A beautifully written, thoughtful and thought-provoking article, Sarah, addressing the personal and political challenges of accepting an award. I had similar doubts but have never been able to articulate them as fully or as clearly as this. It deserves wider circulation to people who may not see it on LinkedIn or Substack.
I had no soul-searching about mine I'm afraid - the working class boy 'look at me now' part easily dominated!
But I did have the same thought processes. I saw mine as a recognition of a tiny part I played in making mental health a part of 'the establishment' and that's a good thing.
It did make me feel connected to 'my country' at the time, but tbh that's gone again now. People who are satisfied with how the country is perhaps don't deserve honours. I love how you won't let the expectation that a CEO is 'politically neutral' to compromise your values in calling out racism, discrimination and persecution, and I find that inspiring - letting that stuff stand isn't impartiality. I'm so glad 'the establishment' didn't let it stop them giving you the honour.
After living with mine for a while, I still feel proud and privileged, and there's still some 'oooh, get me' from time to time. I felt uncomfortable one time when an American person of colour asked me what the acronym stood for. But ultimately I see mine as a mixture of 'quite silly really' and also 'actually, quite a big thing and not completely silly'. That probably does sum up how things like this are done in the UK, so maybe I'm still connected to the country a bit.
Very very many congratulations - you deserve this so much, it's important for mental health, and I love it when people I admire get recognised.
Sorry my post's as long as your blog.
Ryan Campbell (CBE, services to mental health, oooh, get me!)
A beautifully written, thoughtful and thought-provoking article, Sarah, addressing the personal and political challenges of accepting an award. I had similar doubts but have never been able to articulate them as fully or as clearly as this. It deserves wider circulation to people who may not see it on LinkedIn or Substack.
Congratulations, Sarah. What a fab article ♥️ It really is deserved.
You always share with such honesty and have so much life and professional experience to lead and inspire others.
As someone who’s also mixed race, it’s wonderful to have voices like yours speaking about it so openly & using the platforms available.
You’re an inspiration :)
I had no soul-searching about mine I'm afraid - the working class boy 'look at me now' part easily dominated!
But I did have the same thought processes. I saw mine as a recognition of a tiny part I played in making mental health a part of 'the establishment' and that's a good thing.
It did make me feel connected to 'my country' at the time, but tbh that's gone again now. People who are satisfied with how the country is perhaps don't deserve honours. I love how you won't let the expectation that a CEO is 'politically neutral' to compromise your values in calling out racism, discrimination and persecution, and I find that inspiring - letting that stuff stand isn't impartiality. I'm so glad 'the establishment' didn't let it stop them giving you the honour.
After living with mine for a while, I still feel proud and privileged, and there's still some 'oooh, get me' from time to time. I felt uncomfortable one time when an American person of colour asked me what the acronym stood for. But ultimately I see mine as a mixture of 'quite silly really' and also 'actually, quite a big thing and not completely silly'. That probably does sum up how things like this are done in the UK, so maybe I'm still connected to the country a bit.
Very very many congratulations - you deserve this so much, it's important for mental health, and I love it when people I admire get recognised.
Sorry my post's as long as your blog.
Ryan Campbell (CBE, services to mental health, oooh, get me!)
What a lovely piece! Insider radicalism for the win sister ✊❤️