Pop-Ups
See the sub folders for more on each Empathy Tent Popup.
A short list is below.
2017-11-11 - BERKELEY CITY HALL
‘Patriot Prayer’ Rallies in Berkeley on Veteran’s Day
NBC News Bay Area
The right-wing conservative group ‘Patriot Prayer’ rallied in the streets of Berkeley Saturday afternoon to discuss intolerance, issues on President Trump, racism and fascism. Christie Smith reports.
(The Empathy Tent was mentioned at the end of this piece.)
"Previous rallies have turned violent and into clashes. Those involved in the Empathy Tent have been there through it all and were back there today, They say trying to listen and promote dialog. "
2017-09-26 - SPROUL: FREE SPEECH WEEK
UC Berkeley Sproul Plaza
Conservative "Based Stickman" enters "The Empathy Tent."
Sep 29, 2017
http://j.mp/2fNsQpq
"My left-leaning friends may banish me to the far reaches of the earth for this... That said-- I think there is something to be learned from sitting down with people you disagree with and speaking to them in a civil manner. Obviously, in recent months, tensions at UC Berkeley have lead to anger, hostility, violence and riots. This passed week, former Breitbart editor, Milo Yiannopoulis scheduled a “Free Speech Week,” evidently intent on inflaming tensions once again. In response, David Gottfried & Edwin Rutsch have been putting up an "Empathy Tent.” Their hope for the tent is that it would be a place for dialogue between left and right leaning activists"
Aug 26 and 27th San Francisco and Berkeley
Joey Gibson & Megan Rohrer: SF Freedom & Peacefully Unites Rally: Empathy Circle
Facilitator: Edwin Rutsch Empathy Tent
We hold an empathy dialog circle with two of the organizers of upcoming rallies this Saturday, Aug 26, 2017 in San Francisco. We build some bridges and foster some mutual understanding before the rallies.
Joey Gibson:
Organizer: 'Free Speech San Francisco Rally'
Megan Rohrer
Organizer for counter rally: 'San Francisco Peacefully Unites Against White Nationalists'
2017-07-08 - Sacramento Pop-Up
Protesters keep their cool at pro-Trump, anti-Trump rallies. ‘Empathy tent’ helps.
Sacramento Bee
"The event also sported an “empathy tent,” where organizers promised “10 minutes of deep listening” without judgment, advice or interruption. Edwin Rutsch, head of the Center for Building a Culture of Empathy, spent the afternoon sitting face to face in folding chairs with people who stopped by to talk politics, religion or whatever else struck them."
‘Empathy Tent’ Deployed at Pro- and Anti-Trump Protests in California
Breitbart
"The Sacramento Bee reported that as police worked to keep about 150 pro-Trump demonstrators and a smaller group of anti-Trump protesters from coming to blows, peace activists used an “empathy tent” to defuse tensions: ...The “empathy tent” has been deployed elsewhere, most recently at demonstrations in downtown Los Angeles:"
Building a Culture of Empathy - KPFA Radio
Most people, when heard with empathy, want more of it. What if the value of empathy permeated our culture? This is the vision that guest, Edwin Rutsch, brings to us. Host Marlena Willis dialogues with him about his vision for how to create a world where the value of empathy permeates all our institutions.
2017-07-02 - Los Angeles Pop-Up
Thousands march in L.A. for impeachment of President Trump; his supporters hold their own rally
LA Times
"As demonstrators left the rally, they passed a modest white tent on the lawn of City Hall, with a sign reading “Empathy Tent.” Inside, Edwin Rutsch of Berkeley sat on an orange camping chair, mediating a discussion between a Trump supporter and an impeachment marcher. They sparred over whether Trump had ever lied or committed any impeachable offenses, their voices sometimes rising."
Voices from the sidelines: ordinary people weigh in on impeachment debate
Gregg Reese
7/6/2017
"Hours after the Impeachment March on July 2, a sizable group loitered around a tent set up on the grassy area south of City Hall known as Fletcher Bowron Square. The center of this activity was a contingent of activists from the Center for Building a Culture of Empathy based in the Bay Area. On this day, they were staging a series of dialogues between opposing members representing the ongoing debate nationwide about the legitimacy/viability of the presidency of Donald J. Trump. "
LA Times - April 18, 2017
"The escalation in Berkeley causes concern among some of the college town’s establishment... To the extent Berkeley is supposed to be representative (of liberal movements) we are being used,” said David Gottfried, part of a small group of local residents who set up an “Empathy Tent” at the edge of the demonstration and encouraged the shouting masses to consider listening and dialogue instead. It wound up being hit by pepper spray.
“There was hardly anyone from Berkeley there, except of course the police,” said Gottfried, a self-employed artist who, at 58, is roughly twice the age of most of the combatants ignoring the tray of chocolates he held out." Gottfried worried that the product of the day would be an escalation of extremism."
COULTER CAL PROTEST: DEMONSTRATIONS MOSTLY PEACEFUL; 7 ARRESTED
By Laura Anthony
Channel 7 News
"Some came to keep things calm. There was an empathy tent"
Can ‘empathy tents’ calm down protesters at UC Berkeley?
Fox News
The Conservative Millennial’ blogger Allie Beth Stuckey on how ‘empathy tents’ are being used at UC Berkeley to calm down protesters.
"Well, better that than throwing punches and pepper spraying people." "On the other end of the spectrum, someone actually set up an “Empathy Tent” where people could go to take a break and get a massage during the rally. No, really. There’s someone giving massages at the Empathy Tent –"
Berkeley protesters got free massages in 'empathy tent'
By Eric Ting,
SFGATE
April 29, 2017
"Whether you're an alt-left snowflake or an alt-right fascist, Berkeley's 'Empathy Tent' is open to you. Pro-Trump and anti-Trump protesters alike received free shoulder and neck massages in the Empathy Tent on Thursday, April 27, following the cancellation of conservative writer Ann Coulter's appearance.
Protests turn violent in Berkeley: Chanel 7 news, at 5pm"With so much civil unrest, an empathy tent housed a small group offering space for both sides." Lonni Rivera ABC 7 news
"This is our stand for peace, and kind of helping people have a chance to feel heard," Mary Goyer with Culture of Empathy said. Surprisingly she says both sides say they want safety and for someone to listen, but apparently not willing to listen to each other.”