Can A Person Become De-Radicalized?
Get to the heart of the matter: Find out what they really want
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I’ve been pretty outspoken against white supremacy hate groups for a while. But it’s time to explore a bigger question:
Is it possible for someone to become de-radicalized?
This is what I’ve been wondering as I watch an increase in hate group activity. With a heated political environment, extremist groups have been emerging in an attempt to swing the pendulum further toward the edge. They’ve been staging events to get publicity.
One of the recent well known groups is Patriot Front.
When one of their attempted rallies ended in failure in June 2022, I seized at the opportunity, writing this piece to mock and shame them. I wanted to make White Supremacy as uncool as Ed Hardy.
But the bigger question to ask here is: “Why would anyone decide to join one of these groups?”
This didn’t happen in a vacuum. Each person joined for a reason.
CNN released an article today, in which a mother of one of the Patriot Front members illustrated how her son became radicalized.
Jared Boyce, 27, found his life at a crossroads. He had a strained relationship with his father, culminating in his father leaving the family to live as an openly gay man. Then when Jared’s own marriage broke up, he was lost. He needed something — a place where he belonged.
So what can WE do when a loved one goes down this path? “Stay connected, but set boundaries” says psychiatrist Joseph Ma Pierre. Let them know the door is open if they’re willing to come back.
Living in his mother’s basement, he found that sense of belonging online. He became radicalized because he had a huge hole in his life. And then he found Patriot Front, which gave him a sense of purpose: To…
