Listen to this
Jerry Beker used to tell a joke about the rabbi who prayed to God every week that he would win the lottery. Week after week and month after month he prayed and yet - nothing. He promised to use the money to feed the poor, to renovate the synagogue, to use it only for God’s purposes. Still nothing. In despair, he complained: “I’ve done everything I can think of to make you happy and do your will, and I see no reward!” After a long silence, God replied: “Buy a ticket.”
Jerry edited two journals that served child and youth care authors,
and he used to tell the joke as way to cope with people who complained
about the difficulties of getting published despite not having
submitted, who complained about others’ research despite not
having done any of their own, who complained about not being offered
jobs despite not applying, who were in positions to do something but
chose to complain instead.
Thom Garfat and Brian Gannon bought the
ticket.
I met Thom in the early 1990s, and Brian a few years later, visits both brokered by Jerry Beker. Jerry was a one-man networker, someone who kept in communication with a diverse group of people around the world and someone who was responsible for helping many dozens of people get published, including people who were not competent writers, but had interesting ideas. Jerry had a dialogue with many people who would not talk to each other but would talk to Jerry, and Jerry frequently thought about who should meet whom, and who he could help mend fences - and then he would arrange it.
Thom and Brian are and were the next generation of networkers, and thanks to emerging communication technologies, they made it possible for everyone to have those connections with each other through an email listserve and a place to write pieces for other practitioners. My observation from a distance was that it was (and is) a struggle, technically and financially. In retrospect it seems likely that it was also a struggle to keep the focus on practitioners. It is too easy now to take their creation for granted, and we have a short attention span.
Naturally, with success came criticism. I was surprised to learn one day that CYC-Online was considered part of the “old-boys network,” that sexist trope, and that it was hegemonic. Apparently, some people did not notice that the world had shifted, that anyone could publish a message using any number of technologies, and anyone can create a network, if one had a good idea.
CYC-Online is one of the few places where people from diverse places can get practical ideas published for a larger audience. It is malleable and fluid; if one wants another voice represented, you can be that voice. You have to decide to participate. It is a facilitator, and it influences with little control. CYC-Online represents a decades long history of fruitful partnerships around the world of people interested in building the work, with open invitations. Thom and Brian’s work is a fine representation of the democratic practice ideals that began in earnest after World War II with, among others, Kurt Lewin, Gisela Konopka, Eva Burmeister, and Fritz Redl. Here’s hoping the next generation will be as successful, and my admiration and gratitude to Thom and, belatedly, Brian.
