Page 304 - Mike Ratner CC - WISR Complete Dissertation - v6

the first time I had met you and the first time I had met the gentleman, but everybody else I had

met at least once before.” (P15FW)

“I liked that we all sat in a circle and so we were looking at each other.” (P06FAA)

Another element of feeling connected resulted from personal stories shared by the

attendees during the dialogue. The stories from the research perspective were moving to attendees

and conveyed a sense of unresolved pain that at times was expressed as anger or resentment.

By gathering in-person we have a perfect lab experience of defined deliberative dialogue

participants in a Community Conversation series where all had an opportunity to see, hear, and

feel the human dimension and emotions as members of the group shared their personal encounters

stemming from the initial topic introduction and attributed to the racial history of the community.

This is important to note because the Metasphere felt very grounded and safe to share one’s

stories, so respondents reflected their feelings about the experience of face-to-face engaging as

follows:

“[Although] people were sharing things that were uncomfortable, it felt appropriate, it felt

intimate, it felt good. It felt like you were with a group of friends, it was good.” (P04FW)

“I saw a sad look on the white gentleman’s face when I said what I said.” (P10MTRM)

“I just saw looks on people’s faces. You know like “here he goes” that kind of look. But

they also recognized where he was coming from and where he couldn’t go.” (P03FTRM)

“I think that the compassion that everyone had in hearing other’s individual stories and

listening to the shared experience was wonderful. There was a room full of people who

wanted to learn, cared about your story, and how it affected you. I felt, there was a great

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