puff 618 An ethic of empathy

An ethic of empathy
Part One
Setting the platform

There are three songs discussed below which are commonly taught throughout Aotearoa- New Zealand in arts ans social science degrees where cross cultural or introductory Maori Studies courses are concerned. They have endured and would seem to offer a safe place for students to start learning.

These songs offer a first set or cluster or platform of values. The three songs are all shot and to the point with straightforward tunes.

Ehara i te mea
no inaianei te aroha
no nga tupuna
tuku iho, tuku iho

It is not as if
Love (aroha)comes from today
from the ancestors it comes down, is released down to us

E toru nga mea
nga mea nunui
e kiia na te paipera
Whakapono, Tumanako,
ko te mea nui, ko te Aroha

There are three things
important matters
spoken of in the Bible,
Faith, Hope
and the most important, Charity (aroha)

Ma wai ra e taurima
te marae i waho nei
ma te tika, ma te pono
me te aroha e
Who will support
the marae outside
by Truth, Faith and Love (Aroha)
(it will be supported)

The cluster of values emphasised in the songs include tumanako, faith, whakapono, belief, tika, truth. There is also, significantly, reference to tupuna, ancestors. The songs refer to a corpus of values handed down in tradition. They are little songs with big, heavy bits of emotion. At he same time the seem to be smal standards to bear, the tunes are clear and straightforward and the singing of them is, as people say, no big deal. They offer easy or apparently easy starting points. They tag on at the end of a speech as markers of good intent..

Aroha is a a central template, a basic guiding light in these songs. It matters in all things. Originally it meant to pity but under missionary and other influences the word has gathered an almost mystic, carry all quality evoking various kinds of love including romantic love, compassion and empathy.
These songs are all used extensively at meetings, particularly meetings where social work issues might be discussed.

A person coming to a hui under the cloak or korowai of aroha is coming under the auspices of care and concern for others. There is the sense that the person will not be threatened. These words of love are kare a roto, personal endearments. The songs functions as icebreakers and at the same time set a tone of warmth and conciliation.The songs are ways of settling the spirit; kia tau te mauri. They convey that the group singing comes both in peace and with an idea of creating harmony. The songs go with rangimarie, pai marire, te rongopai, with Rongo the god of peace but not Tu the god of war. In some ways they are songs for the house, the meeting house, the place of peace rather than songs of the marae where orators directly confront issues and, as it were, let off steam.

Section Two
Getting on with the job

The values described so far might be seen as a first set, a primer if you like. At a further level there is a second set which might include awhi, to embrace, awhina, to help, tautoko and taurima, to support or atawhai, to protect. These might be called awhi values in that they evoke both an attitude and what to do in a helping context.

The Maori words for these values are sometimes dropped in English expressions as in ; 'I came around to awhi her', or, 'I thought he needed a bit of tautoko.' They are also found in songs;

Awhi mai,
awhi atu
tatou, tatou e

Helping this way,
Helping that way,
All of us togeher

Maku ra pea,
Maku ra pea,
Maku ra pea e awhi e
Ma te ara, ara tupu,
Maku koe e awhi e

It is for m perhaps
It is for me perhaps
It is for me perhaps to embrace and help
By way of the path, the path of growth
It is for me to embrace and help you

Awhinatia ra! Let them be helped!
Powhiritaia ra! Let hem be welcomed!

The awhi group of words might be seen as a vocational set. These are words that social work professionals use and understand. Whereas the aroha set of values might be said to introduce matters an to set down a kaupapa the awhi set kep things going and form an everyday discourse. They state values to be used in applied situations.

The sets of values described so far make up an ethic.The two main aspects of the ethic might be aroha and manaaki; love and care. The awhi set are used in manaaki, in the immediate situation of help, the temporal application of care.

Section Three
The Four Cornerstones

The next set of values in social work education might be described as the four cornerstones.

wairua
tinana
hinengaro
whanau

Wairua means spirit, tinana means body, hinengaro refers to the mind and whanau to the extended family.

These are fairly commonly referred to in social work education. Sometimes they are put as four sides or cornerstones of a house, always as four interlinked dimensions almost like a quatrain. Milner once suggested that many Polynesian proverbs work as four intersecting points.

The four cornerstones ae sometimes said to offer an holistic model.Issues from one part flow into another.Matters to do with the hinengaro or mind can quickly become matters to do with the tinana or body. This is not, perhaps, exceptional in social work education.

This sense of relatedness is captured in what has become a kind of carryall word, whakawhanaungatanga. Literally his mans to make a relation or relationship, a connection. Such connections may be made through whanau links or through churches on the wairua side or tinana through sports perhaps.

The set of four zones works as an organiser. Sorting an issue into one of the categories is a first step in problem solving. These words add to the sense of a social work or social service ethic by setting out the dimensions of the work. They allow the world to be divided into sectors accepted by all.

Section Four
Powhiri values

A further set of values might be described as hui or powhiri values.

