Running Head: MY VALUES AND CONFLICTS

My Values and Conflicts

Social Work 3010
November 14th, 2013
Samantha Pedri

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My Values and Conflicts
Looking at how a person acts definitely has a lot to do with what they believe in, their
values, and how they were raised. The values each person holds are very important in how they
are with other people with simple conversations, conflict, or resolution. As a social worker my
values and beliefs will play a large role with how I interact with clients, mostly in a positive way.
Some of the values that I hold close to me would include not judging anyone. I would
never judge based on ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, etc. People should not be held
accountable or discriminated against for something that they cannot help. This is something I
stress on my family and my friends, they cannot be judgmental. Family also comes first. My
family raised me to be the person I am today, to better others. It takes a lot to put something
before my family. What may be important to me may not be important to someone else, and I
am very aware of that. I am Catholic and religion has been a part of my life, but I do not stress
this on others, it is a personal matter to me. I also am a firm believer in giving others the benefit
of the doubt. There are three stories: his story, her story, and the truth that lies between. Not
jumping to conclusions is the best way to handle an issue; therefore it may present more to you
about the person.
These are the values that will help me the most as a social worker. Not holding any
judgment, giving the benefit of the doubt to those I question, I keep religious beliefs to myself,
and understanding what is important to may not be a priority to someone else and I understand
that. As a social worker, I do not know the cliental that I will be working with. It could be
someone of a different ethnicity or sexual orientation, they could be a different religion, or look
like the bad guy, and I will be able to deal with these situations very easily.

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In high school after every third hour the special needs class sold puppy chow. They had a
table by the office you would purchase it from. I bought it every day from the same boy, Ray, he
was a probably the sweetest boy I had ever talked to. He was shy, nice, polite, and very smart. He
was autistic and had some other physical handicap. One day a immature student behind me
laughed at him for complimenting me and said, Shut up, you retarded N*****. I do not like the
N, word. I will not say it, nor tolerate hearing it. I also did not like the fact he used the term
retarded to a boy who had autism and was physically handicap. That was probably the first time I
ever got in trouble in high school. Ray was so embarrassed and you could see the hurt on his
facial expression. I turned around and let the rude boy know how embarrassed I was to be in his
presence and how embarrassed he should be of himself, plus a few other words I should regret.
The next day I saw Ray, he had a card he made in school that day. What he wrote on the
inside forever changed my life. He told me the reason he keeps going is because of beautiful
people like me, and not because of my looks, because of my heart, and there was a great purpose
for me. He thanked me for standing up for him and said it was so brave of me to stand up for
someone like him. He said that white girls do not usually talk to him and most people make fun
of him because he is different, but I was special. This moment reminds me everyone has a story,
has a reason, and has a heart. He was scared because of his color and his disabilities. I never have
judged anyone, but this reminded me why I did not, and will not.
Section 4.02 of the NASW Code of Ethics specifically is for discrimination. It talks about
how it simply is not tolerated, Social workers should not practice, condone, facilitate, or
collaborate with any form of discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, color,
sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, political belief,
religion, immigration status, or mental or physical disability (NASW Code of Ethics, 2008).

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This is probably the easiest thing to follow, and yet so many people cannot handle this. This
simply says you cannot discriminate against the following. You cannot make jokes towards them,
tell them they are not good enough, they are wrong, they have wrong beliefs. It is as simple as
you cannot do any of these things. In my situation, the kid was being made fun of for mental or
physical disability and race or ethnicity. We will see people who are racist or do not understand
why it is wrong to make fun of people, or we will see the people who are discriminated against
or made fun of. It is very important that we are not those people adding to the fire, being
discriminative, or telling someone it is okay to be prejudice. We are the ones who right for
equality and the fair treatment of all humans.
There is not a specific race or group that I would not be able to work with. I could work
with all of the above including political belief and religion although I may find some obstacles
with these. I do not like talking politics with people because I hate confrontation. Not everyone
has the same views and sometimes people are way too pushy to see where you stand and this
may be uncomfortable, but I would be able to handle it. Religion is also very sensitive to people.
I would be okay but again, possibly uncomfortable with some things. If I had to deal with people
who were part of the Westboro Baptist church I would refuse. They are one group of people I
would have to deny.
I believe that beliefs that are positive are good to advocate for as long as you are not
putting anyone down, but negative beliefs are things that need to be kept to yourself, although we
do have freedom of speech. There is something about the Westboro Baptist Church group that is
absurd, and they take speech to a whole new level. These people are going around the country
picketing against homosexuality announcing that America is doomed and we are all sinners.
These people take advocating to a whole new level. They go to events such as soldiers funerals

