This video is worth a watch. It's a brief TED talk given by Megan Phelps-Roper who left the notorious Westboro Baptists. Having been raised from birth to parrot, believe and live by a particular worldview, it's pretty incredible that she was able to have a change of mind as a result of certain virtual relationships and dialogues. Even though this meant that she was excommunicated by her own family. I've been hearing about similar stories lately (Here's a story of a White Supremacist that had a dramatic change of mind and heart as a result of his encounters in college). In some ways it's a bit encouraging that people can change despite having very deeply held views and despite belonging to extremely isolationist groups.
Roper's talk was also a good reminder for me to continue working on my approach in dialogues--to shed more light and generate less heat. I also like what she says at the end about how we tend to think our own positions are self-evident or obvious and not in need of explanation.
Roper's talk was also a good reminder for me to continue working on my approach in dialogues--to shed more light and generate less heat. I also like what she says at the end about how we tend to think our own positions are self-evident or obvious and not in need of explanation.
