The Love Theorist

This is the second part of chapter 3 called ‘Eco injustice’ from my book, Broken-heartedness: Towards love in professional practice. Like some of the other chapters, it is very difficult to read for the tragedies it describes. Here my personal experiences with other animals who are used by humans required of me an ethical re-set as an adult towards non harming of all animals. As the daughter of a farmer and hunter and a citizen of a society that is prejudiced against other animals, it was a slow awakening that species injustice has profoundly disturbing impacts. Issues that comprise matters of eco injustice are very troubling and do not have immediate solutions. The circumstances for millions of farmed animals across the planet are dire and show the devastating underbelly of economies which rely on mass scale slaughter of defenceless animals. Humans love other animals, and it is important to us that they do not experience cruelty. Humans do not need to eat other animals to access protein and other nutrients. Yet there is a moral amnesia due to the animal industrial complex operated by wealthy private businesses that normalises the meat industry. The wealthy are typically financially subsidised by governments which sanction the use of some animals for human consumption. A societal level ethical re-set which equally values all our Kin is needed for personal and world peace. It begins with a loving regard for other animals of all kinds. You can purchase a copy of my book at https://revoltbooks.com/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelovetheorist.substack.com

This is a reading of chapter 3 called ‘Eco injustice’ from my book, Broken-heartedness: Towards love in professional practice. It is the first part of a big chapter which relates how my personal and professional experiences intersected with a growing awareness of harm and injustice against Nature. In so doing I show an aspect of what is called a wicked problem where Australia’s economy is dependent on large scale mining of natural resources - ie Nature - and many peoples’ livelihoods, including my own family, and many communities’ viability are also dependent on big miners. The costs are borne by the environment but not only. The intersectionality of harm to people adjacent to mining operations, biodiversity loss and hence threats to some endangered species is apparently a cost that is traded for claimed benefits from this unsustainable economics. I show how very personal this matter of eco injustice is for me and how it is also very political. The trade offs need not be so highly stacked against the environment - Nature - with whom we are all intricately interconnected. If you are interested in buying a copy of my book it can be purchased here https://revoltbooks.com/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelovetheorist.substack.com

This is a reading of chapter 7 from my new book, Broken-heartedness: Towards love in professional practice. It is published by Revolutionaries which is a small independent book company that promotes ideas and ways of being for a more loving and peace filled world. This is a perfect fit for me as I show in this chapter how desire for peace and love necessitates the upholding of a key moral principle of the equal moral worth of all kinds of beings. As a social worker for many years, I’ve been almost totally focused on social justice for social groups who are discriminated against. But I have come to understand how social justice for people is intertwined with species justice for other animals and environmental justice for Nature. In fact, I believe that justice through being loving and nonviolent towards some species of other animals, namely farmed animals, is the key to addressing all other forms of injustice. Listen to my podcast to hear how I have come to this view and of how this equal moral worth principle along with an unshakeable belief in love and the power of nonviolence underpins all types of justice work at this time on the planet. When justice is experienced by the most harmed beings, there will be no broken-heartedness. Mercy will be shown. You can buy this book and my two other books - The revolutionary social worker: The love ethic model and The revolutionary social worker: Love ethic companion - published by Revolutionaries at https://revoltbooks.com/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelovetheorist.substack.com

This podcast focuses on the end section of the Chapters 5, 6 and 7 respectively entitled, ‘Love’; Nonviolence’ and; ‘Ecojustice’ from my book Broken-heartedness: Towards love in professional practice. These end sections give a range of examples of how to practice love, nonviolence and eco-justice. Many of the ideas and ways will be familiar to listeners. In this sense I aim to affirm and cheer you on for what you are already do, who you already are in the world. I also provide insights into how my understanding of broken-heartedness asks something more of the power elites and privileged people and organisations. When powerful people who cause harm and devastation and do nothing to address it, this is a moral crime against the impacted people, other animals and Nature. It cannot be left to the broken-hearted to raise the justice issues and try to solve them when the issues are not of their making. My book is available at https://revoltbooks.com/products/broken-heartedness This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelovetheorist.substack.com

