(July 18, 2019 at 1:07 am)vulcanlogician Wrote: Or maybe if we supported him through this time when he is hurt and confused, he might make it through okay, and he might (in retrospect) see how the alt right is predatory. And he would then be able to help us better understand how the alt right operates by taking advantage of isolated people.
I'm not sure that's ever going to happen unfortunately. I know someone similar like that IRL, and the best one can do to support them is just nod the head and feel for them. Arguing with them, or even trying to gently convince them they're wrong, is not going to help and gets tiring really fast. As far as they see it, they are absolutely right and no one else can practically prove them wrong, no matter the evidence you bring forth to them and no matter the questions you ask them that put things in clearer light.
But maybe Rob's situation is more different than I'm thinking, and it isn't due to anything that's ingrained within his mind and is mostly due to external stress-inducing stimuli.
