ABSTRACT
The previous chapter discussed how many socio-political and psychological factors underlie the resistance we encounter when discussing social justice issues. Our dominant cultural values, structure, and social climate emphasize competitive individualism, hierarchy, a belief in meritocracy, blaming the victim, and the denial of differences. These increase people’s drive for self-preservation and advancement at the expense of others. Psychologically, fears, pain, cognitive dissonance, and the protection of one’s self-concept fuel defensiveness. In the long term, we need to work for systemic change in order to transform the societal beliefs and structures that maintain inequality and create the context for resistance to social justice. In the short term, we can look at howwe can reduce the factors that promote defensiveness and resistance. Resistance is an expression of fear, anxiety, and discomfort. It blocks people’s
openness to explore alternative viewpoints that question the status quo, analyze systems of oppression, and offer new possibilities of social relations. To address resistance, we need to create “psychological safety and readiness” (Friedman & Lipshitz, 1992). As discussed in Chapter 3, before people can deal with challenges to their current worldview or “contradiction”, they need an affirming, supportive environment or “confirmation”. As educators, we need to provide people with a balance of challenge and support.
