Category: book

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art basic book chapter

Neither the devouring nor the gaping, neither the invisible nor the unnoticed, neither the threatening nor the unclosable gap, but the gap that is recognized and acknowledged.

“Mind the Gap” is the motif of the first illustration in Sara Ahmed’s book “Complaint!”, page 30: In a view from above, the lettering “MIND THE GAP” is embedded in a floor mosaic on the edge of a train platform; the train tracks can still be seen at the upper edge of the picture. The caption is: “The gap between what is supposed to happen and what does happen.”

This sentence refers to Ahmed’s observation of complaint processes on the same page of the book: Here, something does not coincide, namely that which is supposed to happen by means of a complaint in accordance with the policies and procedures and that which actually happens. There is a gap between the two, the should and the is. This gap is “densely populated” (p. 30), says the continuous text above the illustration, it should be paid attention to: “To mind the gap is to listen and learn from those who are experiencing a process.” (ibid).

“Mind the Gap” is the safety notice that can be seen at London Underground stations and heard as an announcement, a warning to passengers not to fall into the gap between the platform and the threshold of the tube. “Mind the Gap” is also the slogan of the London Student Feminists at the University of London, but here with a call to value and promote gender difference. One phrase, two applications, two meanings: one to pay attention to the gap in order to overcome it, the other to pay attention to the gap in order to acknowledge it. Ahmed’s variant combines both the warning and the expression of respect: to take care of the gap means first to recognize it, then to acknowledge it. 

That this message is visualized with the black-and-white illustration of the London Underground at Victoria station, where subway stations meet at different levels of elevation and construction, indicates Ahmed’s interest in the operational level of her topic, “Complaint!” How do which (cultural, institutional, linguistic) techniques meet, how can they be connected or made connectable without leveling their differences? How can differences not be ignored, how can differences be recognized as differences without stigmatizing them into difference? How can closures (of gaps) take place without closing them, but keeping them unclosed? “Mind the Gap” means with Ahmed: notice and respect the gap.

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basic book chapter general

Weder die verschlingende noch die klaffende, weder die unsichtbare noch die unbeachtete, weder die drohende noch die unschließbare Lücke, sondern die Lücke, die erkannt und anerkannt wird.

„Mind the Gap“ ist das Bildmotiv der ersten Abbildung innerhalb von Sara Ahmeds Buch „Complaint!“, auf Seite 30: Zu sehen ist in einer Ansicht von oben der, in ein Bodenmosaik eingelassene Schriftzug „MIND THE GAP“ an einer Bahnsteigkante; am oberen Bildrand sind noch die Zuggleise zu sehen. Die Bildunterschrift lautet: „The gap between what is supposed to happen and what does happen.“ (Die Kluft zwischen dem, was geschehen soll, und dem, was tatsächlich geschieht.) 

Dieser Satz bezieht sich auf Ahmeds Beobachtung von Beschwerdevorgängen auf der gleichen Seite des Buches: Hier fällt etwas nicht in eins, und zwar dasjenige, was mittels einer Beschwerde in Übereinstimmung mit den Richtlinien und Verfahren geschehen soll, und dasjenige, was tatsächlich geschieht. Zwischen beidem, dem Soll und dem Ist, klafft eine Lücke. Diese Lücke sei „dicht bevölkert“ („densely populated“, S. 30), heisst es im Fließtext oberhalb der Abbildung, ihr solle Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt werden: „Sich um die Lücke zu kümmern, bedeutet, zuzuhören und von denjenigen zu lernen, die einen Prozess erleben.“ („to mind the gap is to listen and to learn from those who experience a process.“, ebd.)