This is a reading of chapter 8 of my new book Broken-heartedness: Towards love in professional practice, published by Revolutionaries. Here I draw the threads of the book together to provide a succinct statement of a theory of love. The theory is revolutionary because it explains how anti-oppressive ethics and critical analyses of society can lead to actions for peace, justice and love for all beings. Both individual and collective actions that are love ethic informed can address the unrecognised epidemic of broken-heartedness. The podcast is dedicated to two women - Courtney Morison and Miriam Merten - who have died as a result of lovelessness in the public mental health systems in Queensland and NSW respectively. I found Courtney’s story in the print media as I was writing the book. She died by suicide in 2022 soon after telling her family the system did not care for her. I was previously aware of Miriam’s death after being secluded and multiple falls in a mental health facility due to a media release about the subsequent coronial inquiry in 2017. In both instances it was heart-breaking to me for the terrible loss of life and for the people who loved the women and the people who tried to be caring in the system. It showed me that there is an unmet need for loving places and professionals. I believe that “we need to make the place that is meant to be caring to actually be caring when a person’s life is on the line”. When professional carers are broken-hearted from the distress they witness and unsupportive workplaces, they cannot be loving and nonviolent in their practice with people in their care. Understanding the sociological and ecological context of broken-heartedness can enable big and small steps towards love. My book is now available as an e-book! If you would like to have a copy, please go to https://revoltbooks.com/products/broken-heartedness Thank you for your interest and support! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelovetheorist.substack.com

This is a reading of Chapter 6 entitled - ‘Nonviolence’ - from my new book, Broken-heartedness: Towards love in professional practice. It stands as a testimony to the power of love and shows how love and nonviolence can be drawn upon to address violence of all kinds. Nonviolence first and foremost is about not being violent, which requires a critical analysis of how power is used. As I have argued in the earlier chapter on violence, harm can be hidden in contexts where people believe they are being helpful and caring. This is one of the hardest type of harm to recognise. Nonviolence is explored and shown to be a range of peaceful, proactive ways of being in the world that consciously resist and challenge violence. You can support my writing by buying my book, reviewing it on Goodreads and by telling a friend about it. It can be purchased from https://revoltbooks.com/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelovetheorist.substack.com

This is a reading of the second part of chapter 2 called ‘Violence’ in my new book Broken-heartedness: Towards love in professional practice. In the earlier part of the chapter, I explored the idea of dominance hierarchies (ie pecking orders) and how they can involve vertical and horizontal violence. This is where people hurt people in workplaces such as mental health facilities which are supposed to be about care of the patients. I now bring the focus onto what can happen to people who are mental patients in what Bloom calls trauma-organised systems of care. Again my commentary is informed by years of practice in mental health services and how I was complicit with many travesties of justice in the name of care. A different way of providing sanctuary to people experiencing mental health conditions is urgently needed. Advocates, royal commissions and people with lived experience have clearly articulated what is harmful, unjust in many public mental health services in Australia. A turning point for me was finding a way to think differently about how violence such as seclusion and restraint occurs. It is a highly restrictive and known to be traumatising practice which is legally sanctioned and seen to be a valid form of care. The turning point was deeply understanding how individual failures of responsibility at all points and levels of service delivery can create system failures of care and love. The commentary involves very distressing accounts of harm done to people. Please take care in listening to it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelovetheorist.substack.com

My new book, Broken-heartedness: Towards love in professional practice, is available now. To make it as accessible as possible I am sharing chapters from it as podcasts. This offering is chapter 5, entitled “Love” and is one of 3 chapters which outline the main ethics needed to build a theory of love. These 3 interlinked ethics are: love, nonviolence and eco justice. Earlier chapters of the book have provided an account of my personal and professional life as it has involved experiencing or witnessing broken-heartedness. The root causes of broken-heartedness are lovelessness, violence and eco-injustice. The absence or denial of love for minority status people, other animals and Nature is a way of thinking about how things have come to like they are in the world. Love is understood in different ways by us all and probably is one of the most valued ideas and experience for many of us. This chapter defines love as a political practice aimed at addressing complex wicked problems with an ethical positioning of love. From this ethical stance we can see the interconnectedness of factors and appreciate how harmful violence is, and to know what to do about it. Love as a practice involves many skills and actions, that are familiar to anyone involved in the nonviolent social and environmental movements of our times. As well as to anyone who consciously relates to others with love and not violence. It helps us connect with empathy and deep understanding to be with and stand alongside people, other animals and Nature who have broken-hearts in justice struggles. If you are interested in purchasing a copy of the book it can be found at: https://revoltbooks.com/ Do feel free to give me feedback about the podcast or the book on this site or by leaving a review on Goodreads. I really appreciate your support. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelovetheorist.substack.com

