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Andrea Morisette Grazzini

Consultant, WetheP, Inc.

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Have you taken the "other" to lunch, yet?

I'm interested (perhaps Elizabeth Lesser is as well) in seeing her ideas in action. Specifically -- who has tried taking their political "other" to lunch? How were you (and others) transformed? This presumes you were! Which is both my experience with doing so and hope. I'd like to to hear more proof from other bipartisan-adventure believers.

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Topics: Civic Engagement Civil discourse human cooperation human nature local politics politics social change
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  • Bertil Hatt

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    Mar 13 2011: Yes, feminists, parents with alternative views on educations, extreme-right and extreme left, religious extremists including some who have had violent actions—since I'm 15.

    I've learned every time, every day, with one notable exception: most feminists, and all regular readers of Vogue-type magazines. Minutes in the conversation, they would deny the sky is blue if I had said so. The detail of those conversation was hurtful to me, and still haunts me, but the most striking was how fast I would be judged and cast away. It costed me several relations, job opportunities.

    By contrast, people who would kill for (race) purity tend to be respectful of my choice to be a mongrel. They would feel queasy about the idea, but have been confronted to enough contradiction to accept it for what it is. I cannot say that feminists are used to admit “I understand that we disagree, and I might be wrong. What are your points?”
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    Aldous Blair

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    Mar 12 2011: Laurens, I may be your opposite there. I'm an outspoken egalitarian, I only view communitarians with some sympathy, and I clearly need to take a libertarian out to lunch... any outspoken and dedicated libertarians in Vancouver?
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      Laurens Rademakers 50+

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      Mar 12 2011: Why would you be my opposite? I too am an outspoken egalitarian who only views communitarians with some sympathy who clearly needs to take a libertarian out to lunch... if you wish me to be so. :-)

      One day I'm this, another thay I'm that. I guess like most of us. I'm sure that even a staunch marxist may be a capitalist at times - for example, when he's trying to buy the best pair of socks. Nobody is the same all the time.
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    Laurens Rademakers 50+

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    Mar 10 2011: .
    Hear, it's crisis. I'm sorry, lunch has become too expensive nowadays.

    I will only take a marxist to lunch, provided he gives me food stamps. :-)

    But seriously, I'm too fuzzy to have enemies. I take coffee from everyone in the policital spectrum. Perhaps TED should invite a psychologist to give a lecture about fuzzy people, who have no clear political view, and hence, almost never have enemies.
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