„Achten Sie auf die Lücke“ lautet der Sicherheitshinweis, der an den Stationen der Londoner U-Bahn zu sehen und als Durchsage zu hören ist, ein Warnhinweis an die Passagiere, nicht in die Lücke zwischen Bahnsteig und Türschwelle der U-Bahn zu fallen. „Mind the Gap“ lautet auch der Slogan der London Student Feminists der Universität London, hier allerdings mit dem Aufruf, den Unterschied der Geschlechter zu wertschätzen und zu fördern. Ein Satz, zwei Anwendungen, zwei Bedeutungen: die eine, auf die Lücke zu achten, um sie zu überwinden, die anderen, die Lücke zu achten, um sie anzuerkennen. Ahmeds Variante kombiniert sowohl den Warnhinweis als auch die Respektbekundung miteinander: Sich um die Lücke zu kümmern, bedeutet zunächst einmal, sie zu erkennen, um sie dann anzuerkennen. 

Dass diese Botschaft mit der Schwarz-Weiss-Abbildung der Londoner Underground im Bahnhof Victoria visualisiert ist, in dem U-Bahn-Stationen auf unterschiedlichen Höhenniveaus und in unterschiedlicher Bauweise aufeinander treffen, deutet auf Ahmeds Interesse für die operative Ebene ihres Themas „Complaint!“ hin: Wie treffen welche (Kultur-, Institutions-, Sprach-) Techniken aufeinander, wie können sie aneinander anschließen oder anschließbar gemacht werden, ohne ihre Differenzen zu nivellieren? Wie können Differenzen nicht ignoriert werden, wie können Differenzen als Differenzen anerkannt werden, ohne sie zur Differenz zu stigmatisieren? Wie können Verschließungen (von Lücken) stattfinden, ohne sie zu verschließen, sondern sie entverschlossen zu halten? „Mind the Gap“ heißt mit Ahmed: Beachte und achte die Lücke.

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book

WOR(D/TH) IT !·#]+*&

POSTER. Quotes from Sara Ahmed. Complaintivism! pp 16-18 + Intervention / Victor del (M) Oral. 2021

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book

A work of collage, starting point : the listening ear

The voice with no differents in tone, a computer speaking words it doesn’t even understand. As I sit on the white chair of the room in Jakobsplan, I listen to the computer voice reading Complaint by Sara Ahmed. The standard voice of an electronic device artificially pronounces the words.

The phenomenology approach,
Philosophical method developed by Edmund Husserl, which proposes a whole new approach to knowledge. The phenomenological method does not focus on the concrete things and their coherence, but wants to penetrate to the essence and meaning of things, through spiritual-intuitive contemplation.

Cultural dictionary, 30.11.2021, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/phenomenology

Thus, I will experience the chapter “mind the gap” from a detached perspective. Not “my own voice” telling the written down words. Interactive.

Collage work of the captured sentences.

Page 1, collage, a complaint about the complaint.
drawing by Sofie Bussé (symbols of moving, lines of the path).
Page 2, collage, a mythical golden egg.
Page 3, collage, hard to find, difficult to follow.
Page 4, collage, the surreal, a drawing of the complaint.
drawing research body movement performance.
Page 5, collage, The complaint graveyard, the emotional damage.
Categories
book

TO START… LESS PASSWORDS!

I´M TIRED OF PASSWORDS, I´M NOT A ROBOT

PASSWORDS FOR THE MOODLE

PASSWORDS FOR THE MAIL

PASSWORDS FOR THE BLOG

PASSWORDS FOR THE CPTV

PASSWORDS, PASSWORDS, PASSWORDS

LESS PASS , MORE WORDS! ( ? )

LESS WORDS, MORE PASS !

IT IS SO DIFFICULT TO ACCESS TO ALL THE PLATFORMS AT THE UNIVERSITY, THERE ARE SO MANY, AND EACH ONE WITH BAD DESIGN, BAD INTERFACE, NOT PEDAGOGIC, NOT INTUITIVE, NOT FRIENDLY. A LOT OF BUREAUCRACY, UNNECESSARY PROCESSES. STOP, STOP, STOP.

IT´S INCREDIBLE! I´M FED UP OF LOGIN NAMES, USER NAMES, PASSWORDS.. OPEN MORE ACCOUNTS…AND MORE… AND MORE…. DIFFICULT TO GET HERE… EVERYTHING IS SO COMPLICATED, LABYRINTHINE, WHY NOT MAKE IT EASIER?