This podcast is a reading of the fourth chapter of my new book by the same name, Broken-heartedness. I outline how I came to realise that the idea of broken-heartedness encapsulated so many experiences over my career and personal life. When heart-ache occurs it can take many forms and intensities. People can die of broken hearts. Animals can die of broken hearts. Nature shows us many examples of human activity that undercuts her ability to sustain life on the planet. Certainly it is a weighty chapter that builds upon the preceding ones which showed how lovelessness caused by violence and injustice manifests as broken-heartedness. I explain how my idea is different from pop psychology books on heart break and is more than romantic love and caring for the people in our lives. There is an unexpected and perhaps unwelcome gift for broken-hearted people, that occurs because they know how important love is. With this hard won wisdom, when broken-hearted people pay forward their pain in the form of loving actions, they increase our belief in the power of love to transform violence power. If interested, you can purchase a copy of the book at: https://revoltbooks.com/ I’d be pleased to hear your feedback which can be given directly to me here or on Goodreads - search for my book to place a review. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelovetheorist.substack.com

This is a sharing from my new book - if interested you can purchase it on this link https://revoltbooks.com/ The podcast is a reading of the first section of Chapter 2, entitled Violence. This term is very complex and means different things to different people. The chapter starts to unpack how I understand what violence means, starting with my childhood experience of domestic violence. I then move on to explore the issue of violence as it is expressed in dominance hierarchies such as mental health systems. This podcast focuses on the vertical and horizontal violence that I became aware of as a social worker. As Sandra Bloom writes, hurt people hurt people. This is a very concerning matter when it is mental health staff who are hurting, for what it means for how they care for people receiving mental health care. Violence causes lovelessness. Workplaces that are loveless can become the breeding ground for more violence, that can go unchecked and not addressed. Please take care when listening to this podcast as some of the commentary is very disturbing and can personally impact on you in unexpected ways. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelovetheorist.substack.com

This is a sharing from my new book - if interested you can purchase it on this link https://revoltbooks.com/ The podcast is a reading of the first section of Chapter 2, entitled Violence. This term is very complex and means different things to different people. The chapter starts to unpack how I understand what violence means, starting with my childhood experience of domestic violence. I then move on to explore the issue of violence as it is expressed in dominance hierarchies such as mental health systems. This podcast focuses on the vertical and horizontal violence that I became aware of as a social worker. As Sandra Bloom writes, hurt people hurt people. This is a very concerning matter when it is mental health staff who are hurting, for what it means for how they care for people receiving mental health care. Violence causes lovelessness. Workplaces that are loveless can become the breeding ground for more violence, that can go unchecked and not addressed. Please take care when listening to this podcast as some of the commentary is very disturbing and can personally impact on you in unexpected ways. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelovetheorist.substack.com

My new book is now available for purchase. If interested, please go to https://revoltbooks.com/ You might prefer to listen to large parts of it in these episodes. I add extra commentary at times but endeavour to stay close to the original book text. In this reading, I share about my experiences as a young girl and how I now understand much of my childhood as being about broken-heartedness caused by lovelessness. I suggest that where there is violence then there is lovelessness, one is the breeding ground for the other. In this way I lay the foundations for a different meaning of love and how violence can undercut and compromise it. Watch out for further podcasts of the subsequent chapters that build towards an articulation of what a theory of love involves and why it is so urgently needed. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelovetheorist.substack.com

