social work has no soul
You can’t be pro MAGA and be a social worker…
You can’t support ICE and be a social worker…
Um, yes, you can, and plenty are and do.
Social work is not a noble profession that offers absolution. To understand the history of social work is to accept that this profession has and continues to play a role in upholding systems of oppression and inequity. I find it concerning that so many social workers, either unknowingly or willfully, omit the legacy of harm inflicted by social work. The romanticization of this discipline must come to an end, because ain’t shit sweet.
The title of social worker does not erase the qualities and characteristics inherent to the individual. If you are a racist, homophobic, xenophobic person, then you are a racist, homophobic, xenophobic social worker. It is that simple.
I know you are wondering, what about the social work code of ethics?
What about them?
What many consider the code of ethics for the entire field is nothing but the code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), a membership-based professional organization. According to the NASW, the Code of Ethics “is a set of standards that guide the professional conduct of social workers.” The NASW Code of Ethics is not a mandate nor is it the law. Which is why you must have your own ethics and know the laws where you practice.
I have encountered many self- righteous social workers, and they are insufferable. These social workers are often quick to weaponize the NASW Code of Ethics while carrying an essence of moral superiority. They remind me of men who identify themselves as “God-fearing” on Hinge but have a whole wife, three kids, two dogs, and a hamster.
Social work causes harm because institutions cause harm. Social workers cause harm because humans cause harm. There is no way to separate these facts. As humans practicing social work, we cannot attribute our identities to the discipline itself. As Chris Maylea wrote in The end of social work “Social workers have achieved great things, individually and collectively, but social work as a profession cannot take credit for individual passion, compassion, and effort. Passionate and compassionate people, some of them social workers, have always done vital work.”
The call will always come from inside the house, and the internal battle for the soul of social work is exhausting and will bear no fruit. Because, quiet as it is kept, social work does not have a soul.
To be continued…
Maylea, Chris (2021). The end of social work. British Journal of Social Work, 51, 772-789.
