RTA – Confronting Hatred With Sammy Rangel of Life After Hate

“Hatred is also a form of suffering expressed.” — Sammy Rangel Today I interviewed Sammy Rangel from Life After Hate. This is part two of that discussion. Sammy Rangel is an author, social worker, peace activist, speaker, trainer and father. His autobiography, “Fourbears: The Myths of Forgiveness,” chronicles his life from the physical and sexual abuse he endured as a child to his path of self-destruction that culminated in a 15 1/2-year prison sentence. In 2012, Sammy founded Formers Anonymous, a national self-help group based on the 12-step model for people addicted to street life and violence. In May 2015, he participated in the TEDxDanubia Conference: Balance On the Edge held in Budapest, where he spoke about the power of forgiveness. In 2017, he was honored in a special tribute to Everyday Heroes in the Global Campaign Against Violent Extremism. Sammy holds a Master of Social Work from Loyola University-Chicago. He previously served as a program director for a youth outreach program in his hometown of Racine for 16 years. He is also a second-degree black belt, practices mixed martial arts, and is a singer on a Native American drum. He is the co-founder and Executive Director of the organization Life After Hate which is committed to helping people leave the violent far-right to connect with humanity and lead compassionate lives. To catch up with our guest: www.lifeafterhate.org www.instagram.com/lifeafterhate www.twitter.com/lifeafterhate www.facebook.com/lifeafterhate In this episode we speak about: Sammy’s journey from being a runaway to being a throwaway … then onto becoming a speaker, author, and executive director of the nonprofit Life After Hate. That there’s hope for people … even if they don’t want to be rehabilitated themselves. How hatred is suffering expressed and that moments of empathy can dissolve hatred We are in the micro level a reflection of the larger issues around us. There’s a difference between calling people out and calling people in. [EP109]