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Lauren Taylor

Professor Smith

English 1201

24 April 2021 

What Conditions Allow for Extremists Ideologies to Become Cultivated in Society?

 All around the globe, various countries have been affected by horrific acts of violent extremism.

When you turn on the news and see coverage of another violent act committed in society on

behalf of an extremist ideological group, you tend to wonder what drove an individual to partake

in such a harmful event that leaves an imprint on others for the rest of their lives. The next

question that comes to mind is if there is a way to preemptively warn others of a possible violent

extremist event such as a school shooting, bombing, or attack to avoid death and destruction.

However, before society can understand how to prevent extremist activity, we need to look into

the thought process and the patterns to better understand how extremist ideology is formed. 

Extremists become cultivated in society with the perfect melting pot of events. 

 Violence brought on by extremism is not a new phenomenon. We have seen extremism

provoked events from as early as wars in ancient Rome during 264 BC and continuing more than

a century. Rome believed that Carthage was an insult to Rome's identity. Therefore, their mission

was to destroy Carthage. Every speech Senator Cato ended with, "Carthage must be destroyed."

Rome killed around 150,000 residents of Carthage and sold their survivors into slavery. This is

the only common mindset between extremists over time. While others could agree or meet in the
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middle on disagreements, extremists believe that opposing views must be destroyed or

eliminated because it threatens their extremist group beliefs. 

Extremism is a broad topic and therefore we need to characterize it first to better understand

these individuals. First, we are going to dig deeper into what defines an extremist and how it can

be hard to identify them at times. The second point we are going to analyze includes some of

their common ideologies to help us better understand their thinking and their victim mentality.

Extremists or possible extremists think that they are the oppressed individuals in any situation,

which grants them an ability to follow through with actions they initially wouldn't.  The third

point is how exposure to propaganda can affect someone's mindset. With overexposure to

propaganda, the individual will become influenced by their beliefs, giving them motivation in

life. Finally, the last main point we are going to go over is the two types of extremism.

While most of these perpetrators have far-leaning beliefs from most of society, societal norms

change over time, making it challenging to define extremism explicitly. An example of societal

norms shifting presented by the BBC was the difference between slavery and modern-day white

racial extremism. While they are both racially motivated, they are different. (BBC 3)

Unfortunately, slavery was an accepted societal norm in America's past and thankfully the

societal norms changed condemning these same racially driven actions of hate. Some notorious

examples of extremist affiliations are the Nazi Party in Germany, Branch Davidians, QAnon, the

KKK, ISIS, and al Qaeda. Even though each of these affiliations targets different groups, do they

share common motivations?

The prevalence of terrorist events or extremist crimes committed has made extremism to be a hot

topic recently throughout the media. In the U.S., the number of domestic hate crimes has been
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rising over the past decade. One of the first events that caught the attention of U.S. citizens was

when the World Trade Center was struck by two hijacked planes. Over time many other

extremist-motivated events occurred on a smaller scale gaining only short-term national attention

to the problem. Some of those events consist of Planned Parenthood shooting in Colorado

Springs, the shooting in Parkland, Florida, etc. The issue wasn't addressed as an emergency or

national threat until earlier this year. It had always been a known problem but had never gotten to

such an extent. 

After the riot in the U.S. Capitol, the media and other government officials realized that this is an

emergency that needs to be addressed. According to Brown, "Events such as the January 6 attack

on the U.S. Capitol underscore a growing threat to America's national security posed by

homegrown terrorism and ideologically inspired violence." (Brown 6) Brown also claimed,

"Terrorism and ideologically-inspired violence represent persistent and serious threats to the

security of the United States," said Ryan Andrew Brown, the study's lead author and a senior

social scientist at RAND, a nonprofit research organization." (Brown 3) Due to the urgency

surrounding extremism, there has been more coverage and information covered recently. 

 An important topic to address is what an extremist is. Everyone has varying beliefs, but what

separates extremists from others? Many people who have differing opinions can understand to

"agree to disagree" and can move on with a positive relationship between them. Anyone with a

strong belief or idea can become an extremist. Extremists choose violence against groups of

identified "out-groups." The in-group will find an "outgroup" that threatens the way the group

functions and their beliefs. According to Laurie Willis, "The American Heritage Dictionary

defines an extremist as "one who advocates or resorts to measures beyond the norm, especially in
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politics." Note that this definition goes a step beyond merely a belief system—the extremist takes

action." (Willis 1) However, according to Martine Zeuthen, an anthropologist and a Countering

Violent Extremism (CVE) consultant, there isn't a specific definition for an extremist due to the

differing amount of extremist beliefs. 

