Beyond Political Echo Chambers – Webinar with John Stonecypher this Thursday at 12:00 CT

Last updated on: December 6, 2016 at 4:00 pm by Adam Ericksen

Beyond Political Echo Chambers – Webinar with John Stonecypher this Thursday at 12:00 CT 2016-12-06T16:00:22-05:00 Adam Ericksen

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(This Thursday I’ll be conducting a live webinar with John Stonecypher about politics, social media, and listening. John is an influential writer, creative Facebook user, and frequent speaker at conferences. You can join us live at 12:00 Central with comments and questions. Check the Teaching Nonviolent Atonement website the following day for a recording.)

When it comes to politics, I live in an echo chamber. Facebook, Twitter, the media, my social groups: they are all telling me one thing – Fear President Elect Trump.

I do think there are legitimate fears. But those fears often portray Trump supporters as evil racist bigots. The problem is that my Dad “held his nose” as he voted for Trump. He’s not an “evil racist bigot.” I love my Dad, but to tell you the truth, I haven’t had the courage to ask him why he voted for Trump. Maybe it’s too painful to ask him. Or, maybe I don’t want my assumptions and caricatures of Trump supporters to be challenged…

That’s why I’m hosting a live webinar with John Stonecypher this Thursday at 12:00 Central. You can join me with comments and questions as I talk with John about his use of Facebook to create a safe place for political discussion.

For example, on November 9th, the day after the election, John asked this question, “If last night surprised you, it’s because you were hit by something you didn’t see coming. What was your blind spot?” He followed that with other questions like:

Dear Trump friends, can you help me understand? Can you help me see the good direction forward you have in mind for our country in the next few years? I promise to listen and not shoot you down. If anyone leaves a comment that feels even a little like they’re attacking you, I will delete it. I really need to hear what you have to say. #helpmeunderstand

People on all sides of the political spectrum responded with passion. When I disagreed with a comment, I found myself getting defensive. I began thinking of an attack, but then I read one of John’s responses to a comment,

I know this is hard. In my experience, it’s productive for the different “sides” to be able to share their desires and fears and learn to empathize with one another. Because I think it’s at that emotional level where the conflict mostly resides.

In mimetic theory, we talk a lot about models. Models are people that we follow. But what makes mimetic theory so powerful is the claim that we all have models that we follow, but we don’t always realize that we are following them. As I read John’s Facebook page and his desire to listen and empathize with others, I began to realize that the world, and definitely Facebook, would be a much better place if more people followed John’s example.

If you’d like to join the discussion, please click this link to AnyMeeting at 12:00 Central this Thursday to join.

Image: Copyright: piksel / 123RF Stock Photo

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