MY FIRST COMPLAIN IS THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE DIGITAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEM IN THE UNIVERSITY.

LESS PASSWORDS, LESS FINE PRINT, I´M NOT A ROBOT!

VICTOR DEL (M) ORAL

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book

complaining vs. criticizing

What’s the difference between complaining and criticizing and how do I see myself in con- and reaction with proposed definitions ?

Complaining in process.
Mapping talks with and thoughts about father in between criticizing and complaining.

What’s the difference between complaining and criticizing and how is it seen: a) in my family ? b) in society? c) published on “simplicable”? And Why ?

Collective perception of complaining vs. criticism.
Categories
basic book general thoughts

Am I allowed to complain? – about being privileged enough to complain and not being privileged enough to complain

I would like to start this post by stating: Everyone is allowed to complain, anytime, anywhere, concerning any issue.

What does this sentence provoke in you? Do you agree? Do you disagree?

I myself have to say that I am not so sure about this, even though I am also not so sure who should be deciding over this. Complaining means expressing discontent or dissatisfaction about something, making an accusation, stating that something is (done) wrong. I want to specify here that I will focus on complaining when you are treated unfairly, such as for example by a person, a procedure, or an institution. 

Who is allowed to complain? A complaint starts with the reason why you want to complain, and this reason starts with a feeling. A feeling of something being wrong: feeling hurt, suffocated, excluded, offended, hence unfairly treated. And this is where it already gets complicated. “Am I allowed to complain?” starts with a: “Am I allowed to feel wronged?”. The fact that it is so difficult to define right or wrong, especially when emotions are involved, makes the whole process somewhat subjective and easily determined in the end by whoever is in power (with this often being whoever you complain about). So, who decides over right or wrong? The complainer or the “being-complaint-to”? 

Who is allowed to complain? The right to complain is also a matter of privilege. On this issue there is a conflict between the fact that some people are too privileged to complain and some not privileged enough to get through with a complaint. Are you the right person to complain? While going through with a complaint “we learn how only some ideas are heard if they are deemed to come from the right people; right can be white.”1 There is absurdity in the fact that if you are in the position to make a complaint, hence if you are suffering under certain power relations that put you in an unjust situation, you are most probably not being heard. “You might not feel confident that your complaint is being taken seriously when your complaint is about not being taken seriously.”2 Thus when you chose to complain you take a huge risk, which might lead to self-damage. More than often, you are already in a precarious situation and can’t afford to lose your job or hurt your image. If you find yourself in this situation, you might be reminded of your dependence on the one you want to complain to. Hence your issue is not being taken seriously by those in power to do something about it. In addition to this “complaints are more likely to be received well when they are made by those in power.”3 Those who are already more influential are more likely to get through with their complaint. This is widening the already existing inequality gab in hierarchies.

Who is allowed to complain? Those who are heard are those who are in the “right” place to complain: those in a stable state, those with enough power, those who have the right connections, those with the resources to do so. But isn’t it ironic that when you find yourself in a situation of suffering, without support, and hence file a complaint, you are not supported by the system? And if you are in the “right” place to complain you are actually not really in the right place to complain, meaning the reason why you complain might not be that severe, because you don’t find yourself in a precarious situation. 

In conclusion when is complaining justified? When is your state alarming and legitime enough to be entitled to do so? When are you well enough positioned to complain? When are you allowed to take away people’s oh-so-precious time to criticize and tackle the system they are so desperately trying to uphold? To complain is to make yourself vulnerable. Be aware of the burden that comes your way, whether it is the burden of your privilege to be able to do so, or your struggle or even your inability to get through with it.

1 Ahmed, S. (2021): Complaint! 2021, p.6.

2 ebd., p.21.

3 ebd., p.24.

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book

“WHAT IF THESE DOORS WERE MADE OF GLASS?”

“IF THESE DOORS COULD TALK? WERE MADE OF GLASS?”

.

Part III of “Complaint!” by Sara Ahmed is called “If these doors could talk?”. 

