‘Life After Hate’ a powerful movement
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Editor,
Recently I was feeling very low. Hurricanes and politics were dragging me down. All of sudden I perked up, saw real hope, and it changed my day and still has me feeling more free and hopeful. Here’s what happened:
While surfing the channels, I hit on “Democracy Now” with Amy Goodman. She was interviewing a man telling a detailed and inspiring story. He is part of a movement called “Life After Hate.” This is a 501 (C) (3) U.S. nonprofit created in 2011. Members are all former white supremacists, racists, skin heads and purveyors of hate, bigotry, violence and all manner of far-right extremist activities.
This man’s story was compelling, true, powerful and filled with many other examples, besides his own, of personal awakenings and transformation. Their “Life After Hate” movement has designed an “exit program aimed at disillusioned white supremacist radicals in the U.S and is picking up steam.”
This program involves meaningful interactions which heal hate and misunderstandings. Their subjects are people with low self-esteem, self doubts, and very unstable lives. They listen with compassion and “look for the pot-holes that are pointed out and addressed.”
They say this: “Disenfranchised, lonely, self-loathing people join these extremist groups doing horrible things. There is something missing from their lives, something they did not get, whether it was as a child or maybe they were abused or maybe they came from a broken home. Something was missing. And even if they came from a relatively normal household, something still was missing.”
“Life After Hate” is a powerful movement, aimed at a particular group, helping to provide the “something that was missing,” and it is working.
Does this speak something to each of us about discovering our own “missing links?” Mine, last week, was allowing outer turmoil to turn on my inner turmoil. This is not wise nor necessary, for sure.
Bob McClellan
Polson
