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A review by nsfinch
High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out by Amanda Ripley
challenging
dark
medium-paced
3.5
This book was well-written and quite readable. It told good stories and made a somewhat compelling argument. Where it falls apart for me is that the book seems to be saying that the conflict itself is the problem, without examining the ideologies behind the conflict. In the book's example of Chicago street gangs, it's easy to see how misperceptions and misunderstandings, layered on a background of racism, redlining, and poverty can escalate into high conflict. Nobody's really at fault, even though lots of people involved have done bad things. But what about when one side of a conflict is actually wrong? There is still such thing as right and wrong, and if a group of people is literally trying to exterminate another group of people, it's not really the conflict that's the problem, is it? Fighting is the right thing to do, in that case, to stand up for what's right.
Getting out of high conflict only seems to work with individuals or small groups of people, and the people on all sides of a conflict must be committed to getting out. This simply doesn't work on a large scale, and it's not fair to expect marginalized, threatened people to engage in mediation sessions with hateful individuals for such a small return on investment.
A note on format: the audiobook has sound clips from interviews the author had with subjects, as well as from some public hearings and an NPR interview, so that's kind of interesting. The author read the book, but then there would be clips from some interviews, which give you insight into the original speaker's tone and attitude.
Getting out of high conflict only seems to work with individuals or small groups of people, and the people on all sides of a conflict must be committed to getting out. This simply doesn't work on a large scale, and it's not fair to expect marginalized, threatened people to engage in mediation sessions with hateful individuals for such a small return on investment.
A note on format: the audiobook has sound clips from interviews the author had with subjects, as well as from some public hearings and an NPR interview, so that's kind of interesting. The author read the book, but then there would be clips from some interviews, which give you insight into the original speaker's tone and attitude.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence and Violence