Image - Kazu Haga against a brick wall

San Francisco

Constructive Conflict: Learn to Disagree Without Being Disagreeable

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Why can’t we all just get along? In our personal lives and in the public sphere, the art of disagreeing without being disagreeable seems to have been lost.

If you find you're having unpleasant battles that create too much heat and too little light, or you're avoiding fraught discussions entirely, then come to this experiential event to learn the skill of nonviolent conflict management from Kazu Haga, the author of the acclaimed book Healing Resistance: A Radically Different Response to Harm. Find out how to deal with conflict in a way that repairs and deepens relationships instead of breeding resentment and anger.

Kazu Haga is one of the most experienced trainers of Kingian nonviolence, which is derived from the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He has more than 20 years experience training people to use nonviolence interpersonally and in civil resistance movements. He'll show us the framework and outline the specific steps for defusing an argument in ways that we can put to immediate use in our personal lives. We won't become experts overnight, but we'll practice some steps and come away with a solid start and a clear path to better relationships in the future.

There will also be a post-event reception with wine and cheese, which will be a good opportunity to meet Kazu and others interested in nonviolence in both our personal and political lives.

Although this program will be available on live stream video, come to the Club for the full experience that includes some experiential exercises, meet Kazu and your peers, and maybe even have dinner afterward at a nearby restaurant! (We recommend, but do not require, that you be boosted and masked to enter the Club, even though the Club has an ultramodern ventilation system.)

MLF Organizer
Eric Siegel
Notes

This program has 2 types of tickets available: In-person and online-only. Please pre-register to receive a link to the live-stream event.

Safety Protocols for in-person attendance:

  • We follow best practices laid out by the CDC and state and local guidelines.
  • We strongly recommend vaccination for guests, staff, and volunteers.
  • Masks are strongly encouraged while indoors (if you do not have one and would like one, inquire at our front desk for a complimentary mask).
  • We reserve the right to require different rules for specific events as necessary.

Our LEED Gold-certified building is designed to cool with outside air, using digitally controlled moveable windows and large ceiling fans. We are deploying additional HEPA filters inside to scrub the air. This is all in addition to increased cleaning of surfaces throughout the building.

We welcome donations made during registration to support the production of our online programming.

A Personal Growth Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums.

Kazu Haga photo by Cyndi Kuiper.

All ticket sales are final and nonrefundable.

Tue, Mar 28 / 6:00 pm PDT

The Commonwealth Club of California
110 The Embarcadero
Toni Rembe Rock Auditorium
San Francisco, CA 94105
United States

Speakers
Kazu Haga

Kazu Haga

Founder, East Point Peace Academy; Author, Healing Resistance: A Radically Different Response to Harm

Image - Eric Siegel

Eric Siegel

Chair, Personal Growth Member-led Forum, The Commonwealth Club of California—Moderator

Format

5:30 p.m. doors open, check-in & reception
6–7 p.m. program
7 p.m. discussion and book signing
(all times PDT)

COST

In-person: 
$10 members
$20 nonmembers
Free for Leadership Circle members
Free for students (with valid ID)
Online:
$10 members
$10 nonmembers
Free for Leadership Circle members
Free for students (with valid ID)