Help! I need a couple of good stories

douglas germann 76066.515 at compuserve.com
Thu Dec 6 19:38:02 PST 2007


Michael--

This is close, not exactly your situation, but it might have some
parallels.

A year ago or so we had an open space meeting regarding how we in the
interior of our country wanted to deal with immigration. It was and
still is a topic around which there is a great deal of emotional energy,
and people all over the country (and world) get into fisticuffs over it.

One person, an experienced facilitator, even called me to warn that it
was likely to degenerate into yelling if not fights.

As you might expect, many of the people who came were immigrants
themselves, or of cultural backgrounds similar to immigrants in our
community.

And another too--he was a member of the local Ku Klux Klan, an
organization known for intolerance for racial differences and of great
fame for their cross burnings.

In the opening circle, the Reverend (our KKK friend said he was ordained
as a minister) made a speech and was ready to make more. When we broke
up into groups, he found himself without a soapbox, and actually
controlled by a small group of about 6 people who wanted to have a real
conversation.

He left early and did not come back the next day.

The people who come usually do not want a fight, but if the inviting
question is well-chosen (see? your hosts have a responsibility, too),
they will be there to work. In short, the right people are the ones who
show up.

			:- Doug.

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