I’d love to hear a discussion on what to do when someone in a dialogue sounds arrogant, It seems to me that arrogance is one big stumbling block to genuine dialogue. I have heard older people dismiss the views of younger people, through little "knowing" paternalistic smiles, or comments "when you’ve lived as long as I have," etc. And I have also heard younger people dismiss the ideas of older people – we "don’t get it," etc.
Sometimes the arrogance comes across through the person "holding forth" on a particular issue. Sometimes it comes in the form of helpfulness, but in a know it all or condescending tone that implies the speaker has everything to offer us but nothing to learn from us. Sometimes the speaker sounds as if he or she has the high moral ground on a particular issue – and is the only one who does.
So I am curious about three things. 1) How do you handle your own negative reactions when you are talking with a person who appears arrogant? 2) What are some positive and useful ways to respond to people when their arrogance is impeding genuine dialogue? and 3) What are some ways of discovering if there are shades of arrogance in our own attitudes?
Thanks for your thoughts – I look forward to this discussion.
Madeleine van Hecke, author of "Blind Spots" has offered to spark a discussion on arrogance in the intergenerational conversation. Once she joins our group we’ll be ready to go. In the meantime, stay tuned for comments posted here if you are interested in this topic.
Here’s something Najeeba from the Western Justice Center just sent to the NCDD discussion list. Thought it’s be of interest to people in this group:
Youth Service America ( http://www.ysa.org/ ) and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention ( http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/ ) in the U.S. Department of Justice are offering grants of $2,000 each to help organizations that have had a successful youth engagement experience replicate their practices in organizations in a broader network or coalition without a youth strategy. Successful applicants will involve youth in addressing the world’s most pressing social issues, such as climate change, hunger, disease, nutrition, literacy, disaster relief, poverty, and more.
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