The Neutrality Trap. Bernard S. Mayer

practitioners have clung tenaciously to the cloak of neutrality, refusing to examine what it hides. Mayer and Font‐Guzmán question who the cloak shelters in a world where systemic inequality is perpetuated too‐often by conflict interventions. In a conversational narrative, the authors thoughtfully examine the vexing problems that the neutrality myth has obscured, challenging readers in nuanced ways. But they don't stop there. Nestled in a wide range of stories, they offer ways to advance fairness, equality, and justice. Their book is part challenge, part how‐to‐manual. It deserves to be widely read and applied with courage and heart.”

      —Michelle LeBaron, Professor and dispute resolution scholar | Peter A. Allard School of Law, The University of British Columbia

      “Thank you for writing this. You've brought to light what is happening in the minds of social justice leaders and groups and have said it eloquently with much reflection. The Neutrality Trap makes me very hopeful for the future and I believe will encourage more people to step up and take an active role in the fight for systemic change.”

      —Moya Mcalister, Board Director of the Black Women of Forward Action (Windsor, ON)

      “In The Neutrality Trap, Bernie Mayer and Jackie Font‐Guzmán challenge conflict workers to rethink our role in dealing with the complex and oppressing social problems our society faces. The authors reflect on their previous work with remarkable frankness and humility, thereby helping the reader to see the problem with standing behind the comfortable shield of neutrality, and in so doing, failing to deal with unjust systems that create and perpetuate harm. They pick up this long‐stalled topic and craft it into a call to reexamine how we see our role as conflict engagement practitioners and as citizens.”

      —Susanne Terry, Editor and contributor, More Justice, More Peace: When Peacemakers are Advocates

      “Conflict specialists have long struggled with how to balance our role as dialogue facilitators with our commitment to expanding social justice. The Neutrality Trap explains how these two seemingly opposite roles can and must reinforce each other. The authors, Jackie Font‐Guzmán and Bernie Mayer, describe their own journeys as intervenors and activists through truth‐telling and fiercely honest self‐examination. Social change is hard, and sometimes the hardest obstacles to overcome are hidden; this book challenges us to learn how to balance conflict and cooperation to overcome those obstacles in order to achieve real, sustainable social change.”

      —Colin Rule, CEO, Mediate.com and Arbitrate.com

THE NEUTRALITY TRAP

      DISRUPTING AND CONNECTING FOR SOCIAL CHANGE

      BERNARD MAYER

      JACQUELINE N. FONT-GUZMÁN

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      Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

      Published simultaneously in Canada.

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       Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data available

      ISBN 9781119793243 (Hardcover)

      ISBN 9781119793274 (ePDF)

      ISBN 9781119793410 (ePub)

      Cover image: © Rawpixel/Getty Images

      Author photos: Hope Moon and Howard Zehr

      Cover design: Wiley

Dedication

       To the People of Puerto Rico—no matter where they are—whose fearless disruption of an oppressive colonial system and love for their nation keeps it alive;

       and

       to Daleep, born on November 6, 2021 and his parents, Sibyl and Jagjit. Daleep represents hope for the future and joy in the present.

preface

      “Raise your hand if you don't like Black people.” The class laughed; the Black student targeted in this remark by one of her classmates was in shock—but not at a loss for words. When her teacher took her out of the room, asked her how she was doing and if she wanted to go home, she looked at her and called her out: “What are you going to do about the girl that made that remark in class? I am the only Black student in this class, she targeted me with that comment; what will you do about her? You've pulled me out of class like this problem was my fault. How does that look to the other students?” The teacher was planning to do nothing, it seems. The aggressor, a 9‐year‐old child (as was the target), was “just too young to be suspended, and probably did not understand the full meaning of what was being said.” Nothing was said to the class, no discussion of why what happened was not okay, no effort to deal with the girl who made that remark.

Who was being protected? The aggressor? The other White students? The teacher? The school? The system? It's clear who was not being protected—a 9‐year‐old Black student who, along with so many others, experiences racism every day. This incident took place in Canada, but it could have happened anywhere. Racism is entrenched throughout our system,