Does Social Work Embrace Social Justice or Encourage Injustice?

As a newcomer to blogging it feels a little strange to be putting my thoughts out into the atmosphere for all to see, but here goes.  Just finished my first reading assignment for Social Justice class and first let me say this, "Bravo Pelton!  I've often wondered how justice is shown as a collective and not an individual end.  I really want to expound on so much but I will address how social work has become associated with injustice.  As a helping profession, I wonder who we are really helping when we serve our clients in this cookie cutter fashion we've grown accustomed to instead of as individuals with different needs and circumstances?  Have we become so hardened and untouched by humanity that we forgot our pledge to treat our clients with the dignity and respect they deserve?  I certainly hope not.  I hope that the new generation of social workers that are being educated today will be true to our mission and strive to benefit each client even in the unjust sytem that many social policies are based upon. While Scanlon and Longres both agreed and disagreed with Pelton, both see Pelton as raising some important questions that must be answered both as a society and as an individual, especially as a social worker.  The heated remarks from Dr. Holody to Scanlon and Longres only suggests that we have a long way to go.

I will close with this from John Solas, "It is important not only for social work to be clear about the type of social justice that it currently advocates, but also to ensure that it is one that the profession seeks to defend and maximize.  If not, what is social work fighting for?