Here the reader is referred to Rangahau Pae Iti Kahurangi on Post 148.

In the process powhiri an issue or take is defined and people elect to support , tautoko the take or awhi the people concerned.

Inside the whaenui or meeting house there are many ways i which values and people are connected. I some respects the wharenui may be seen as a continuous information system. The last speaker in the whare connects all of the earlier speeches. Powhiri involves the exchange and processing of information.

Powhiri is a process of continuous movement between states of tapu and noa. Waiata is used to whakanoa speeches, as people come off a marae water is used as a process of whakanoa and so on.

This part of the ethic, this cluster of values is about social exchange rather like potlatch or Malinowski's kula ring. It is about eciprocity.

Conclusion

Four sets of values have been described and it has been suggested that they might be considered as an ethic.

The aroha set or cluster of values has been described above as introductory. Social work education stresses empathy from he first songs taught. The student is taught how to emphasise with clients.

The awhi cluster has been described as applied. Words like awhi and tautoko call for action in an affirmative way.

Whanau, tinana, wairua and hinengaro have been described as the four cornerstones. They offer dimensions, ways of breaking up the world in order to put it back together in an holistic way.

The powhiri cluster have been characterised as values of reciprocity.,

A lexicon of social work terms used in a specific community has been discussed. The history of this lexicon has not been discussed and must be left to a later time. The point of using the lexicon here has been to demonstrate an ethic of care based on empathy or, if you like, an ethic of empathy based on care.

Not considered here or at least not in any depth has been the significance or even the question as to what an ethic actually means or signifies. Under discussion have been terms from a minority culture caught up in an increasingly global situation. The need to assert an ethic as a matter of cultural survival may be a point to return to in the future.

The value clusters described represent an ethic that is a guide to appropriate behaviour , a guide that is employed in social work education. The value clusters are portals opening onto grounds of appropriate action. The first doorway i this ethic of empathy is aroha.



Bibliography

Bion, W. R. (1961) Experiences in Groups and other papers, Routledge

Ife, Jim (1995) Community Development: creating community alternatives- vision, analysis and practice, Longman, Melbourne

Stewart, William (1996) Imagery and symbolism in counseling, Jessica Kingsley Publishing
Catalogue
Last Gasp Cafe 29
Two songs in C. Long Black Jar and Colin both composed and performed by Peter Cleave

Last Gasp Cafe 28
Two songs composed and performed by Peter Cleave.Red Bus and Long Black Jar. Chords on Red Bus have a structure! Recorded on the Wetlands.

Last Gasp Cafe 27
Two songs performed and composed by Peter Cleave.You're Free, Red Bus. Recorded

on the Wetlands.
Last Gasp Cafe 26
Two songs composed by Peter Cleave. We got lucky, Idol. Recorded on the Wetlands.

Last Gasp Cafe 25
Two songs composed by Peter Cleave. Red Bus, Lady so Far. Recorded on the Wetlands.

Last Gasp Cafe 24
Two songs composed and performed by Peter Cleave. Idol and You're Free. Recorded at the Stomach, Palmerston North

Last Gasp Cafe 23
Two songs composed and performed by Peter Cleave. Long Black Jar, You're Free. Recorded at the Stomach, Palmerston North




Composed by Peter Cleave. Bass by Leo Cleave. Guitar and vocal by Peter Cleave. For Paula Miranda for her role as Mia Hill in Perfect Stranger

Sweet Killer Love

Sweet Killer Love

Come from the stars above

You smile

The devil is in your detail

The devil is in your detail
\
You walk into the market

Hand up on your hip

You look

The price is way too high

The price is way too high

Sweet Killer Love

Sweet Killer Love

Come from the stars above

You smile

The devil is in your detail

The devil is in your detail

You touch the base of your neck

You set your shades down on your nose

You look again

Who are you waiting for?
Who are you waiting for?

Sweet Killer Love

Sweet Killer Love

Come from the stars above

You smile

The devil is in your detail
The devil is in your detail

Moving right along now
Looking down the line

Who will take you home?

Who will take you home?

Sweet Killer Love

Come from the stars above

You smile

The devil is in your detail

The devil is in your detail


puff 532 Last Gasp Cafe 22

Concert for gold diggers, claim jumpers, future super stars, foxes and trout. 女子高生 Two songs composed and performed by Peter Cleave Concert for gold diggers, claim jumpers, future super stars, foxes and trout. 女子高生 Two songs composed and performed by Peter Cleave: Johnny Rockaway and Red Bus

Johnny Rockaway
For Johnny Rockaway
The gangsters came to play
To throw a rose
into the grave
of Johnny Rockaway
Brando on the screen
so high on his machine
waves a hand to all the fans
along the way

Wear your hair up high
Turn your collar to the sky
No surrender
No sweet goodbye

(guitar break)

For Johnny Rockaway
The gypsies came to pray
to light a bonfire
at midnight
for Johnny Rockaway
Bardot on a motorbike
The chrome so bright
so lost, so lost
in her shades

