What key lesson can we draw from the rich multidimensional research described in the previous "Understanding Hate" sections? 

Hate does not arise in a vacuum

Humans are endlessly diverse. 
We frequently misunderstand each other. 
We often harshly judge members of outside groups in order to distinguish ourselves from the "others".
And we can feel put down and judged by our rivals or adversaries. We may feel threatened, humiliated, betrayed and dishonored. This can lead us to experience fear, helplessness, vulnerability, and confusion.

These feelings are part of the normal range of human experience

These experiences can become building blocks of hate, especially when they are prolonged and traumatic—and remain unresolved and unacknowledged; When resentment and distrust grow and dignity has been denied.

What transforms hate into moral courage?—and hurt into a powerful desire for justice, compassion and healing? . . .
Around the world we find inspiring examples of those who show great courage, care and commitment toward overcoming hate and cruelty.
The Altruists and the Brave Ones
Examples of people who:
  • Have stood up for others (including strangers) who are being directly mistreated or bullied (at their own peril) 
  • Have risked their lives to rescue others from extreme situations (massacres, genocide, war zones, etc.)
  • Have fully acknowledged and made authentic amends for past abuse
  • Encourage their own nation or group to admit to and make restitution for past atrocities (i.e. Israeli soldiers in Breaking the Silence)
  • Have suffered and survived acts of hate or longer-term discrimination and found resolution or a readiness to forgive

The Freethinkers
Examples of people who:
  • Have overcome their own hate upbringing and become advocates for human or civil rights
  • Have broken the "Conformity Effect" (i.e. whistle-blowers who risk jobs and security to inform the public about cover-ups of torture)
  • Follow their conscience in the midst of peer pressure (kids who decline to join "cool" crowd who ostracize or bully "outcasts")
  • Have broken the "Bystander Effect" (act to stop abuse even when in a crowd of onlookers)

The Activists and Advocates
Examples of people who:
  • Dedicate their lives to changing laws and policies (anti-discrimination, hate crimes, equality, anti-violence, false detention, civil liberties)
  • Set up way-stations and sanctuaries for those in peril or under coercion (i.e. rescue girls sold to brothels, conscripted boys, polygamist cult victims, etc.) 
  • Directly fight against repressive regimes or coercive injustice to uplift disenfranchised groups (i.e. work with "Untouchables", etc.)

The Educators
Examples of people who:
  • Promote tolerance, empathy, and awareness in their communities 
  • Create opportunities for cross-cultural and cross-ethnic friendships (i.e. citizen diplomats, peacemakers, etc.) 
  • Teach the public about the history of hate (i.e. the Holocaust Museum, Vienna's Conscience, etc.)
  • Teach effective ways to mediate among enemies or adversaries (i.e. conflict resolution, etc.)
  • Publicize scientific knowledge about the roots and effects of hate, extremism, prejudice and cruelty
  • Teach the public about bias, denial, system justification, etc.
  • Use creative and artistic methods (art, composition, theater, dance, film, photography, etc.) to help students and survivors express themselves and inspire others
  • Provide opportunities for young people to participate in civic and civil engagement and social responsibility

The Healers
Examples of people who:
  • Help to heal or repair hurtful “Ghosts of the Past” (i.e. therapists for trauma or torture victims)
  • Enter zones of urban violence, war, or conflict to reach out to those in distress (skilled therapists, counselors, and social workers)
  • Facilitate ceremonies, rituals and practices that help communities express grief, loss, shock and hope

Click here for
"Main Topics" on
Overcoming Hate 

We divide our answer into three main sections:
The purpose of prevention is to promote human flourishing by providing healthy, loving, nurturing, stable and stimulating developmental environments, and to offset the destructive effects of an adverse childhood. For example. a bully is more likely to have been abused, neglected or rejected.

How we nurture our children affects the brain wiring that are the precursors to "character" and conscience, morality, empathy, courage, caring, and concern for others.

Education
Citizenship in the 21st Century requires educating the next generation on multiple levels—including insight into their motives, biases and assumptions, media awareness, and the integration of cognitive-social-emotional skills.

Intervention
What can be done when conflict is already underway, the wounds actively painful, the scars beginning to form; when attitudes and biases are settling into dogmatic convictions? When the cycles of violence, revenge and further brutality seem insurmountable?

For every seemingly-intractable situation, there are methods, tools and approaches that can ameliorate, offset, confront and even heal the ghosts of the past, as well as protect the victims of injustice and cruelty.