During the two chapters contained in this part, various testimonies are told in which doors have represented a role amid sexual harassment and assault situations, encounters of oppression and misuse of power in different institutions, mostly against women.

In some examples, the infrastructure of the places where such violence occurred was justified as allowing the abuse to take place or even used as a weapon against the victim. For example: if the space between the oppressor and the abuser was too narrow, then the victim won’t come out of the room easily.

My concern was, how in many situations the behaviour of someone is justified by the scenario in which the scene occurred, if there were witnesses or not, if their reputation doesn’t match with the acts, among many other things. I also related this questions with the name of Part III of the book: What if all of those doors of the rooms in which once many misconducts and violations have occurred could talk? What would they say? Who would they put into the spotlight? What would change in the institution?

But what if the door and its big role had a shift? What if all of these doors were made of glass? And everyone around could have seen through. Would the oppressor acted the same way? Which would have been the outcomes of the different violences? Also, would anyone dare to force a violent act against the door knowing how fragile it is?

This also leaves me a question on if these barriers were more transparent and the physical infrastructures of institutions were reformed, then would people act completely different? Their actions would be justified if there were witnesses or not. But most importantly, injustices will be visible for everyone.

And at some point it seems to be what most matters when doing a complaint… if you don’t show enough proof, if there is not any witness, if there is no footage to support your complaint then it is not viable.

I made a poster to support the big question Part III of the book left in my head.

Image 1. Poster, “IF THESE DOORS COULD TALK? WERE MADE OF GLASS?”, Weimar, 2021, Parra.
Categories
book chapter complaints

Beschweren oder Ertragen

Ich hatte eine Menge Gefühle, als ich das zweite Kapitel “ON BEING STOPPED” (Ahmed 2021: Complaint!) las. Wenn man unzufrieden ist und sich beschweren will, wird man oft von jemandem davon abgehalten: Beschwere dich nicht, die Konsequenzen werden schwerwiegend sein. Das kommt in China aufgrund der traditionellen Kultur und des Einflusses der Bildung häufig vor.

Einige Sprichwörter, über die wir oft sprechen: “以和为贵。Yi He Wei Gui.” “大事化小，小事化了。Da shi hua xiao, xiao shi hua liao.” “吃亏是福。Chi kui shi fu.”

“以和为贵。Yi He Wei Gui.” bedeutet, dass es am wichtigsten ist, dass die Menschen in Frieden miteinander leben. Konflikt vermeiden.

“大事化小，小事化了。Da shi hua xiao, xiao shi hua liao.” Bedeutet: Wenn es einen Konflikt gibt, lass die Situation nicht wachsen. Lass den Konflikt stattdessen allmählich abklingen. Wie kann man ihn reduzieren? Zum Beispiel zeige ich zuerst Großzügigkeit und mache Zugeständnisse. Dann wird sich die Person, mit der ich im Konflikt stehe, auch zurückziehen. Wenn wir alle einen Schritt zurücktreten, wird der Konflikt reibungslos gelöst werden. Natürlich ist das der Idealzustand. In der Realität ist es möglich, dass andere dich stärker unterdrücken, nachdem du nachgegeben hast.

“吃亏是福。Chi kui shi fu.” Es geht darum, den Leuten zu sagen, dass sie eine bestimmte Einstellung entwickeln sollen. Wenn es Ungerechtigkeiten gibt, versuche nicht zu streiten oder zu kämpfen, sondern lerne, geduldig zu sein. Wenn du diese Geduld lernst, kannst du eine Menge Ärger vermeiden. So kann das Leben glücklich werden.

Aufgrund dessen ist unsere erste Reaktion auf eine ungerechte Behandlung, dass wir uns damit abfinden und Konflikte und Ärger vermeiden. Wenn jemand in einer solchen Situation steht, raten viele Menschen davon ab, sich zu beschweren. Sie werden Ihnen viel über die schlimmen Folgen erzählen, die nach einer Beschwerde auftreten. Und sie glauben, dass sie dabei weise und erfahren sind. Aber einige von ihnen haben vielleicht gar keine Erfahrung, sondern sind einfach von der traditionellen Kultur beeinflusst. Beschwert man sich also weiter, nachdem man diese Rückmeldungen erhalten hat oder nimmt es einfach hin? Schwer zu entscheiden.

