Daryl Davis: What I'd say is a counter-intuitive and conscious life purpose

[Ulax]

I've watched videos about Daryl Davis over the past few years, and am consistently astonished and in awe of his approach to what I see to be the issue of US race relations.

 

Whilst I don't know how replicable his approach is, i.e. in terms of safety, I think Davis has got significant Yellow in him, and also some really healthy blue, i.e. integrity, respect. I would also like to understand other user's opinions on what they think Davis's spiral placement is.

Watching this again today, I found myself tearful, moved and inspired at various points of this video.

I also hope this video contributes to a sense of inspiration for those who watch it, re their own journeys.

[Yarco]

Another good figure in this space is Christian Picciolini. He's founded a couple of organizations like Life After Hate and the Free Radicals Project with the goals of deradicalizing far right extremists.

The good news is that safety is not really a concern any more, because you can volunteer to help deradicalize people online. Just talking in Discord groups and stuff can help to make a big difference.

Biggest thing to watch for, if you want to take this on as a life purpose, is that you aren't burning yourself out. "Fash Fatigue" is a common side-effect of engaging in these kinds of dialogues in an empathetic and understanding way.

Some people like Daryl Davis have the patience and a special skillset that allows them to deal with extremely triggering conversations in an understanding and compassionate way. Most people don't. Nazis will shit-test you constantly and either try to convert/gaslight you or just hurl abuse at you, or try to trigger you so much that you give up on them. Even the ones trying to reach out for help who are flirting with the idea of deradicalizing.

I know several people who tried to deradicalize and ended up getting radicalized themselves. It's like reaching in to save a drowning person, if you don't know what you're doing they'll probably drag you down too. If you want someone else to be open, the danger is you have to sincerely open yourself up too. I've been sucked back in myself several times. It's akin to signing yourself up to a suicide hotline with no training and listening to people talk about how they want to kill themselves for hours a day. It takes a huge toll on you, mentally and emotionally.

It's extremely draining and there's no short-term return. You won't have someone magically deradicalize after one conversation, it's a long and winding process of addressing every concern and argument they have. It takes weeks or months, and in many cases you'll never get to find out if your work actually made a difference or not.

Edited October 7, 2022 by Yarco

[Ulax]

On 08/10/2022 at 0:47 AM, Yarco said:

Another good figure in this space is Christian Picciolini. He's founded a couple of organizations like Life After Hate and the Free Radicals Project with the goals of deradicalizing far right extremists.

The good news is that safety is not really a concern any more, because you can volunteer to help deradicalize people online. Just talking in Discord groups and stuff can help to make a big difference.

Biggest thing to watch for, if you want to take this on as a life purpose, is that you aren't burning yourself out. "Fash Fatigue" is a common side-effect of engaging in these kinds of dialogues in an empathetic and understanding way.

Some people like Daryl Davis have the patience and a special skillset that allows them to deal with extremely triggering conversations in an understanding and compassionate way. Most people don't. Nazis will shit-test you constantly and either try to convert/gaslight you or just hurl abuse at you, or try to trigger you so much that you give up on them. Even the ones trying to reach out for help who are flirting with the idea of deradicalizing.

I know several people who tried to deradicalize and ended up getting radicalized themselves. It's like reaching in to save a drowning person, if you don't know what you're doing they'll probably drag you down too. If you want someone else to be open, the danger is you have to sincerely open yourself up too. I've been sucked back in myself several times. It's akin to signing yourself up to a suicide hotline with no training and listening to people talk about how they want to kill themselves for hours a day. It takes a huge toll on you, mentally and emotionally.

It's extremely draining and there's no short-term return. You won't have someone magically deradicalize after one conversation, it's a long and winding process of addressing every concern and argument they have. It takes weeks or months, and in many cases you'll never get to find out if your work actually made a difference or not.

@Yarco I like your perspectives here dude.

I hadn't thought of the idea of discord deradicalization in-depth. I like the sound of it. Tho even with discord I would be afraid of getting doxxed or something akin. I could see how even if you deradicalise a few people on amicable terms, I think the system's survival would be threatened, and so the system would react against you in some way.

I can imagine how someone could go from trying to deradicalise to actually themselves being radicalised. And I thought the analogy about saving a drowning person was spot on.

I think its important to get a level of emotional mastery before attempting to deradicalize folks. Plus also get a really strategic and expert level plan about how to deradicalize people. And also develop a competency in conflict resolution. I personally like the Non-violent communications approach currently. However, I think I'm just making an educated guess, and think I would really need to find an expert mentor to understand how to approach the topic. 

 

Edited October 13, 2022 by Ulax
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