Extremists take action more than regular individuals, and that's what sets them apart. Whether it

is verbal or physical, they go above and beyond to project their opinion onto everyone else with a

firm belief that they are the only correct opinion. They not only project hate through speech and

violence towards humans, but they also project hate through symbols. According to Dr. Heather

Morris, a major in the U.S. air force and an investigative psychologist with OSI (Office of

Special Investigations), "But don't forget. We're also talking not just about actual violence

against people or groups but also property and animals and threats of violence. Think about those

symbols of violence left for people to find to intimidate them, such as a bullet or a noose."

(Morris 8:52) For extremists, it is about scaring the out-party into standing down.  

A set of common themes of extremist ideologies has been identified and trigger points for

individuals embracing radical viewpoints. According to the FBI, some common groups are

"White Supremacy Extremists, Environmental Extremists, Militia Extremists, Religious

Extremists, and Anarchist Extremists." (FBI 10) They tend to play the blame game with

opposing views to attract others to their group. They blame others, but they use propaganda and

symbols to relay their message and send a feeling of pride. They build up a sense of frustration to

gain support for their groups. Many of these extremists were set off by adverse life events,
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exposure to propaganda, financial instability, mental health challenges such as trauma and

PTSD, and social factors such as victimization and marginalization. (Brown 9) This is

considered the re-orienting event that triggered them to embrace extremist views and beliefs.

While they all have different opinions, they all have some re-orienting event that turns them to

extremism. 

Propaganda has proliferated across numerous media and social platforms. These platforms want

to provide their audiences with articles, blogs, posts, and tweets to entice their readers. Keeping

the reader engaged on their site makes money for the platform. The sites use algorithms only to

show the user similar articles with their same viewpoints, solidifying even more of their

extremist rhetoric and not providing opposing views. Media outlets are exacerbating the

extremist pandemic.

 There are two types of extremism. According to Dr. Morris, they are homegrown violent

extremism and violent domestic extremism. Homegrown extremism is individuals with extremist

ideologies in the U.S., and works of foreign terrorists inspire the doctrines. Domestic extremists

also live in the U.S. territories but operate with no particular motivation or direction. Essentially,

they are nonlinear compared to the homegrown extremist. Meaning they are less predictable in

their actions. They are primarily racial (White supremacists), (Militia extremist) anti-

government, or conspiracy theory motivated extremists. What makes these beliefs dangerous or

extreme is when they become violent towards the targeted outgroup. The domestic extremists are

the main threat because they are within our borders fighting against us. 

Not only do we need to look into the characteristics of extremists, but their motivation. When

their beliefs are challenged, so does their flight or fight instinct. When the outgroup exists, they
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believe the existence of their group is challenged. Also, a need to fit in somewhere plays a

massive factor in why extremists are motivated to commit these actions. According to Dr.

Morris, extremists have a desire to control whatever is giving them anxiety and distress. The

outgroup happened to be what they believe is the center of their fear and stress. They, therefore,

like to control the outgroup through violent actions. They don't look at the real cause of their

anxiety and distress, which happens to lay in their daily life. Like what was described earlier, it is

their life-altering event that causes stress within them. 

Now that we know how an extremist comes to be, we need to look at how to prevent extremists

in the future further. We need to further educate people on identifying the warning signs of

extremism on the internet or individual behaviors, so they cannot fall victim to extremist

ideologies. According to Dr. Morris, there are ten risk factors to extremism. This is a system

created by Dr. Reid Malloy, a threat assessment and extremist expert, called the Radicalization

protocol or the trap 18. This method consists of nine behavioral characteristics to look out for in

possible extremists. An ideology is framing the first risk factor. This is when they let their beliefs

and ideology consume their whole life. They make it their personality. In their mind, this

justified them taking violent actions to achieve "the truth" being projected on society. The second

risk factor is failure to affiliate with other groups. This includes some form of rejection, whether

that is rejecting other groups for not being to their level of ideology or being rejected by a group. 

