njihova čustva in situacijo, ne da bi nas čustva preplavila in situacija prevzela. Empatija je na tak način lahko uporabna kot bližnjica v prepoznavanju situacije in istovetenju z ljudmi v njej, ko ni časa ali nuje, da bi v samo situacijo tudi docela stopili. Da pa iz tega ustvarimo načelo, ni niti nujno niti produktivno. Obstaja namreč mnogo načinov, kako ustvariti reflektivno distanco do neke situacije (npr. pisanje dnevnika, pesmi, blogov; skupni reflektivni pogovori skupine, ki doživlja situacijo, itn.), obstaja pa tudi mnogo situacij, v katerih ni dovolj situacijo le razumeti, ampak je treba v njej delovati, pogosto delovati osebno in gajstno. Pogosto je treba zavezništvo izkazati z dejanji, zaupanje ustvarjati z intenzivno angažiranostjo, osebnim tveganjem, ki potrjuje, da smo zares na strani uporabnikov.

[4] Lahko bi celo rekli, da antropologi postanejo socialni delavci, ko prestopijo na drugo stran.

Operation D: Funny partisans (operations 16, relationship 6)

A comic paradigm in social work

A comic element is as underrated in social work as is comedy in arts. Its value as a tool is not recognised. Common opinion is that social work is something “dead serious”, that it is about human tragedies or, that it is about something official. Yet, it is not uncommon that social workers relate jokes – funny anecdotes – about their users during their “unofficial” coffee breaks. Likewise, users often ridicule the social workers in their circles. Late Zoran Sedmak once commented: “Why don’t we laugh together?!” Would it give us hiccups?

Unfortunately, the tragedy was installed in our civilization to be a paradigm of understanding human nature and destiny. The comedy is there to make this easier to bear. It is the art of having fun, to forget and run.

Indeed, the tragedy is an appliance of remembering (false memories), and humour is a way of oblivion, forgetfulness. It is a way of subtle capture of a situation, laughing at it and then taking off. This is why it is difficult to remember jokes. Is this why one who tells the joke laughs the most?

Not only laugh transforms the unbearable situation into surpassable one; it makes it possible for us to intellect it.  To read between the lines of utterances and deeds. Unresolvable (tragic) contradictions transmute into witty paradoxes. You may need to be stupid to be clever or clever to be stupid (I do not know which), yet, you do not need to be Wittgeiststein to be witty,

Humour is overturning situation, yet you stay on your feet and walk away. The overturn of mind-frame and situation-frame. It allows staying in the situation while exiting it. Surprise is a welcome.

This is a good model for social work. The humour is not only a vent making it easy to sustain the hardship, it is also a good way of coming and being together, doing things in a different way, having fun while working seriously. It is not just a talent; it is also a skill – to be nurtured. It is not useful in breaking the ice, moving on, de-blocking the working of the situation; it is also an ethical statement – in itself.

The importance of being earnest

Classic posture of a professional (and a scientist) is to be impartial, neutral. Not only from social work perspective, have we known that this is not the case. No matter how hard they try to stage, and even to achieve this, at the end of the day, in the crucial moments the professionals will be on the side of the powerful.[1] On the other side, social work is by definition on the side of the (most) powerless.  Such a clear position and calling is rare for professionals and a luxury. Not only is it necessary for assuming the users perspective, foster empowerment and be an advocate - it enables social work to state the values clearly and decidedly, and act upon these values.  Nevertheless, like all the professionals, we need to stay impartial and nurture the professional discipline, which gives us credibility that we are not acting for some private reason.[2]

There are many tools and instances of practising social work as a partisan profession. However, just empathy[3], user and strength perspectives, and observing the ethical imperative of being on the side of the weakest, may not be enough.  Moreover, not only in anthropology[4], but also in social work, there is a whole history of becoming native[5], i.e. of relinquishing the appointed role and mandate and joining the users. Not only joining youth subcultures, also joining trade unions, activist groups and movements. And, this might not be just a fleeting jaunt, but a road of no return, ships might be burned and the bridges wrecked. Becoming the other is not just imagining how it is to be in shoes of the other, it not just provisional step out the role, it is relinquishing the power invested in it. The prince has to become a pauper, for real, in order for a synthesis to happen.

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[1]However, we do expect and respect this impartiality. If it is impossible to the absolute degree, although knowing this, we expect the judges to be as neutral as possible, to asymptotically approach the ideal. Even if their ruling will be on the average class, race, gender or any other way socially biased. However, there is also a general bias – in theory and practice of the law – on the orientation to retributive or restitutive justice. And a general bias of ruling against an individual even when the crime is structural. The jurisdiction does not have the guts to rule on the structural issues and perform the transformative justice – i.e. apply the power of the court to transform the social arrangements (Asja Hrvatin in personal communication, after the debate on the issue of social work and law, retributive and restitutive justice in social work symposia at IUC Dubrovnik).

[2] Classic definition of a professional equates personal and private. In social work, we need to make a distinction. It must be absolutely clear that we are not extracting any private gain from the social work situation, or if we do, apart from the fee, salary, that it is accidental and not intended result. A social worker who takes children on a summer camp, should enjoy the camping too, he or she should be motivated also by their own personal experience, however, there should not be any doubt about the overarching intention of the enterprise, that it is for common good of the participants and the camp is not organised for the benefit of the social worker (e.g. having holydays and being paid).  

[3] In social work, two kinds of empathy are important – interpersonal in the conversation in order to establish an emotional bridge between two people and a social or situational of experiencing the social situation that one is in. However, the concept and techniques of empathy are often used as a trick to fend off the feeling and intense involvement with users, to grasp and apprehend their feelings and situation but not get “caught” in them, get overwhelmed by emotions and drawn into the situation. Empathy in this way may be useful as a short cut in recognising the situation and identifying with people, when there is no time or urgency to enter the situation fully. However, making a principle out of it, is not necessary nor productive. There are many other ways of creating a reflective distance to a situation (e.g. writing a diary, poems, blogs or having reflective discussion in the whole collective experiencing the situation), and there are situations where it is not enough to understand the situation but to act in it, and to act personally with gusto. Often, the allegiance must be enacted, the trust created by actions of intense involvement, of a personal risk, that attest that we are truly on the side of our users.

[4] It could be claimed that in »going native« anthropologist becomes a social worker.

[5] The term “going native” is usually applied. I use becoming in deleuzeguattarian sense, to mark that it is not only about crossover, changing sides, but also a thorough metamorphosis affecting the whole being. Additionally, this imperfect verb denotes a process, transposition of existence and not just a Hdeed performed at a certain moment.