Quoth Riccards

Pat Riccards wrote some words. We will be discussing tomorrow.

www.thedailyformer.com

Like what you're hearing? Donate here  

Transcript

Pat 1:24

There is no question that the countering violent extremism, or CVE space, is big on labels. We identify those who are active in the movement as violent extremists or violent white supremacists. Those who are trying to leave the movement are labeled as exiting individuals, and those who have successfully exited are called formers. Former is currently a prevalent title at Life After Hate. Those who finished our tertiary prevention program, Exit USA, wear the label after successful completion. We use the word as part of the title of our popular and influential podcast, The Daily Former, and it's part of our No Formers Left Behind work, the support we offer to those who have successfully exited from lives of violent extremism. While the CVE space is relatively new in the United States, a few decades old at best, Transgressions. As a nip and tuck comedian, I thought I would be able to give you an idea of just how different my career is and what I've experienced. It's called Trans group. I've been in the business for a long time and it's been a long time. So I know a ton of stuff. Now the reason why I'm here is because of the work that I do. While those who wear it realize it is a designation they will hold for the rest of their adult lives, it soon becomes a piece of their past, not a component of their present or future selves. For many of Life After Hate's staff and clients, being a former extremist is not a part of their positionality. It may have driven them to professions, the relationships, and the lives they have today, but it doesn't define them. If we know anything about the CVE space, it's that words matter. Our work is focused on helping individuals disengage from violent extremist groups in online hate spaces, aiding them as they reintegrate into civil society in positive and productive ways. In recent years, Life After Hate has chosen to dramatically reduce its use of the word deradicalization. Knowing that none of us are in a position to tell others what the proper way of thinking or the appropriate things to believe are. We all have a right to free speech and to believe what we believe. Ideology, no matter how repugnant, is a personal choice. But no one has the right to let their ideology physically manifest itself into violence or harm against others. We came to this decision realizing that many individuals are unsure about disengaging from violent extremism because they fear it requires replacing a right wing ideology with a left wing one. They believe violence intervention organizations seek to deprogram them, instilling beliefs they believe to be anti religion or pro socialism or some other extreme. At Life After Hate, we do no such thing. Quite the opposite, we respect the personal beliefs one may hold, while offering choices that turn away, often for good, from paths of violence, harm, destruction, and even death. Such an approach is the only way to help bring a safer society, a community based on respect and compassion with accountability. This is why it's so vital that we're deliberate with our words and our labels. One can hold a conservative ideology and still disengage from violent extremism. One can successfully exit a violent hate group and be a productive member of society without having to wear a scarlet F on their chest for the rest of eternity. None of us wish to be judged by our worst moments. Yet we ask those who have successfully exited lives of violent hate to do just that. We expect them to wear the former brand to acknowledge when they've come from so that others can judge them for their past. We use it more prominently than society at large does with those who have been convicted of crimes, violent or otherwise. We seek those to wear the label F in public, to tell us their stories whenever we ask for them, and to seek civil society's forgiveness until they've walked their last steps. Former becomes their new first name, a label we expect to see in their obituaries when they pass decades after their involvement in the movement. F, the F label. Yes, it's an essential term to understand as they grapple with the next stages in their lives. It's a condition that one often needs to work through with social workers, mental health professionals, law enforcement, and parole officers. It's an essential stage for taking accountability for one's past acts, but it's also a label that should be written in pencil, erased when necessary, not in permanent ink. It's time for the CVE community to recognize that one need not be a former for the rest of their lives. After successful disengagement and reintegration, a former's positionality should change. Change reflects growth and evolution. They should see themselves as college graduates, working professionals, spouses and partners, parents, community leaders, and positive human beings. They should see themselves as what they're becoming, not what they once were. The process a former extremist takes is not linear. From active to exiting to former is different for everyone. It requires commitment, hard work, sacrifice, and exploration. Those who successfully exit lives of violent extremism are some of the strongest individuals out there, confronting demons and making amends in ways most of us can never conceive of. They deserve better than being expected to bear a lifetime label in memory of the worst period of their lives. A former is a person in transition, so too is the term. If we must continue ascribing a label to these individuals, we propose using the term nevermore. That is what life after Hate is now committed to doing. From violent extremists to exiting individuals, from exiting individuals to formers, and then from formers to never mores. That should be the continuum of the CVE space, and that should be how we show the proper respect. To those who have taken accountability for their pasts, who have disengaged from hate with no promise that society would welcome them back, and who show that they are worthy of our compassion and our support each and every day.