I’ve never needed one. A social worker, that is. The problems in my upbringing were not that accute, so I can’t really say if any are really effective or not, or make a great deal of difference in keeping people with problems on the straight and narrow. But one thing is certain, endless conflict and disorder continues unabated in societies, differentiated only by their geographical and cultural location. And one thing seems certain. No matter how many books that are read, articles that are studied, written by some psychologist, sociologist, professor, experiments experimented with, problems confronting people are still there and nothing high or low in this stratosphere seems to exist to solve them.
Take my own country, the United Kingdom, as an example. The peculiar and the phenomenal continue to come through: someone recently captured on video committing acts of animal cruelty by swinging a cat round and round, a piece of concrete about the size of a barrel was dropped onto the windscreen of a passing car, injuring the driver. A pensioner was run over and killed by a thief while trying to stop his car from being stolen. If the pensioner had understood – I don’t just mean verbally or from reading some words – the self phenomenon, that attachment, clinging to possessions or property, can bring about psychological pain, leaving aside that they exist for our comfort and enjoyment, and that his reaction was the same as the thief’s, except that he hadn’t stolen anything, he might still be here today. Probably the most tragic of all was the death of a guy who had a mental age of ten, caused by constant harassing of youths outside his home, precisely because of his defect. The irony here is that those responsible are no less mentally retarded or they wouldn’t have done what they did.
So, why is it, then, that these peculiar patterns continue, and endlessly? Is it social, environmental, constant pressure, to blame? The education system doesn’t seem to work for everyone across the board because it’s only really intended, if you think about it, for getting onwards and upwards in some career. Sensitivity towards others in learning and responsibility has never really been tried, simply because society hasn’t and isn’t structured their way. Studying some ancient religious script such as the Bible hasn’t solved the problem either neither has escaping into some monastery, community or religious organization, except as a means to find some solace or to hide. And in Britain, there exists that stigma called the class system which has existed for hundreds if not thousands of years and is now lost in the pursuit of selfishness, not for the betterment of others. Although if you’re ascribed with some psychological ID attached, etched in your memory and in another’s, you’re invariably treated as a nobody in that country.
You might be better off channelling your energies into something meaningful or worthwhile: watching a great movie, listening to some great music or a gifted singing voice, being sensitive to some animal, a work of art or environmental beauty than fumbling through swathes of intellectual mass or trying out some experimentation. These, in the end, might help to change the brain patterns.
Take my own upbringing, and it was tough. There were upheavals, uncertainties, watching an abusive father, family conflicts, but I managed to weather them through. I joined outings, went hiking and camping, had some support from fellowships, frequented the cinema, and learned the difference between right and wrong. I learned to grow up appreciating correct environments and knew that people are responsible for themselves and for each other. Of course, the sixties and seventies were more simple, and less pressured, complex or demanding than things are now and communities and social intercourse was much stronger. No counsellor, therapist, psychologist or social worker was necessary.
I used to thumb through the job leads in the local newspaper and there were always several wanting some specialist, some social worker, or whatever glaring up at me from some big printed advertisement, not to mention a lucrative salary that went with the post. Are these positions really necessary or are really worth anything? As they are structured, organized, come from society where conflicts and disorder occur, and are therefore thought-ridden so are limited in scope, are they not part of the same problem? Are they incapable of dealing with facts? In trying to sort out one problem in one family, another problem crops up. Are they really about about helping people at all, but are about the career-minded: envy, ambition, and the struggle to become someone or something, the need for security which is common to all of us? Looking at some of the online commented reaction to those incidents mentioned, how social workers, not to mention the law courts are as weak, gormless and ineffective in being of any use and handing out sentences, could prove my point.
Consider, for a second, your own thought patterns, how extraordinary or peculiar they are. If any expert can analyse all the organic waves and levels of turmoil, anger, pain, depression, frustration, psychological fear you may feel from time to time, then please disregard this article.
And why are social workers not, or hardly needed in China, for example, and where I’m currently living? Is it because they are not part of its culture, the family unit is very strong, no funds exist to pay for them, or young people are better behaved and channel their energies into other activities than in causing trouble?
It is now ‘sick Britain, sad Britain,’ no longer ‘proud to be British’ Britain, according to some Internet comments. In the end are we not responsible both for ourselves and for each other, not from some outside organization, where social workers become social scoundrels, and where, in a dishonest framework, they are weak, ineffective and discredited?
Disclaimer: please don’t agree or disagree with this article. I’ve never experienced the need for a social worker. They may or may not do good or worthwhile things. It’s not about agreeing or disagreeing. It comes from a different quality. You might want to consider that it is thoughtful and at the very least insightful.