Wear your hair up high
Turn your collar to the sky
No surrender
No sweet goodbye

Johnny Rockaway
loved Jimmy Dean
the Dodge, the De Soto and the Galaxy
Go Johnny Go ,
Go, Go said Chuck,
the American King,
Johnny Rockaway





Red Bus
On the Red Bus
nothing seems to matter much
say what you like or what you don't
the bus runs on

she was a claim jumping, gold digging future super star
I sold cars on Saturdays

we met on the Red Bus
where nothing seems to matter much
say what you like or what you don't
the bus runs on
and on

she was a city girl and a foxy trout who left nothing out
I was a valley boy

we talked on the Red Bus
about anything that came to us
about life after life after life
and the bus ran on



trout 女子高生 red bus marlon brando bridgette bardot chuck berry gypsies cars gangsters

puff 531 Last Gasp Cafe 21 女子高生

Concert for the Batcave 女子高生Two songs composed and performed by Peter Cleave: Broken Road and We got lucky



Robin catwoman 女子高生 broken road ring moon cat cream bubbles bath
We got Lucky

It was all over before it had begun
it was good night nurse on the midnight shift
it was red, red wine, blue bubbles in the bath

we got lucky
there was a ring around the moon
we got lucky
and we slept till noon
gave cream to the cat
and that my friends was that

It had just begun when she said she'd won
so it was lights for the tree and wood for the fire
candles, blue bubbles in the bath

we got lucky
there was a ring around the moon
we got lucky
and we slept till noon
gave cream to the cat
and that my friends was that



puff 530 Last Gasp Cafe 20 女子高生

Concert for the Black Hawk 女子高生Two songs composed and performed by Peter Cleave: Johnny Rockaway and We got Lucky.



black hawk 女子高生 cat cream bath bubble red wine marlon brando gypsies gangsters pray hair high collar sky

puff 529 Last Gasp Cafe 19

Concert for Spiderman 女子高生 Two songs composed and performed by Peter Cleave: Long Black Jar and Johnny Rockaway



Spiderman 女子高生 long black jar picture wall hall no surrender sweet goodbye

Long Black Jar

Saw your picture on the wall
thought I heard you in the hall
put flowers in a long black jar

Now I'm playing such a sad guitar
and I'm wondering where we are
o darling talk to me

talk to me about the way things used to be
don't talk about setting me free

Thought I heard you in the driveway
Thought I felt you behind me
but there's only one person here
puff 514 Last Gasp Cafe 18
Two songs in new keys. Another concert for Mary J Blige. Long Black Jar and Idol. Both songs written and composed by Peter Cleave




idol maryjblige peter cleave last gasp cafe long black jar ghosts
Idol
It was just a wish
From high on a wish list
but it had to be you
cos you are so fine

And the idol smiles
there is a door in the wall
the traffic stops
the rain begins to fall

Latrice and Labelle
are lost in LA
But they find a sign
meant for you and me

And the idol smiles
look out the window in the wall
The traffic stops
the rain begins to fall

Way on down the hall
Uncle Phil is asleep
You whisper to me
about Dragon Ball Zee

And the Idol smiles
it is written on the wall
the traffic stops
the rain begins to fall

puff 470 Last Gasp Cafe 17
On the deck...Idol and Broken Road for the Goo Goo Dolls...concert by Peter Cleave

puffshop
女子高生
Idol
It was just a wish
From high on a wish list
but it had to be you
cos you are so fine

And the idol smiles
there is a door in the wall
the traffic stops
the rain begins to fall

Latrice and Labelle
are lost in LA
But they find a sign
meant for you and me

And the idol smiles
look out the window in the wall
The traffic stops
the rain begins to fall

Way on down the hall
Uncle Phil is asleep
You whisper to me
about Dragon Ball Zee

And the Idol smiles
it is written on the wall
the traffic stops
the rain begins to fall

Last Gasp Cafe 16 Two songs for Green Day



Last Gasp Cafe 15 女子高生
Concert for Donnie Darko. Long Black Jar and You're Free composed and performed by Peter Cleave
long black jar you're free ana carolina reston green day

puff 291 Last Gasp Cafe 12 Will there be Fox in the Metaverse


Will there be Cher in the Metaverse? Roaches? Peter?

puff 290 Last Gasp Cafe 11 Two songs for the Astrochick



Puff 285 Last Gasp Cafe 10- Upstairs Studio Concert
Long Black Jar
Colin


Last Gasp Cafe 9
A concert for the Metaverse



puff 281 Last Gasp Cafe 8 A two song concert for Tyra Banks


puff 265 Last Gasp Cafe 5
A concert for Mary J Blige by Peter Cleave featuring songs dedicated to Ana Carolina Reston and Daniela Cicarelli


puff 261 Last Gasp Cafe No 3 For Peter Wheeler
Featuring Colin, To see you is to love you, Nadine...