Trends that Persist

Folks that know my work are aware of the many presentations I get invited to conduct. I have been doing these keynotes or workshops since the early 1980’s and over the years have developed a listing of various topics of expertise. In fact, I have a listing available on my website (www.alcondeluci.com) that is available to conference planners or organizations looking for training.

One topic on this list is titled, “Beyond Difference,” and is based off my 1996 book of that same title. At that time I wanted to do an inward look at the key elements that can get us beyond seeing a persons’s disability and look to find similarities that might help people build more balanced relationships. From the 8 books i have written over the years, “Beyond Difference,” remains my favorite.

Recently I had a call from a group that saw my talk, Beyond Difference, on my website and asked if I can do a training for them on that topic. I agreed and decided to re-read my book so that I could update the training to be relevant to 2020. I was concerned that over the past 24 years since its publication in 1996 there would be some stale areas.

Much to my surprise however, I found the book to be hauntingly relevant to our world today a quarter of a century later. Let me share a short passages verbatim from the book and as you read these, remember that I did the core writing for this book in 1994 and 95!

“It’s interesting to consider kindness in today’s world. In some instances, we are witnessing strong messages of exclusion, hate, and dispassion. In the name of a better world, some people are arguing that certain groups are not welcomed into the agenda. In fact, the resurgence of hate and violence to people who have certain types of difference, is rising today at an alarming rate. As I write these words, neo-nazis in Germany are terrorizing foreigners and religious minorities. These hoodlums, dubbed “skin-heads” are waving swastikas and singing chants in praise of Adolf Hitler.

Closer to home, in America, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (1993) reported some alarming figures. The White Aryan Resistance, or WAR, estimates that there are some 3,500 neo-Nazis in Southern California alone. Further, the Ku Klux Klan reports some 6,000 members, many living in the northeast and Midwest. Add on to this the 1,000 more hard-lined racists associated with the Aryan Nations and the numbers of those who are intolerant become very alarming. The Post-Gazette article suggested there are some 150,000 active hate mongers, spread over some 346 separate organizations, each with their own structure, by-laws and leadership.”

Sadly hate has been part of the human story and still with us today. In a way, my book “Beyond Difference” is as relevant today as it was when I wrote it in 1996. Maybe that is why I am still getting requests to talk about the concepts - they still apply in trying to build a more inclusive community.