On Trump and radicalization: Violent extremists share the same DNA. ISIS & White Supremacists are two sides of the same coin: aggrieved men & women dislocated from society who find purpose, meaning & community in a simplistic, violent ideology that promises them greatness. 1/
There is no room for complexity. They are the heroes of a cosmic narrative. They are trying to warn & save their tribe from annihilation. They romanticize a past that never existed where everything was great, where their people had glory & the natural order was maintained. 2/
They rationalize violence against the enemy/kaafir/invaders/Libs who they fear have replaced them. They fetishize guns & war. They are like fanboys doing hardcore cosplay, posting photos with guns and ammo. They rationalize violence, which must be used for self-preservation. 3/
They are very active on social media platforms & effectively use it to recruit & proselytize their absolutist message, to troll their enemies, to target & plot attacks. Allies who don’t agree with them 100% are deemed traitors, who deserve to be excommunicated or killed. 4/
They rally behind a leader, a charismatic personality who promises to lead them to jannat/heaven/Valhalla/MAGA. They ignore all texts, philosophies, & scholars who disagree with their ideology as heresy. You can’t use facts or data or intellectual arguments against them. 5/
They venerate their brothers and sisters who commit violence as martyrs and heroes; these are brave men & women willing to go in and get their hands bloody for “the cause,” who say “Screw the optics. I’m going in.” Again, they are the heroes of this all or nothing narrative. 6/
If this sounds familiar, it should. We are witnessing the radicalization & weaponization of the modern GOP and conservative movement. Most are already radicalized (Trump, MAGA, QAnon, Right-wing media, conspiracy theories, The Replacement Theory.)
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Many are already weaponized. Now, all you need is to just gently “push” a few, just a few, to violence. In the past few years, look at the rise of armed militias, White power groups, Proud Boys, Boogaloo extremists, & Kyle Rittenhouse, a murderer, who's deemed a valiant hero 8/
Kyle Rittenhouse, a murderer, is a young man who according to them should be emulated because he stood up against "them." He defended himself & this nation with his weapons. He stood his ground. He was brave, a man, strong. Trump refused to condemn Rittenhouse, a murderer. 8/
The GOP elevated the McCloskeys who aimed guns at peaceful BLM protestors, & warned the nation that the suburbs are being invaded. He pardoned war criminal Eddie Gallagher. He praised armed militias that threatened Michigan lawmakers, the police & shut down the legislature. 9/
We the majority must realize we’re dealing with a radicalized minority, a counter-majoritarian party that has now embraced and rationalized militias, domestic terror threats (QAnon), white supremacist talking points (Invasion) & venerated a murderer, Kyle Rittenhouse. 10/
How do you deradicalize an entire political party, a conservative movement, & the right-wing media ecosystem? How do you stop #WhiteISIS, the ones who are beyond saving, who are weaponized and itching to “lock and load” to defend Western civilization, spurned on by Trump?
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