optimister

I feel saddened by my experiences often...

I've come to believe that all recovery begins right here, with honesty about our own sadness. Too often we are told that our sadness is a weakness, and that it is the problem to be avoided. But the ability to give expression to our sadness properly, as you have done here, is the very pinnacle of human character. Thank you for your inspiration. People like you make the world a beautiful place.

Listening and mirroring seems like a great start, but do you also find that to make a lasting difference, you need a way to challenge deeply held beliefs, e.g., about what it means to be a parent/child/person? Do you think it possible to do this? Thanks for doing this interesting AMA.

In your view, what is the greatest barrier that prevents people from seeing past their cultural prejudices?

I am starting a video project with the intent of capturing stories that run counter to the narratives of hate, and I want to be sure that I am prepared for resistance when I face it.

Most people do not think they're prejudiced or think that it's somehow justified!

I guess that's the big challenge. The problem with prejudice is that we are prejudiced about our own prejudice. It's prejudice "all the way down" as Bertrand Russell put it.

better done by in-group members because they have credibility.

This is a very helpful insight, thank you. It suggests to me that I should be very patient in my efforts and not expect fast results.

Isn't it very difficult to establish this kind of trust with someone online? The appearance of character and sincerity is fairly easy to manufacture over social media, and this fact has been used to the advantage of many extremists. To truly reach people, don't we need some kind of physical presence e.g., to convey voice tone, and/or eye contact?