Overcoming Hate through Dialogue

Book excerpt: A TED Talk speaker offers a blueprint for confronting racism, prejudice and hatred, a conflict resolution process that she calls “Dialogue Coffee.” Familiarity and dialogue are the antidote to intolerance and prejudice. Özlem’s method of having coffee with people who send her hate mail has been recognized around the world and inspires listening, understanding, and an end to blind hatred. When Özlem Cekic became the first Muslim MP in the Danish Parliament, her email inbox started flooding with hate mail and threats, and her first reaction was to delete and ignore each abusive message. But eventually, she decided to take a risk. She started replying to each message and inviting the senders to meet and engage in dialogue over coffee. What she discovered was that she could create change in the people who sent her hate mail, understand where their anger came from, and build friendships through finding common ground. Imagine a world where we can have a conversation with anyone. Overcoming Hate through Dialogue teaches you how to make that a reality: · Listen and focus on what you have in common instead of your differences · Praise your counterpart for having the courage to have this conversation · Recognize the other person’s emotions and feelings even if you don’t agree with them · Distance yourself from the other person’s attitude, but never the human and their humanity “This brilliant and well-researched book ought to be required reading for anyone interested in conflict resolution; it gives nuance to an otherwise stale-mated debate.” —Journalisten “As a bridge-builder, Cekic is refreshing; as a writer, she’s surprisingly brilliant.” —Politiken