Unconscious Dynamics of Oppression

At a Systems Workshop1 I participated in some time ago in Leitrim, Ireland, a context was created that was “not conducive to interpersonal interaction.” This was done through a seemingly chaotic placement of chairs such that it was difficult for any person in the room (including consultants) to establish eye contact with another. All participants were invited to engage with the task of the event, which was defined in terms of an aim and a process. The aim of the event was “To negotiate the ebb and flow of power,” and the process was “to provide opportunities for participants to risk interchange in the here and now about their ongoing experience of the event.” After an hour of tense silences interspersed with frustrated comments and expressions from participants, the consultants decided to offer a hypothesis. This they did in the form of an observation and a question. The director observed that one particular person had remained completely silent up to that point. He wondered if this had anything to do with the fact that a) this person was the only black person in the room, b) that she was the only representative from the third world among the membership, and c) that she was female. The reactions of participants to this intervention varied from anger, to surprise and shock, to defensive hostility. Demands were made that the person concerned speak up and give an account of her silence. Condescending insinuations were made that the individual did not have sufficient command of the English language, and therefore did not feel sufficiently comfortable (even in the face of evidence to the contrary from other events). Another reaction was to point out that this person was free to speak if she wanted to, that it was “none of my business that she doesn't want to speak.” The consultants responded to these reactions in three ways: a) by encouraging the person concerned to hold her silence, b) by asking for evidence in support of the allegations, and c) by asking for alternativ