Ulrike Reinhard, one of our Advisory Board members, visited us last weekend in Bristol. It was lovely to catch up and reflect on her nomadic life of hers and on my plans for a more inclusive Voxel Hub. Her visit also reminded me of her recent podcast interview with Nix Asteri (also known as Dawid Presley), who in the past co-created some of the best initiatives for young people’s digital wellbeing that did (even before the name “Voxel Hub” was in use). Here is their conversation. Enjoy!
And finally, let’s talk about being wrong: what if the assumption that silence is violent in itself is wrong?
We judge asking questions as “being nosy”, while, in my experience, many clients prefer specific questions over an excruciating silence.
Let’s name this: conforming with unhealthy norms for fear of being judged and punished too is a poor form of allyship – doing nothing contributes to the harm done.
This can be a very subtle form of violent silencing, almost unnoticed: a micro-aggression, refusal to celebrate someone’s achievements, highlighting difference over humanity with no specific reason but to other the individual – you can spot it the moment you sense the presence of an ego or power imbalance.
Broken people design and cultivate toxic, unsafe spaces where everyone is punished for joy, achievements, authenticity, agency and uniqueness. Those unhealthy spaces can make people feel uncomfortable in that toxic silence as it reinforces the harmful status quo and forces us to suffer moral injury.
We used to think that trauma was the actual act of violence or neglect, when in fact, it is the unspoken, unshared and unprocessed impact of those actions and events.
The silent treatment can be a form of trying to contain our emotions not to hurt the other person in the heat of the moment. However, it can also be a form of ignoring a person to communicate power over them.
As we come to the end of the month, we are exploring the silent period of holidays, and this inspired me to think about the times when silence is not healthy, in fact, when it can feel violent. First of all, let’s remind ourselves that violence and abuse can be silent.