Attacking Non-Conformity

Attacks on extremism are merely attacks on non-conformity. It is a tactic of peer pressure and intimidation.

We are all extremists by the standards of 99.99% of societies to ever exist. Only by a small sliver in time and small segment of the earth are some of us not radical extremists. Of course, even within our own culture, only the most severely docile individuals aren’t an extremist on some specific issues.

Did everyone today just simultaneously realize truths that will inexplicably stand up for millennia? Of course not. The trends of our culture are largely a passing fad inspired by history, technology, economics, tribalism and other various incentives. Our culture is just a passing glimpse in time that future generations will look on as we look at people in the 14th century.

We aren’t predominantly a truth seeking species. We are a social species. When someone condemns extremism, they aren’t attacking deniers of truth, they are attacking deniers that truth is decided through majoritarianism. Attacking extremism is hijacking your social nature and labeling some people weird and worthy of derision. Attacking extremism is more akin to calling someone with glasses “four eyes” or making fun of the autistic kid more than anything else.