Zwei Zitate aus dem Buch “Complaint!” lauten:

“you are being encouraged not to complain, to “let it go” by resolving things in some other way or by hop- ing for some other resolution.” (S. 72)

“A complaint is heard as making waves, as stopping things from being steady.” (S.77)

Geduldig
Friedlich
Categories
book

Taxonomy of complaints: I. Talking-to-wall

“Thank you for calling Expedia lodging support; my name is Lucía. May I have your property ID please?”

The sentence above accompanied my early mornings through the last 11 months before coming to Weimar. I worked as a call center agent for the known French company Teleperformance. I answered the phone and replied to emails in a campaign called Expedia.

------- 
Thought 1. Working as a call center agent is nobody's dream. 
Thought 2. I am feeling ashamed of being a call center agent. 
Thought 3. I did a 5-years bachelor's in Fine Arts in the best university in Colombia; a call Center should not be my place. ( I felt terrible of thinking about this after) 
Thought 4. Whatever...I need money to do my MFA in Germany. 
Thought 5. This is an experience I have to live. I should be grateful for having a job during a world pandemic. 

STOP LUCY... This complaint of not having job opportunities as an artist in a country like Colombia should be a future post because this post, as I already said, is about talking to a wall.
------

Expedia is another vast “American”* company that provides services to find the “best prices” in the market to book flights and hotels (same as Booking.com). I was backstage since I only attended property owners, front desks, and other hotel employees. So, the complaints I received, I heard, were more “polite,” less “aggressive,”…

Less complaint.

It is called “customer service.” However, it is never truly about them.

The kind of complaints that came to me was usually about money. Let me explain to you how payments work for this company: the giant offers two ways to pay hotels the funds collected from travelers. On the one hand, the Expedia Virtual Cards. EVCs could be processed as soon as the guest had left the hotel; the hotelier already has the number Expedia assigned to the card. They only need to charge it.
On the other hand, there are the Invoices. Invoices were always a problem because people, I mean, the hoteliers, couldn’t understand why they needed to ask for payment instead of being paid as soon as they provided the service. I heard voices comparing “our” services (Expedia’s services) with Airbnb more than once. This platform pays property owners what is owed to them as soon as travelers check out. To me, this should be the right way to act. However, big corporations never work like that; they ask for money or work in advance, but they pay in terms of 90-180 days. Thus, small entrepreneurs wear out and die.

That is what an Argentine man precisely told me once. He was distraught because Expedia had not paid the last three months to him. He tried several times to contact Customer Service to understand what was happening, but no one answered. He had the right to be upset; he had been fighting for weeks, always against a vast wall. After working a couple of weeks in his case, I realized the whole problem was absurd and easy to solve. However, internal teams passed the ball from one to the other, and anyone did anything to help this man. Almost three weeks later, I could release the money (by his right) even if it was to the detriment of my “quantitative performance,” or usually called metrics.

I felt proud of myself for having been able to solve the problem. And it was not the only case actually. After all, I was a great call center agent.

Nevertheless, during the 11 months, I always felt frustrated working for a company like this one. The trouble with capitalism and these giant money-producing monsters is that they do not have a face, they have hundreds of people spread around the world…

wait … they are not really from all over the world, they are people who, like me, live in developing countries where labor is cheaper. I cost less money than an American.*

I cost less money than an American.*

I cost less than an American.*

So, Expedia, as well as Teleperformance, are no human beings.

And, it was not me on the phone. It was Expedia.

It was nobody.

It was an entity that cannot be spoken to.

It was a wall. It is a wall.

Thought 5. Is this frustration the same felt by Winston Smith trying to fight against Big Brother? 
Thought 6. However, Big Brother was no more than a vast machine fueled by fear and worship of the ignorant.

* Being Colombian, I shouldn’t say American to refer to the USA. I am American too. But, this is another story, another complaint.