Why do people become extremists?

Experiencing emotions of hate towards certain groups

Question: Why do people become extremists?
Position‹5 of 5: People experience emotions of hate towards certain groups
Argument: Experiencing emotions of hate towards certain groups

Hate is one of the root causes of extremism and extremist groups. Hate for other people can cause racism, homophobia, and acts of violence that turn into extremism.

The argument

Hate crimes have been an issue for the entirety of human history, so the disposition itself is not new. What has changed is how readily it converts into extremism. With extreme polarization of the US political system and shifting power dynamics around the globe, racism and prejudice have taken a front row seat in leading people towards extremism — conditions that turn a private hostility into an identity with a side to belong to and an enemy to name. The hatred involved is not confined to one target. Violent extremism can be racial, religious, personal, issue based, or a combination of several or all of these, which suggests the common element is the hatred rather than any specific grievance: the same emotional structure attaches itself to whichever group or issue is available. The internet age supplies both the material and the route. Extremists have a platform online to spread hateful messages and to recruit others into extremist organizations and ideologies, reaching people who would never have encountered them otherwise. Two features of that platform make it especially effective. People online can be anonymous, so the social cost that ordinarily restrains the expression of hatred is removed. And nobody needs to fact check what they post, which allows misinformation and bias to circulate masquerading as fact. The two halves then reinforce one another. If an individual already holds a prejudice or bias against a particular group or issue, seeing this kind of media inflames it and supplies apparent evidence that it is justified. What began as an emotion is thereby confirmed, shared and directed, empowering the person towards extremist tendencies and, ultimately, towards violence.

Premises

[P1]Extreme political polarization and shifting power dynamics have pushed racism and prejudice to the fore, and hatred toward racial, religious or other groups can drive people toward violent extremism. [P2] The internet gives extremists an anonymous, unchecked platform to spread hateful messages and recruit, inflaming the prejudices of those already biased and empowering them toward extremist, sometimes violent, action. [C] Therefore people become extremists in part because they experience emotions of hate towards certain groups.

Counter-arguments

Experiencing hateful emotions does not lead to extremism. Extremism is a choice by the individual. The definition of extremism can be troubling. Extremism has historically been linked to radical violence, specifically after 9/11 in the US, even though violence is not the sole outcome of extremism. Extremism can be in thoughts and conversations with other people. Extremism also can be in extreme favor of something, not just opposition. Hate is a strong negative emotion. An extremist can also be extreme because of their behavior in regards to having positive emotions about something. People can be extremists in love and in agreement.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] Prejudice is widespread while violent extremism is rare, so hatred cannot by itself explain who crosses over — which is precisely what the sibling positions about isolation, grievance and status are offered to supply. [Rejecting P2] Online circulation describes how material reaches people rather than why they accept it, and the premise assumes the prejudice is already in place, so it accounts for intensification rather than origin; the counter also notes extremism is not confined to hostility, which this framing rules out by definition.