If water is running through the pipes, I need to turn on the faucet to make it come out. I don’t think about it at all! If I listened to podcasts 24/7 that I need to turn on the faucet to make water come out, that would be absurd.
LOTS of people listen to things like Q-anon and Alex Jones 24/7.
If they actually thought it was true, there would be no reason to keep re-affirming your belief through others.
I told my friend straight up: our votes haven’t counted in 30 years, and his reply before he stormed off is that, that’s true, except for Donald trump.
To give a little context, he’s a closeted Mormon homosexual who loves people that hate him because he hates himself.
The world gets really ugly all the time!
I hate losing a friend though from radicalization!
You can’t lose a friend if you truly are friends. There is love and respect in friendship, there is also times to kneel, rise above and just say yep or nope. You can only lose your dear friend if your stubbornness overwhelmingly makes you. Let your friend be stubborn but, you open your heart
Lee. I know I’m going to see you tonight. I’ve been tossing and turning in my soul since last night that I offended you. I want you to know that before you come over. My friendship with you is more valuable to me than being right or wrong.
The context of him not getting back to me is more complicated (it’s his job to respond to me). But he’s also one of my best friends
Man, is he self destructive ! So much hate in his heart!
I guess it’s linked to Confirmation Bias - looking only to affirm one’s own preconceptions, and a measure to alleviate Cognitive Dissonance - which you encounter when you face holding contradictory beliefs. To keep feeding one so that it can override the other and simplify thought processes is easier than facing and resolving the psychological conflict. I suppose that’s how people end up looking up to loud dictators and figureheads who just power through with their own way - they envy the simplicity of it all.
Your friend sounds like they’re stuck between being true to themselves and loyal to their group and their group’s ideals and beliefs. I tend to favour being true to myself over hanging around people who clash with what that is, but it depends on how prepared you are to potentially face loneliness, and how much faith you have in your ability to find a better social circle. The tragedy of a strong family unit and religious circle is that you are essentially held hostage and can develop Stockholm Syndrome, like a pet dog that’s abused. Better to break out and get to know yourself honestly in my opinion, but it’s probably not the easier path to take (in the short run).
In my estimation, your friend has probably grown avoidant, and is engaging in behaviour similar to self-medication. Radicalisation can seem to help to this end, along with enabling you to feel a sense of purpose and direction without ever confronting who you really are and going along with that instead. He probably knows what he needs to do, but is too afraid to do it.
I suppose a nice reason should be forthcoming, that I’m working on as we think.
Shall get to it without ado, .
Ec: one can not ascertain another’s sensitivity that could alienate friends, however special senses, as for instance through forms of parapsychology can tune into what exactly the other is thinking about them.
Depending on the scintilla of high energy, that may overcome the minimal quantitave plethora of information coming true, the high focus of the quality of emission, can in reception, enable such gifts.
Therefore, this can enable the differentiation of gross understanding, and surprisingly add to the mutual reception and hence recognition of limits that may hamper and block such .
This is only a mere presentation of later , high differentiation, which like the Tree of knowledge, begets channeling into roots , or reversely, the branches of understanding .