A question that I have about Alcoff’s claims would be: Does she consider the good that does arise from people speaking on behalf of others?  She seems to have a strong distaste, or pure hatred, towards people that speak for others but is it all bad?  I don’t think so.  Ask the people who have been helped by others and perhaps you will see that it is not all that bad.  I also had a question about “location” and how it plays a role in how people view someone?  I got a little confused when she tried to explain the importance of location.

     I think that the article intexturalizes quite well with our class.  Since we are offering a service to those who are less fortunate than us, then I see how some of Alcoff’s fears would come into play.  When we think of and define the word “service,”  we have made many observations about how it can be seen as a superior-subordinate relationship.  And, as Alcoff points out, “the practice of privileged persons speaking for or on behalf of less privileged persons has actually resulted (in many cases) in increasing or reenforcing the oppression of the group spoken for.”  So, this article relates to our work at the Boys and Girls Club because we have to make sure that we aren’t oppressing others.  Or maybe not oppression, but that we are actually helping and doing good and not hindering this group.

     This article was useful to me because I have not really ever thought of the differences between “speaking for” and “speaking about” a group of people.  I think that as we create our public service announcements or whatever for the Boys and Girls Club, we have to make sure that we not getting lost in the ambiguity of those two phrases.  It just raises the point that we have to be doing this service learning to truly help someone and not because we feel like we should or want the power.