People count money, and money has power, but what happens when the money is
counted for you and power is not yours?
By the time I had had breakfast today I'd enjoyed more
privilege than most. I woke in a warm bed, my husband brought me tea, I sat quietly
in pjs checking twitter while he made bacon and eggs - a decision we made as we lay in bed! Later I enjoyed a hot shower, a stroll around the garden. We talked about what to do and decided what to eat over the weekend...
I imagine many would not see this as a hugely impressive or
mentionable weekend morning... yet, I was aware that by the
time breakfast was over I had enjoyed more freedom than many. Shocked, probably
not, humbled, certainly! Without sounding too whiny, the longer trip to get to today
hasn't been plain sailing, but I am not unaware of the huge privilege I enjoy.
I can make decisions, and live a little when the mood takes me, safe in the
knowledge that within boundaries my choices are extensive.
For those less fortunate, the hour they wake, the food they
eat, the clothes they wear, the time they bath or shower, the day's activity,
the people they talk to, may be decided by others. For those most fragile, most
hurt, and most beaten by life circumstance, even the option of toast or cereal
hangs on someone else's say so. No eggs or bacon when someone else decides how
much and how often you get money. Gone is the cushion, the bounce, that allows
a little treat on weekends. I'm not talking champagne or truffles here, just
bacon or eggs? Dare I say both!?
I'm grateful... I'm angry... I'm ashamed... I have passion
It's laughable to say we live in a civilised society, when I
know just miles away people go about daily life without freedom, choice,
dignity or respect. While people are struggling, losing their sanity, because
they have little choice and ever reducing options. While others are overworked and paid very
little for trying to support them, often without praise, understanding or recognition
for the inequality they have to negotiate daily. Most care workers straddle delicate personal boundaries while operating in a messy system – one based on archaic foundations.
Meanwhile, others abuse their privilege. Those in power lie,
cheat, and carry on in undignified ways. In today's news: tax avoidance, bad
governance, ill-conceived policy, ill-spent riches... people with unearned
advantage are violating laws, making choices so many are denied, while
denigrating each other in ways that shame ... I haven't even touched on crime,
violence, rape and torture. I felt ill reading the tale of how a government
department is allegedly seeking manipulate the news.
These are all reasons why my research is important to me. I
thank Prem Sikka, who reminded me this week that research can be a tool to
unveil injustice and seek out the corrupt. That being an older student has its
uses. While I need to go out there, I have been engaged in the world for years.
My life might not be within a recognisable revolution as Bourdieu's was, or as bonkers
as Foulcault's, but I have shared it with many professionals across many
communities of practice.
I hope my
work serves. I hope the stories I've heard, and the telling I've shared,
will help me be respectful author. An ethical player on the wider world stage. Too often I've
heard some talk about their work as an individual possession. It was
wonderful to be reminded that methods, as well as findings, can used - shared -
for the greater good of society.
While I
observed great depravity in the news this week, I'm grateful to say it stands
at odds with the ideas of the research community I’ve found a home in. The big stories seem stuff of Grimm's tales, but thankfully they are not
the reality of most ordinary storytellers...
