The secret to ending hate once and for all

By Sarah

In light of recent news, it feels appropriate to talk about the benefits of community this month. Not because we want to turn tragedy into a slick marketing message, but because we believe that communities like ours can end hate.

We’re now a couple of years into Groundwork!, and we can clearly see why community matters. Here’s why: our members are not all created equal. We represent different industries, different backgrounds, and different beliefs. We have Sanders supporters and Trump supporters at the same table– passionate socialists and passionate conservatives dueling it out over ping pong.

Because we work together, we also care about each other.

It happens naturally. We get to share each other’s dreams, shitty days, failures, and successes. As an old Zen saying goes:

We polish one another like pebbles in a bag.

We’re all guilty of the “right and wrong” game. Whether your “wrong” is a gay nightclub or the NRA, chances are that you demonize someone or something outside of your comfort zone when tragedy strikes.

All it takes are simple little connections to poke holes in the demon: repeated, face-to-face interaction.

So we urge you to get out of your comfort zone: talk to people and engage with your community this month. It may seem like a small response to some nasty, complicated problems. And yes, it will take infinite small responses to end hate. Let’s start now.

With love,

Sarah & Dena

* This letter was originally published in our newsletter as a response to the shooting in Orlando, Florida on June 12, 2016.

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Sarah

Co-founder at Groundwork!

Sarah lived all over South America, produced a documentary about Patagonia, and worked in digital marketing for a decade before settling in New Bedford to start Groundwork. She loves running a coworking space because she gets to meet motivated, intelligent, and interesting people.

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