My new book is now available for purchase. This is so exciting for me as its the culmination of what I have learnt from being a social worker for nearly fifty years. It interweaves my pertinent personal and professional experiences with a critical analysis of some of the wicked socio-political issues of our time. The purpose of this exposition is to show how I’ve come to understand love as multi-faceted ethics and capacities to address the causes of broken-heartedness. Lovelessness is the main cause of broken-heartedness. When people, other animals and Nature experience lovelessness it takes a range of forms of violence and injustice. Broken-heartedness is addressed by love, nonviolence and eco-justice practices. A number of personal essays show how I take responsibility for causing broken-heartedness as a social worker. As well as showing how I have been broken-hearted and what I’ve done to pivot on the pain and loss towards love. This first podcast introduces the book and provides a reading of part of the first chapter. Follow along with subsequent podcasts - coming soon - to listen to almost all of the book, interspersed with occasional additional commentary. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelovetheorist.substack.com

Michael Burbank is a mental health lived experience trainer. He speaks of his own life lessons from his journey through heartbreak and loss to a compassionate and relational approach to his teaching. The people he engages with in the classroom will go on to help others who grapple with their lives being interrupted by mental ill health. The podcast begins with a poetic statement from Michael that sets the scene for a grounded, insightful philosophy of love and relationships being at the centre of community. Through connection with others love is felt and heartbreak can be healed. Michael’s candid and reflective views of what matters will resonate with listeners. He is humble yet exudes personal integrity. Further, his willingness to have honest conversations with himself is an inspiring example of how to love of ourselves. Then Michael explains how he pays love forward in the world one person at a time as he seeks to be present and of service. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelovetheorist.substack.com

At the time of writing his book in 2012, Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish, was a Palestinian physician who specialised in infertility issues caring for both his own people in Gaza and Israeli people. When Israeli soldiers killed his daughters and a niece, he chose not to hate but to dedicate his life to peace and justice. His story at the time was a powerful call for ceasing war and violence through love, forgiveness and justice. It remains relevant today. Abuelaish has been referred to as the Martin Luther King of the Middle East. Fourteen years after the loss of his family, he continues to work for peace through the Daughters for Life Foundation which provides scholarships and support to young women to gain an education. He believed peace will come when women and girls are listened to as they are the culture builders and want to raise their families in peace. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelovetheorist.substack.com

Johnathan Link is a descendant of the Kuku Yalinji Tribal clan group from the Daintree River region in far North Queensland. He also has connections to Marble Bar in WA through his grandfather and family ties in Minjerribah (Stradbroke Island). Johnathan grew up in Brisbane. He is a father and grandfather. Johnathan’s mental health career started in 2003 with the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Cairns and is currently working for Queensland Health on the Gold Coast with the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health Service. He explains why a yes outcome in the referendum is a moral baseline for First Nation People of Australia to know justice and self-determination. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelovetheorist.substack.com

Peter is a social worker and community development practitioner at Nambour Community Centre. Peter works directly with community members to facilitate connection, relationship and participatory action. He integrates his inclusive approach into his work with some of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable people in our communities, reflecting his belief that community-driven responses are crucial to a just society. Peter describes his practice as ‘based on the concepts of the love ethic and connectedness. Love is the underpinning value of how I try to be in the world – love defined not as emotion but as holding all beings in positive regard and actively working with people towards growth and well-being. Love sets a high bar for practice, one which I do not always attain. Also central to my practice is the realization that all beings are connected and that we thrive when we are in reciprocal relationships with each other. My practice is also informed by Critical Theory, care-based ethics, intersectionality, Anti-Oppressive Practice and Eco-Socialism.’ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelovetheorist.substack.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelovetheorist.substack.com

This is the first episode of my sub-series called Revolutionary Love Stories. I am interested to know what other people think about love and how it guides their work. I am joined in this episode by Wallea Eaglehawk who is the CEO of book publishing company Revolutionaries, author of Idol Limerence, and also is my daughter. We talk about all things love, revolution, and BTS. You can find out more about Wallea and her work by visiting her website www.walleaeaglehawk.xyz and reading BTS Not Guaranteed at www.walleaeaglehawk.substack.com. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelovetheorist.substack.com

This podcast gives an account of Dr Dyann Ross' experiences from a childhood of mining impacts on her family, other people, places, and Mother Nature. Filtered through her own connection with or disconnection from Mother Nature, sometimes referred to as the environment, this podcast details devastating, compounding losses and harms that extend far beyond human communities. You will hear the story of Mother Mango Tree as part of this personal yet very political account. The podcast is dedicated to Mother Mango Tree and all her relations, including us all. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelovetheorist.substack.com