Gangs, Groups and Decisions

Tonight in class we watched a rather disturbing video on gang activity in Alabama. (watch it here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXJOvihczms) I suppose what was most disturbing, beyond the usual reaction of "wow, such senseless violence" was the realization that the violence was not senseless at all. In fact, the longer I study conflict, the more I realize that this concept of 'senseless" violence doesn't actually exist. All violence is caused by something, and in most cases, it's caused by violence in a different form.

I suppose I should take a moment here and explain the different types of violence out there. Violence can most easily accurately be defined as something which hinders a person from reaching his/her potential. While there are countless different ways that violence is manifested, the two largest and most common categories are "structural violence" and "physical violence". Physical violence is what most people think of when they hear the word "violence." It is violence against another person's somatic being. Structural violence is a bit similar to what people call "social injustice". It is violence that is inherent within a system, be it something as large as a governing system or as small as a family unit.

Back to the gang activity and what disturbed me. There's a part of the film that explores the reason for these young kids (and they are young, mostly under 17) to join gangs. Pushing past the angry stereotypes of gang members being evil or bad-apples, it becomes clear that the main reason the youths join gangs is because of sense of structural violence-- a lack of community, love and support. They join the gangs to be a part of something. Hearing one girl talk about why she joined one of the gangs in little rock made me sit up straight. Her reasons resonated with me-- and I'd venture to say they'd resonate with any young person. And when she talked about what the gang means to her, it all seemed natural-- when a society oppresses and hurts, and the structures in place cause pain or collapse, people want to be a part of a loving group that takes care of and protects eachother. It's a need for identity and security that society had failed to give them. Take away the extreme violence and cruelty, and you've got yourself a group of kids providing what their structures could not: a community.

After viewing the film, the class was split into two large groups. We had around 45 minutes to come up with a proposal for a mock workshop in Little Rock that will address the tension between the gangs, the police and the civilians. Obviously, ~20 people with completely contrasting decision making styles and various interpretations of the situation made for an interesting time. I've always thought of myself as an indecisive person, but judging from my behavior tonight, it's clear that my decision making personality is completely contingent on the situation at hand. Large groups + various opinions + huge task + limited time = stressed out decisive jessica.

Nice.

Practicality

Though I'm in my second semester (of ~4) in this program, the feeling of enthusiasm hasn't worn off yet. There are days when I'm sitting in class and the only thing I can think is "We need to tell EVERYONE about how to do this." The great thing about conflict resolution is that, sure we can mediate between international actors, but we can also apply the same concepts to interpersonal and every day communication errors. As a graduate student living in a group house with two other women, I find these techniques to be especially handy.

One of the theories of conflict that I enjoy greatly is Dugan's idea of a "nested" conflict. This is a conflict that is enveloped by other, more deeply rooted but broader scoped issues. So while the conflict may be over something relatively small-- let's say, a parking space-- it may actually be difficult to resolve because attached to that parking space are other emotions such as hurt pride or anger, that were developed from previous encounters or larger situational factors. So while solving a dispute over a parking space may appear as easy as "ok, we'll alternate days", in reality it can be much more complicated than that. The parking space, in effect, becomes a carrier or scapegoat for other more deeply rooted issues that are not obvious nor easily resolved.

In order to resolve the parking space issue, therefore, it is imperative to address these surrounding conflicts and issues that are associated with the parking space. Letting your friend know that you feel the dynamic between the two of you has changed, and that you would like to explore and address the situation is a good start.

Negotiation

Sitting in the Public Policy lobby of George Mason’s Original building, Kirsten, tamar and I looked blankly at one another.
“We could go to eastern market?” I suggested, “that way, we can negotiate prices on things”
“Yeah, but it’s cold and rainy” said Kirsten.
“And I don’t want to go all the way into the city” added Tamar.
We sat for another moment, each one deep in thought.

“What if we go to Starbucks?” suggested Tamar.
It continued like that for about 10 minutes, each one of us throwing out random ideas of places and situations to negotiate. Kirsten suggested we go to 7/11. Tamar suggested Starbucks again. My stomach rumbled and I suggested a restaurant.

Finally, we determined that the best thing to negotiate would be a hotel for Kirsten when she travels to New York in March. Excitedly, we gathered details from Kirsten, and ranked her preferences. Most importantly was price, followed by location, room quality and lastly, room size. I quickly pulled out my laptop and started searching for cheap hotels in the section of Midtown where she would need to stay. We found a Hilton Garden Inn on Priceline.com, listed at $179 per night. I went to the Hilton Garden Inn website and ran a search on a room for the desired night, and found it listed for $159. This meant that we would get a better deal if we booked the room from the hotel website, rather than through priceline. This is in direct contrast to priceline’s guarantee, and Tamar decided she would call to negotiate a better price for Kirsten.

I pulled up the two websites, side by side, and read aloud the number for Tamar to dial. After about 10 minutes of waiting on hold, Tamar was connected to a Priceline operator. Tamar informed the agent about the trip, and asked the agent to confirm that they offer the best price. The agent then confirmed the guarantee. Tamar mentioned the discrepency in prices, to which the agent offered a $50 voucher, in addition to matching the cheaper price.

Negotiations are fun! I need to do this more often. :)

What is Reflective Practice?

And what's the point of this blog? I know, I've got a lot of blogs. This particular one will be following my (attempted)involvement into the conflict resolution/analysis/transformation/peacebuilding field. This is no easy task, simply because it's not an easy field.

I'm taking a class right now called "Reflective Practice" where they encourage us to evaluate and, well, reflect upon both ourselves and our techniques as a peacemaker. They are encouraging us to keep a journal of our transformation. I figured, since I usually get blank stares whenever I tell people that I'm studying conflict resolution, this might be a good way to both get the word out there and at the same time motivate myself to actively reflect on my practice.

Enjoy!