The Saviour Complex
In psychology, the saviour complex is the attitude that you are responsible for assisting others. It can lead to impulsive decisions of donating, volunteering, or advocating for a cause. Not so bad, right? At least not at a glance. But the saviour complex can often lead to self-sabotaging for the purposes of moral justice, or making huge sacrifices to benefit other people. I imagine the saviour complex goes hand-in-hand with being a people pleaser.
However, the white saviour complex is not only damaging to yourself, but also to those you are trying to help. It is the idea that as a white person, you can help people of colour who are in need more than they can help themselves. Of course, charity and kindness are always important, and you may think, "I just want to help them - I'm not doing anything wrong, and I'm certainly not trying to be racist". But are your moral actions for the benefit of the person/community, or are they really to make yourself feel good?
It's a tricky question. Personally, I have grown up wanting to help those in need because that is the way I was raised. I can't help that, and it is true that whichever community I am thinking about needs help. But am I really the best solution to their problem? Am I better equipped to help them than they are themselves? This problem of white saviourism goes back hundreds of years, and is more of a social flaw than a psychological one.
Centuries ago, White people believed that they were more intelligent and generally superior to people of colour, especially Black people. This concept that all of the knowledge and good resources in the world lie in the Modern West has been passed down through society, and still has an impact on us today, with White people rushing to save the day whenever people of colour are victims of injustice.
The problem with this idea of rescue is that it often doesn't look past the initial needs of a community. It only solves the urgent problems, and only goes far enough so that the White person can say "Yeah, I volunteered in a Tanzanian community". While the help is beneficial, constant aid is needed to fully benefit a community or person, and most importantly, they need to be able to rely on themselves for a good life.
The White Saviour complex is all around us if you look for it, even in celebrities or the media. It can lead to offending the person you are trying to help, so it is good to read up on it further if you believe you may be affected by it.
Here's a link to where I got most of my info: What Is White Savior Complex and Why Is It Harmful? (health.com)
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Read this with great interest, Maddy. Well done. Failure and success may be quite subjective, don't forget, and sometimes we are our own harshest critics. Learning to recognise our own limits takes a lifetime as well!
Do you think it might help to pray for guidance, when faced with choices or difficult decisions? I guess this depends on your views on God - does he/she exist? Can he/she be trusted? Is he/she remotely interested in me (you) and our life journey? What if I (you) don't agree with the guidance? How do I (you) recognise the guidance in the first place?
Above all, avoid becoming as disenchanted as Macbeth. I love the play, some wonderful speeches. Watched a very old Orson Welles production last night, and the "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow ..." speech is one of my favourite!
Carry on blogging.
Lots of love,
Kate x
Good blog Mads - well researched as usual!🙂 Check out BBC News for other info on this subject - inlcuding their own gender pay gap...
Imagine you're innocent and get the death penalty.
?!