Psychological Standing

I recently came across the concept of "psychological standing" -- like legal standing, except if you do not have legal standing, the court tells you that you cannot intervene in a case, but with psychological standing you tell yourself that you cannot intervene in or speak out about a situation.

It's an interesting concept, because it is one of those slippery ideas that has some value but can go too far. For instance, I've never given birth and most likely never will, so it seems reasonable to maintain a great deal of humility when speaking about things in that realm. But it would be heartless to let that extend to the point where I was unconcerned by that fact that maternal mortality is rising in the US at the same time it is falling in most other developed countries.

Similarly, when people of color in the US describe the ways in which they've felt impacted by racism, I lack that experience, so when those friends and associates describe things they'd like to see change, I'm not going to turn around and tell them "No, I have a better way to solve the problems you've identified to me." Even that is tricky, because it can be true that people are tired of having to explain an issue at the same time that they want to be given a better chance to express their frustrations.

I am pretty sure we've gone to far when we say "you're an old white male, your opinion doesn't matter." Not because I need some larger platform -- I'm perfectly happy to try speaking for rational thought, democratic mores, and compassionate actions. The chips will fall where they fall. The reason I think it matters is when our efforts to raise up a particular set of voices exclude all others who may be sympathetic, we make it less likely those potential allies will feel they have the psychological standing to speak out against the wrongs we wish to correct.

I don't think there's a formula for exactly the right way to create psychological standing. It varies from one situation to the next. I've noted before that I limit myself to one post a day because I would prefer to spend the time reading thoughtful words from my friends. Whenever I address a specific issue, I do try to include words quoted directly from communities affected -- I could probably do a better job of that at times, but I try. Mostly, for me, it comes back to being motivated by compassion -- it is compassion that causes me to argue we need to do a better job with race issues, health care, policing, etc. It is also compassion that reminds me that on any of these issues I care about, mine is only one small voice, and generally not the most important voice in the room.