A New Concept of Radicalism: "Grasping Things By the Root"

The reading "Finding the Face in Public Health Policy" interested me most this week. First of all, I was completely unfamiliar with the concept of needle exchange programs and am still unsure whether I support them or not. Also, Turner made the point that "public health policy is a failure for the disadvantaged because it does not consider their stories, their faces, and their realities. This is often because the 'reality' reflected in policy is crafted by a privileged few who never interact with those affected by the policies" (114). This seems to be a recurring theme in our class, that the disadvantaged don't have a voice and that the privileged neglect to realize the full impact of actions because the ideas and realities of the disadvantaged are not valued.

I really liked Angela Davis' definition of radical: "grasping things by the root" (115) and Turner later writes that " public should be rooted in the lives of those affected" (116). Davis' definition could be read as uprooting the status quo, profoundly changing the existing conditions, if the "root" was grasped and pulled. But Davis only writes "grasping" so her meaning is most likely closer to "getting to the root or source of who/what really matters." I agree with Davis' definition and believe that this is what radicalism is. Actually acknowledging, listening to, and then addressing the needs of those who are disadvantaged. So often radicalism has a negative connotation and is associated with anarchy and dissidence. However, radicalism can really mean changing the dominant way of thinking, unraveling hegemony, and getting to the source of the need, and through this path, reaching the source of a solution.