The third risk is dependence on the virtual community. The online community allows extremists

to express their beliefs and find others with similar ideas to communicate without consequences.

The fourth risk factor is thwarting of occupations or educational goals. This means that they are

struggling to accomplish primary life goals. This is where the blame game comes into play. They

turn their anger into hostile actions towards the outgroup. The fifth risk factor is a failure of
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sexually intimate pairs - bonding. Due to their strong opinions and unwillingness to listen to

others, they struggle to find relationships or maintain a healthy relationship. No one wants to be

around someone who will tell you how right they are all the time. Lack of self-betterment and

isolation from others play a vital role in developing factors four and five.

The sixth risk factor is a change in thinking and emotions. This is when their belief controls their

feelings in the truth. Any challenging opinion triggers them to become irritated and lash out. This

other opinion doesn't even have to be the outgroup. It can be any different opinion than theirs.

People tend to actively search for views similar to theirs to validate their beliefs and discount and

demonize anyone with counter arguments.  

The seventh risk factor is a mental disorder. This becomes concerning when someone mentally

ill mixes with these extremist beliefs. Suicidal thoughts due to their mental illness can turn into a

lash out on everyone becoming a motor for their cause. The eighth risk is creativity and

innovation channeled to garner public recognition. This is more of a cry for personal attention.

These extremists come up with flamboyant ways to display their violent acts to the world. By

doing this, they not only succeed at seeking the attention they so desperately crave but also get

their opinion across. 

The last risk factor is a history of violence or criminality. History tends to repeat itself; therefore,

there is a higher likelihood that if those individuals have already broken the law and carried out

violent actions, they will do it again. If you pick up any of these risk factors, that individual has

the potential to become a violent extremist. Now that common risk factors for extremism have

been identified, let's go into the following steps to solve the problem. 

 
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Behavioral/Social Scientist Ryan Andrew Brown recommends "Expanding access to mental

health care, creating opportunities for exposure to diverse cultural groups, and media literacy

education is all-important strategies that may aid the battle against extremism, according to

researchers. However, harsh law enforcement actions often are unproductive in changing

people's extremist beliefs." (Brown 2) Other strategies included were creating programs to

realize when a family member is at risk and identify geographic hotspots for extremism to

further spread help to where they need it most. 

 It is imperative to educate ourselves on behavioral indicators to recognize when someone we are

close to may become victim to extremist ideologies and could potentially cause harm to

themselves or others. When someone has physical signs of illness, we immediately take them to

get the medical care they so desperately needed. Doctors can see their physical ailments and can

prescribe a procedure or medication. Erratic behavioral changes also demonstrate an illness in an

individual. We need to be as aggressive in treating mental illness and getting the individual the

proper medical care, they need. 

Extremism is an urgent problem that needs to be recognized and addressed throughout the

nation. People who take extreme opinions and actions toward others need to be offered help and

coping mechanisms. They need to find the root cause of their internal turmoil, so they can better

understand why what they are doing is wrong. It is ok to have your own opinion but not project

violence and hate on others because of it. Through prevention programs and the increased

recognition of potential indicators for violent extremist acts, we can address, help, and prevent

future tragedies in our nation. 

 
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 While many people are taking action to halt the spread of extremism, others disagree. The first

counter argument presented was that training society to recognize and stop extremism treads on

the first amendment. They also stated that some of the training for the army was anti-Christian.

Their statements that extremism should not be tied to religion are reasonable and should be

upheld. Where they are lacking is digging deeper into what extremism is. According to Dena

Sher, "they should never fear punishment solely for their thoughts or beliefs, no matter how

"extreme." (Sher 7) They should indeed uphold the first amendment and allow freedom of

speech. However, they also have to remember that when extremists turn their beliefs into violent

actions, they tread on others' lives, life, liberty, or pursuit of happiness. Injuring others and

projecting hate is not acceptable, and that is where action should be taken.

The second counter argument argues "that the profiles of those at risk for engaging in relatively

rare types of violence will never be "sufficiently specific or sensitive" and there will be a large

majority of individuals who fit these profiles, but who will never engage in violence. Gill et al.

