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Your sample size of one is incredibly convincing. /s People who are isolated, bullied, low self-esteem, shut-ins, suffering mental illnesses, or a host of othe

Your sample size of one is incredibly convincing. /s People who are isolated, bullied, low self-esteem, shut-ins, suffering mental illnesses, or a host of other factors can and do fall into echo chambers of radicalization and extremism. You see the results in the news every day. Of course forms of it exist, like what happened to op's daughter.

barry-cotter 8y ago
I don’t have a sample size of one. I have the evidence of my eyes. Incredibly successful social movements look like the Mormons or Corbyn’s Labour, not some master brain washers who can take mentally healthy people and make them join a cult or other social movement and never leave. The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints is the most successful new religion of the past two centuries, possibly excluding the Baha’i. It has some weird and crazy beliefs and demands a level of commitment and community involvement that most Europeans or Americans would balk at and the average missionary spends two years trying to convert people. And most of them get nothing. I don’t even live in America and I know two ex-Mormons and one who based on his lifestyle will soon be an ex-Mormon. I hope I don’t need to convince you that Corbynism has been very successful indeed. It took over the main opposition party in the U.K. Much as I’m impressed by their fervour and convenient as they’ve made becoming a member of the Labour Party most of these people will not be Labour Party members in ten years, possibly five. They’ll get older and more cynical and age out of thinking they can make a difference in politics, Corbin will get into government and disappoint them, they won’t have enough cash to renew their membership. And that’s a successful political movement! People aren’t brain washed. They make choices, sometimes shitty self destructive choices, occasionally deluded ones. But they are making choices.

barry-cotter 8y ago

I don’t have a sample size of one. I have the evidence of my eyes. Incredibly successful social movements look like the Mormons or Corbyn’s Labour, not some master brain washers who can take mentally healthy people and make them join a cult or other social movement and never leave. The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints is the most successful new religion of the past two centuries, possibly excluding the Baha’i. It has some weird and crazy beliefs and demands a level of commitment and community involvement that most Europeans or Americans would balk at and the average missionary spends two years trying to convert people. And most of them get nothing. I don’t even live in America and I know two ex-Mormons and one who based on his lifestyle will soon be an ex-Mormon. I hope I don’t need to convince you that Corbynism has been very successful indeed. It took over the main opposition party in the U.K. Much as I’m impressed by their fervour and convenient as they’ve made becoming a member of the Labour Party most of these people will not be Labour Party members in ten years, possibly five. They’ll get older and more cynical and age out of thinking they can make a difference in politics, Corbin will get into government and disappoint them, they won’t have enough cash to renew their membership. And that’s a successful political movement! People aren’t brain washed. They make choices, sometimes shitty self destructive choices, occasionally deluded ones. But they are making choices.