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protesting, walking on American flags on dirty ground. People like this I find very hard to give
the benefit of the doubt. The honestly make me sad and disgusted that there are people like them
that are proud of what they do and say to others.
I have learned that our soldiers go out and fight for our rights, every day. They fight for
our freedom, and that includes our freedom of speech. This Westboro Baptist church goes to their
funerals protesting them thinking its okay because they have freedom of speech. If we did not
have soldiers fighting for us, they would not be able to have that freedom. I have also been
taught to be respectful. I would never interrupt a family in their time of loss. According to
section 2.01 Respect part B it is important that social workers should avoid unwarranted negative
criticism (NASW Code of Ethics, 2008). These groups of people, such as the Westboro Baptists,
get a lot of negative feedback and they surely dont care. I would have much difficulty
understanding why they do the things they do and say the things they say because they are
horribly rude, mean, and mostly unnecessary.
Religion is not even the issue with this group of people. It is more than that. They do not
have to like homosexuality, a lot of people do not agree with it. They do not have to share the
same beliefs that I do or others do. It is the simple fact that they are broadcasting it, being
publically absurd. They obviously were not taught, If you do not have anything nice to say, do
not say it at all. They are also going to private funerals and ruining it for families. They are just
obnoxious about their beliefs. I do not agree with them because they are hurtful, ignorant, and I
feel as if they are also undereducated.
I honestly do not think I would be able to help someone that is a part of this group. If I
had to, and the group is a reason for them seeing me, I would try to figure out why they thought

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that way to see where they came from. There is not changing someones thoughts but to better
understand why they are the way they are and why they believe those things. If they take my
advice or time in a positive way and learn something from me, great, but that would be very
unlikely. It would just be very difficult to get past what they do; I do not stand for what they do
so it would be very hard for me to be civil and not want to argue it.
Two codes from the code of ethics that I would have to remember when working with a
client from this group would be 2.01 and 4.02. These both entail respect and discrimination. I
need to respect and treat other fairly, and avoid unwarranted negative criticism. I also cannot
discriminate against political belief or religious belief. They are allowed to have their own
opinions, unfortunately even if they are absurd. Also, I need to make sure that I am staying
professional and not letting other outside beliefs affect my work, which relates to codes 5.01 and
1.06, integrity of the profession and conflict of interest. With these, it will remind me what the
major issue is that I need to focus on, rather than their beliefs and my disapproval.
If my agency allowed me to refer them to someone else, I would respectful address it as
an issue of mine, making sure that they are not the problem or feel that they are the problem.
With a client that is part of a group such as the Westboro Baptists or something similar, I would
just let them know our beliefs are not the same and I feel as though it will potentially be
conflicting with my help given or future problem solving. Their help and how they feel with me
as a social worker is what the best interest is, and I want to make sure they are being helped to
the best of anyones ability. I would also like to make sure they are also as comfortable as
possible, and I may not be the best person to work with in a situation like this.

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This still makes me my decision to come into the social work field a good one, and
something I still look forward to. I know the field I got into, and I should be well prepared for
things like this when I get a career. There are few people that I would find almost unbearable to
work with, but you have to do what you have to do, and it will make me proud of myself if I am
able to do so and get past it. The code of ethics is very self explanatory and should be very easy
to follow going into the field. These are things that we should all be morally aware of.
Overall, this assignment is eye opening to see how much I could not want to work with
someone, and come to realization that I may not have a choice and how will I be able to deal
with it. I have better understanding of how I will react and what my options are. My values and
beliefs unfortunately are not the same as everyone elses, but we would not be the world we are
if it were that way. I am better prepared to face this situation in the future.

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References:
"Code of Ethics (English and Spanish)." Code of Ethics (English and Spanish). N.p.,
n.d. Web. 11 Nov.

2013. <http://www.socialworkers.org/pubs/code/code.asp>.