(2014, p. 433) "(RTI International 23) Essentially the point that the author is trying to get across

is that you could identify someone as a partial extremist and that individual could never actually

commit a violent extremist’s action. Although that is true, if we keep an eye on those individuals,

it could stop many other people from being affected by extremists' lash on society. It could save

a life by keeping track of these individuals that show these warning signs. It's better to be safe

than sorry. 

The third and last counterargument that I came across advocating for the stop of actively

searching for extremists is by claiming, "Nevertheless, national security agencies end up – either

deliberately or inadvertently – profiling, targeting, abusing and discriminating against 'risk

communities' by merit of association." (Reva 6) The author is trying to get at that we are
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becoming the thing we hate by demonizing a particular faith or ideology. You are doing this

based on someone with similar religions and ideologies. I agree that you should not be

discriminated against due to your beliefs. However, the behavioral indicators are not designed to

be evaluated individually. Therefore, just because you are affiliated with an organization, you

would also have to demonstrate other behavioral indicators such as posting violent rhetoric and

verbally communicating intents of evil actions. An extremist can be identified and halted by

better understanding the behavioral attributes that an individual may possess. Multiple behavioral

indicators are puzzle pieces that create a picture of a person who could execute a violent action.

The more puzzle pieces you have, the picture of a clearer potential threat could arise. According

to OSI experts, the following nine behavior indicators should be tracked: self-identification

solely through an ideology, failure to affiliate with other groups, dependencies on the virtual

community, thwarting of occupational goals, oversight to bond with others or partners, drastic

changes in thinking and their emotional state, underlying mental disorders, a need to be seen

selfishly, and has a history of violence or criminal activity.  

Extremists are formed through specific conditions to form the perfect storm. Recently it has

become an escalated emergency and needs to be addressed immediately. We can address

extremism by educating ourselves on the warning signs, looking to see if the type of extremism

the individual is manifesting matches the most common forms, and obtain access to help for

individuals emerged in extremism beliefs.   Early detection and care are the key to help get rid of

an illness. In America, we wake up every day seeing another tragic event spurred on by an

extremist whose behavior wasn't recognized in time or the people around them did not act due to

the perceptions of mental illness. We are our brother's keeper, and we need to speak out and get

help for others.  

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Works Cited:

“Pathway To Extremism - Module 02: Progression (Belief to Extremist Ideology).” DVIDS,

www.dvidshub.net/video/785249/pathway-extremism-module-02-progression-belief-extremist-

ideology. Accessed April 18th

Sher, Dena, and Gabe Rottman. “Army Right to Halt 'Extremism' Training, Protect First

Amendment Rights.” Defense One, Defense One, 10 Apr. 2021,

www.defenseone.com/ideas/2013/11/army-right-halt-extremism-training-protect-first-

amendment-rights/74102/. Accessed April 18th

https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/OPSR_TP_CVE-Application-Risk-

Assessment-Tools-Criminal-Rehab-Process_2018Feb-508.pdf

Reva, Denys. “Religion and Ethnicity Are Not Indicators of Extremism.” CSS Blog Network,

isnblog.ethz.ch/terrorism-technology/religion-and-ethnicity-are-not-indicators-of-extremism.

"Introduction to Extremism: Opposing Viewpoints." Extremism, edited by Laurie Willis,

Greenhaven Press, 2011. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010699101/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=80ce0e9e.

Accessed 11 Apr. 2021.

Brown, Ryan Andrew. “Interviews with Former Extremists Reveal Multiple Paths to Developing

Extreme Ideologies; Rejection of Extremism Often Aided by Friends and Groups.” RAND

Corporation, 1 Apr. 2021, www.rand.org/news/press/2021/04/02.html. Accessed 4 April 2021 

“A Brief History of Extremism – from Ancient Rome to Al Qaeda.” HistoryExtra, BBC, 26 Nov.

2020, www.historyextra.com/period/roman/extremism-history-examples-explained-definition-

facts-prevent-right-wing-religious/. Accessed 11 April 2021

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 “What Is Violent Extremism?” FBI, FBI, 23 Oct. 2015, www.fbi.gov/cve508/teen-website/what-

is-violent-extremism. Accessed 4 April 2021

Zeuthen, Andrew Glazzard and Martine, et al. “Violent Extremism.” GSDRC, 12 Sept. 2016,

gsdrc.org/professional-dev/violent-extremism/. Accessed 4 April 2021