AFRO-NETS> Food for thought in the language of logic

[Claudio Schuftan <aviva@netnam.vn>]

Food for thought in the language of logic
-----------------------------------------
 
Human Rights Reader 48
 
A CASE OF LOGIC --THE HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCACY SYLLOGISM:
 
1. Advocacy actually is a form of political activism.
2. If 1. is true, advocacy is part of a struggle.
3. What struggle? Ultimately, I contend, a part of the struggle for
   power.
4. If 3. is true, advocacy is a dialectical exercise of the fight of
   opposing forces and boils down to power brokering to change the
   balance of power in favor of people whose rights are being vio-
   lated.[*]
5. Therefore, advocacy is about gaining the upper hand, gaining posi-
   tions of strength.
6. Therefore, advocacy is about empowerment of progressively growing
   numbers of individuals and organizations.
7. If 1. through 6. are true, what concretely does this compel us to
   do in Human Rights work?  This, I will leave for you to answer...
   (But remember, whatever cakes you bake are the ones you will have
   to eat).
 
After this, I need to further ask you: should you be advocating for,
- on behalf of, or with the people whose rights are being violated?
 
Advocacy involves taking a political stand on particular issues and 
principles -- and this often antagonizes governments. Ultimately, 
people need to take their own fates into their own hands, and it is 
that which most (Third World) countries' governments do not like.
____________
[*]: Keep in mind that the side without power is always the side ac-
cused of being irrational. (X. Zhang)
 
--
Claudio Schuftan
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
mailto:aviva@netnam.vn
--
To send a message to AFRO-NETS, write to: afro-nets@healthnet.org
To subscribe or unsubscribe, write to: majordomo@healthnet.org
in the body of the message type: subscribe afro-nets OR unsubscribe afro-nets
To contact a person, send a message to: afro-nets-help@healthnet.org
Information and archives: http://www.afronets.org