ivanak

I completely agree with your first point. It's idealist and disregards people with mental illnesses or previous trauma. However it seems inaccurate to call the process passive. From my understanding Nonviolent communication just gives you a more effective way to communicate. You still express your authentic feelings and needs just without the use of shame, insults, passive aggression, or threats. Instead of using language that is intended to hurt the other person nonviolent communication gives you a better way to convey what you need or feel in the given situation. From what I've come to understand so far this statement is the opposite of what Nonviolent communication stands for. NVC only aims to provide a way to express feelings and needs without language that is meant to hurt the other person. You identify the feeling the you are experiencing in the moment without the aim of shaming the other person. Nothing about judging the emotion.

Thank you for sharing this! Not surprised Stefan has already covered this topic.

Just discovered the communication process called Nonviolent Communication developed by Marshall Rosenberg and I thought this community would be interested in it. Nonviolent Communication (NVC) includes a simple method for clear, empathic communication, consisting of four steps: Observations Feelings Needs Requests NVC aims to find a way for all present to get what really matters to them without the use of guilt, humiliation, shame, blame, coercion, or threats. It is useful for resolving conflicts, connecting with others, and living in a way that is conscious, present, and attuned to the genuine, living needs of yourself and others. A simple example of how to practice it : http://www.wikihow.com/Practice-Nonviolent-Communication Example of it in practice (I found this very helpful) :

Yeah, I already lost a “friend” because of my views in politics. It’s incredibly isolating to live in a state where seemingly everyone thinks the same. I do hope some of my friends wake up eventually but I’m not holding my breath. Hah. The friend I was talking about was trying to suggest that me being a vegetarian and also being pro gun rights was a contradiction. Of course these two things are different and there is such a thing as a need for self defense. As you may know, Chicago has some of the strictest gun laws in the country and the highest gun violence. You would think people here would learn that putting high restrictions on guns hasn’t given them the results they want right? Political views have become like religion for people. I really appreciate you showing interest. It was very recent and in many ways I am still dealing with the after affects of being around someone who was so emotionally unstable and verbally cruel. I am still trying to figure out how I allowed someone so toxic into my life. One theory is that I have never been close to someone abusive. So I was unaware of the subtle signs in the beginning. It was only after I let him into my heart that he became abusive. I can’t say for sure but he had many traits of someone with borderline personality disorder. So it started too fast and I ignored the initial red flags of his unexamined childhood trama. Needless to say I wont be making that mistake again. I’d be happy to continue talking though the direct message option but I’m not ready to connect of fb yet.

Oh you know the usual white people are bad, government is good, and we should get rid of the second amendment kind of leftists. I personally enjoy speaking with people who have different view points than mine but it seems I’m mostly just being met with shock and non argument dismissal. I assume these responses are meant to shame me into agreeing with them? My favorite was when I was discussing the importance of the 2nd amendment and I was met with “but you’re a vegetarian!”. Because obviously you wouldn’t own a gun for any other reason than to kill things and initiate force. By the way, what are the Gs?

That's horrible. I hope you were able to distance yourself from people like that. I recently escaped an emotionally abusive relationship. Before then I had never experienced any sort of abuse so I was able to see it as abnormal behavior and get out quickly. Next time I will be able to spot it earlier. Though they are not always easy for me, I strive to have deep and personal conversations as well. Thanks for the warm welcome! Thanks! Just hoping to find others who’ve escaped the matrix. No expectations beyond that!

Thanks Tyler!

Hello there, My name is Ivana. I began listening to Stefan almost a year ago and admittedly am only now beginning to speak freely about my political views to my primarily leftist friends. I’m a 25 year old female artist living in the city, so inevitably I am completely alone in my libertarian viewpoints. I’d like to meet more people who are able to have honest and logical conversations. Looking forward to contributing to the conversations in this community online. Cheers

Hey,
 I'd be more than happy to be apart of this. 
 It's surprisingly difficult to find free thinkers here..