What makes someone an extremist in your perspective?

[noname223]

Maybe it's a touchy topic. And I have not thought much about it. But democrats and people in favor of human rights were extremists in Nazi Germany or Russia labels them as foreign agents nowadays. This sounds like a relativist's take. And in my country it is dangerous to touch that because you have to be pro-democracy otherwise you can be prosecuted for violating the constitution. But I am a convinced democrat and many Americans won't understand that but I like how the German constitution works. That might sound contradictory. I support Karl Popper in his tolerance paradox. Unlimited tolerance toward intolerant ideologies can lead to the destruction of tolerance itself. This is why a constitution needs mechanisms to defend itself. But even the German system can be abused by a party which is large enough. And it might happen soon.

I think a lot of things are relative. There are people who say we are doing a mass genocide against animals. The way we industrialized the brutal way to produce meat. Maybe in some decades people will look at our generations with disgust in how we treated animals for our own pleasure.

There are people who say no human is illegal. People are dying in the Mediteranean Sea because they want a better future for their kids. And Frontex boats are partly (?) responsible for many deaths by not helping them when their lives are in danger.

Climate activists get prison time and huge fines because they fear that future generations won't be able to survive if we keep going like that. Science backs up many of their claims. The methods they use might be controversial. But nowadays the desperation is that dire that I wish Fridays for Future to be back.

The thing is if there are authoritarian leaders in powerful positions (like Trump and Putin) the label extremist becomes a weapon against people who try to contribute to a world with more equality and who stand for humanistic values.

 

[Dejected 55]

I think generally speaking that an extremist has more extreme views than not AND an unwillingness to consider things that are not extreme.

I think most people have at least one extreme position on something. Like... I'd say any adult who rapes children should be put to death. I'm not violent and I don't normally support the death penalty, but I feel comfortable in this extreme position and I don't see how someone could really argue the other side to me. But I don't have very many extreme positions. I usually like to look around and consider the possibilities and outcomes and how to benefit the most people OR do the most overall good (note that doing the most overall long-term good may not always be in the majority interest sometimes).

Extremism is somewhat relative, of course... To a pure centrist, there are extremists on both sides who go too far. To an extremist a centrist might be extreme sometimes, relatively speaking.

 

[Pluto]

 

[Forever Sleep]

I think the word you mentioned- tolerance is probably key. To actually be an extremist, I think there is a marked intolerance for other people's ideologies, religion, sexuality, whatever. Sometimes- just their rights I suppose. To the degree that it's (apparently) reasonable to kill them or commit violence to prove a point.

I think we can have extreme ideas without becoming extremists though. I'd say some of the promortalists here are on the extreme side with regards to their ideas. Nembutal for all, destroy the entire planet etc. They're likely not doing anything to make that happen though. Maybe my anti-natilist views could appear on the extreme side. But- I wouldn't attack an IVF centre for instance.

I also agree with Dejected- that I think rapists and child molestors deserve to be castrated- in principle anyway. However- not in practice. I don't think our legal system is fallible enough. Men have been falsely accused in the past.

I suppose as a definition though, it's anything very far from the norm, majority view though.

I suppose the inteteresting one is cult vs. religion. Wouldn't some religions look like cults if they weren't mainstream? So- I suppose what comes with it is the element of people being groomed to be an extremist. Although, I suppose some act alone. The Unabomber for example.

 

[maylurker]

To the degree that it's (apparently) reasonable to kill them or commit violence to prove a point.

I think we can have extreme ideas without becoming extremists though.

extremism is basically holding views that are way outside the mainstream. u can be the most tolerant chill dude ever and still be an extremist if your ideas are radical enough. like thinking we should nuke the moon for fun or abolish all money tomorrow. the violence thing is separate - that's just being a terrorist or psycho. not what makes someone extreme. calling only intolerant violent people extremists waters it down and lets actual weirdos hide behind "but i'm nice about it"

 

[Dejected 55]

I do think one place where society made a huge misstep is in promoting tolerance. Bare with me here...

Tolerance for someone means you judge them and possibly hate them but agree to "let" them live or not bother them... but you still hate them and don't think they should be allowed to exist and if it ever becomes vogue to silence them, you're going to be first in line when the winds shift.

Tolerance just allows hatred and prejudice to fester under the surface and wait to be let out.

*I* think we should have always been promoting acceptance. Acceptance that not everyone is like you. Acceptance that being different is perfectly okay and everyone doesn't have to agree with you in order to merit existence. You don't have to agree with them or be friends, but you accept that they have every much the same right to exist and try to be happy as you do.

Acceptance means you stop trying to eliminate them from the world. Tolerance means you keep kicking around ideas in the back of your head waiting for a chance to try a new way to get rid of things and people you don't like.

 

[Hvergelmir]

huge misstep is in promoting tolerance.

You might be on to something, but I think there's still room for tolerance.
Acceptance isn't always possible. The alternative to tolerance is then open conflict, and that's not always the best option.

Tolerance acts like a buffer zone, and might even give acceptance time to form.

 

[Dejected 55]

You might be on to something, but I think there's still room for tolerance.
Acceptance isn't always possible. The alternative to tolerance is then open conflict, and that's not always the best option.

Tolerance acts like a buffer zone, and might even give acceptance time to form.

Think of it this way...

Do you really want to tolerate bad behavior? You probably tolerate it only as much as you have to until you can do something about it. That is the essence of tolerance... kicking the can forward until you have a better plan to eliminate it. People don't tend to tolerate something and then eventually accept it. People who tolerate things are letting some degree of it fester while they try to figure out a way to get away from it, make it go away, or eliminate it if possible.

I feel like acceptance is the only way to move forward. People have to learn to accept things different from themselves without feeling like everyone must conform to them "or else." You don't have to live your life the same as your neighbor, you just have to accept that they are different and they have as much right to their life as you do to yours. When you tolerate it, that feels like just putting off dealing with it until you think you have the upper hand.

 

[Hvergelmir]

That is the essence of tolerance... kicking the can forward until you have a better plan to eliminate it.

You can often kick it to the side, and move on, or just step over it.
There are many things that I don't want to accept, but that I also don't want to confront. I'll leave those confrontations to people better suited to deal with them.

 

[Dejected 55]

You can often kick it to the side, and move on, or just step over it.
There are many things that I don't want to accept, but that I also don't want to confront. I'll leave those confrontations to people better suited to deal with them.

That's acceptable. We don't have to all fix the problem that only some are creating. I can't say I don't sit on the sidelines a lot myself when I know I can't be the one to fix it. The larger problem comes when everyone kicks it to the side and no one, especially the ones in position to do something, do anything.