Bill Vaunghan said “if there is anything the nonconformist hates worse than a conformist, it’s another nonconformist who doesn’t conform to the prevailing standard of nonconformity”. I have been thinking about my journey and how much easier it is to deconstruct ideas, situations and concepts than offer alternatives. I can be hard on people who don’t offer suggestions or new approaches. Maybe critism is just that and constructive critism is when suggestions for change are offered. Disillusionment and dissatisfaction are powerful tools for change, but can easily promote inertia. Time for more constructive deconstruction, me thinks!
SUNDAY PAPERS – THE SUPPLEMENT
A CO-OPERATIVE LOOK AT LIFE, MISSION, EMERGING CHURCH AND ALL THAT
Anonymous said…
(I refuse to sign up to something to post a comment – how insiduous).
Coincidentally, I had this exact argument with my friend Tim last night. It began when he attempted to argue that the Stop The War march was a sign of better times from a public, and I found myself passionately arguing the opposite.
My logic has been previously, and was last night, that the STW march was 1/3 organised by an anti-Semetic, terrorist-linked, fundamentalist organisation, hanging “FREE PALESTINE” banners across the stages, and that anyone taking part who did not find this at the very least disingenuous was clearly not thinking too hard before attending. And then I did my argument putting forward my certain belief that attendence of this march was just last year’s version of the annual tabloid-led frenzy, previous examples being fuel protests, the lynching of paediatricians, or The Diana Funeral Hysteria Spectacular. Both these points remain, in my most humble of opinions, entirely accurate.
However, in the end I discovered what really angered me about it – that it was utterly deconstructive. No one at that march was suggesting an alternative, no course of action that responded to a serious situation with a non-violent approach. Nothing. Just a big group of people shouting “NO!” and then stamping their feet. Pointless, stupifying, and most crucially, utterly ineffective.
And what was the response to the failure of this march? To condemn Blair/the Government/whoever for “failing to listen to the people”, or “ignoring us”. Deconstructive. I am yet to hear a single voice, a single person, say, “Where did we go wrong with our march? Why did we fail?”
And as you’ve so generously brought it up, where they were wrong was by offering nothing constructive, and indeed having nothing constructive to offer.
My constructive conclusion: Next time, and there will be one, have a constructive protest. Don’t wave banners screaming “NO”, but offer a better alternative.
My more general conclusion: Exactly.
John Walker
http://botherer.cream.org
2:55 AM
Anonymous said…
o.k so i need to register but i have the slowest computer in the world.
The whole thing about deconstructing ideas constructively. O.k my understanding (which i know can be flawed)is that the purpose is so people can come to make there own decisions without the usual mass of pre conceived ideas. If you give a suggestion isn’t that just putting these back in place. Rather than leading people it’s better to walk with them so work together to give solutions not just provide new ones. I am sure this is stuff i heard in lecture once…
9:37 AM
Anonymous said…
by the way it jennie relasied that you didn’t have a clue who i was…
9:38 AM