Published August 23, 2017
By Adena Bank Lees, LCSW, LISAC, BCETS, FAAETS, CP
As a professional social worker, and human being, I have a code of ethics. I am committed to promoting social justice and social change. I am sensitive to cultural and ethnic diversity and strive to end discrimination, oppression, poverty, and other forms of social injustice. The core values I adhere to are:
service
social justice
dignity and worth of the person
importance of human relationships integrity
competence
I am aware that other mental health professions and humans share similar core values.
What I am deeply concerned about is that the leaders of this country do not seem to have and adhere to the values and actions mentioned above. It has been evident for a long time, but this past week it seems to have reached the pinnacle of hate and immorality. We trauma specialists know the consequences of this all too well.
As Heather Heyer’s mother stated in her eulogy to her daughter, “If you are not outraged, you are not paying attention.”
Please check out the responses from our professional organizations to the Charlottesville violence.
Embedded in the APA and ACA links are suggestions on how to discuss hate, racism, and violence. Also, a NY Times Op-Ed from a now secular Jew.
ACA Responds to Charlottesville Violence by ACA
How to Talk to Your Kids About the Violence in Charlottesville by Sonali Kohli
Trump Trauma Is Real. Here’s How To Fight Back by Kali Holloway
What Jewish Children Learned From Charlottesville by Nathan Englander
Ponder this:
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.. -Martin Luther King, Jr
The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. –Elie Wiesel
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