Leanne,
I am choosing to respond to you rather than go back and forth in the usual “yelling that has no interest in listening.” 

So, let’s consider the culture (and I assume you mean the culture on this list, but perhaps you meant another culture).

Of course, largely, this list is comprised of gestalt therapists, thinkers, trainers, etc.  So, let me make one observation on such a culture.  Its dominant, and privileged, stance is to the left. Would you agree or disagree?  What do others think?

Phil

> On Jan 14, 2022, at 4:52 AM, Leanne O'Shea <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> Phil, I’m not advocating that we all agree. I’m up for robust dialogue… not the disrespectful yelling that has no interest in listening.
> 
> And I agree. It all depends on participation. But if people are not participating, or only in very limited ways, then it strikes me that some consideration of the culture might be useful.
> 
> Leanne
> 
> 
>> On 14 Jan 2022, at 6:48 pm, Philip Brownell <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi Leanne,
>> I tried to respond to this on my phone but I’m not sure it went through.
>> 
>> I appreciate what you have written.  What you want takes people participating.  People need to show up and speak up. 
>> 
>> We are all different. I am tired of naming things that are wrong and fighting. I like to discuss, to talk about things.  One of the great realizations I had early on in the gestalt community was what richness there was available in it. Here were really intelligent, sophisticated people who could think. I liked that very much.  Why do we all have to agree, as if we were all of one mind? 
>> 
>> I lament that people seem so fragile.  I’ve been called all kinds of things. Judged for this or that. And I’ve done my share of judging and yelling at others.  But like I said, I’m tired of that.
>> 
>> Lists like this one usually don’t last as long as this one has.  It can wither away or we can give it a rebirth.  It’s a resource.  
>> 
>> Warm Regards,
>> Phil
>> 
>>> On Jan 13, 2022, at 11:37 PM, Leanne O'Shea <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Hi everyone (and I do mean everyone on the list)
>>> 
>>> Back at my computer after a welcome break.
>>> 
>>> I sit with a mixture of sadness and deep regret. While I was out, I was reflecting on what a great loss it is that we have this list, with so many people in the gestalt community, and rather than it be a be a resource… a truly rich engagement of our community where ideas can be explored and grappled with in ways both lively and respectful, it mostly is not.
>>> 
>>> It’s a loss to me that Lynne has decided to leave, (and if you’re still here Lynne, to me your decision is both courageous and respectful). I take seriously her parting comment about understanding in a new way the hurt that people of color feel in engaging in our gestalt community. I see instances of this carelessness often, and sadly the cruelty remains in some corners of our community. I’ve long thought that a bind spot for us as gestaltist is our understanding of power, particularly the power dynamics that have structured our history and our practice. This for me is one more example of this.
>>> 
>>> How I long for an engagement with my colleagues that would allow us to engage thoughtfully, with all the combined wisdom of our years and practice, and with a welcoming vitality that would have new-commers to our community excited to join the conversation. Sadly this seems a rather desperate hope…
>>> 
>>> Leanne
>>> ______________
>>> Gstalt-L is an independent eCommunity of people interested in gestalt therapy theory and its various applications. Its public archives can be found at http://listserv.icors.org/scripts/wa-ICORS.exe?A0=GSTALT-L, and subscriptions can be managed by clicking on "Subscriber's Corner," which is found at the archives.
>> 
>> ______________
>> Gstalt-L is an independent eCommunity of people interested in gestalt therapy theory and its various applications. Its public archives can be found at http://listserv.icors.org/scripts/wa-ICORS.exe?A0=GSTALT-L, and subscriptions can be managed by clicking on "Subscriber's Corner," which is found at the archives.
> 
> ______________
> Gstalt-L is an independent eCommunity of people interested in gestalt therapy theory and its various applications. Its public archives can be found at http://listserv.icors.org/scripts/wa-ICORS.exe?A0=GSTALT-L, and subscriptions can be managed by clicking on "Subscriber's Corner," which is found at the archives.

______________
Gstalt-L is an independent eCommunity of people interested in gestalt therapy theory and its various applications. Its public archives can be found at http://listserv.icors.org/scripts/wa-ICORS.exe?A0=GSTALT-L, and subscriptions can be managed by clicking on "Subscriber's Corner," which is found at the archives.