Extremists...

Do you consider yourself an extremist for any particular cause? Is there a cause you could see yourself becoming an extremist over? How far do you think you would you go for said cause?

Nope.

I have plenty of things I care about, plenty of beliefs, but I've never had any inclination to "change the world" I'm pretty much a "people are who they are, and I am who I am and it's all good" kind of girl. If your beliefs are the polar OPPOSITE of mine, I can still call you friend....and mean it!

I really think the only thing I could go all extreme over is someone threatening my husband/children in anyway........but that's not the extremist you mean, LOL

To think that the world is so black & white to feel extreme about anything mystifies me.

I had a long drawn out reply in the works. But this, this is far more to the point that I was trying to make.

I think a lot of people who are more conservative socially would definitely view me as an extremist. And I have views that I myself might consider extreme (at least for America, far more common in other parts of the world), but I don't know that I'd go to "extremist" lengths to get my opinions across.

I'm also a little blurred between the lines of "radical" and "extremist". Radically liberal views tend to become mainstream over time, and I definitely think I have some "radical" ideas (anti-military, gender equality, prison reform, etc for example) but I believe in my life time that the views I hold now won't be seen as radical in the future.

I agree...I would not say I am an extremist and I do believe there is really no such thing as black and white...its all shades of gray. But yeah, I have strong beliefs and some could be labeled radical.

I feel like people we label as extremists...probably don't see themselves as extremists?


I wouldn't consider myself extreme in any of my views. Maybe my views on ice cream. I am pro ice-cream, to the extreme.

Er, not really. The only thing I could ever be extremist towards is discrimination. Any form, really. Discrimination is honestly one of the few things that I can get really mad about and will fight against. I don't like things that take away from others.

IAWTC and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

I can't agree with this statement more strongly.

No, I would not call myself any kind of extremist.

I guess it depends how you define extremist.

I am a Christian and I believe very deeply in my faith. I will try my best to uphold the ideals of my faith but as a sinner, I will fail.

Would I kill for it? NO... but then again God doesn't ever ask that of us. but I would like to think that in the face of persecution, I would stand strong on my foundation.

I could talk A LOT on this subject.

I don't think that being willing to die for your views or beliefs is extremist. At all. I think it's very typical of someone who is dedicated and secure in their beliefs and has the ethical standpoint that you don't waiver in the face of persecution. Whether religious, moral, political.

I also don't know that I agree with extremists not viewing themselves as extremists. I think in a real case of extremism (willingness to kill for your beliefs, a strong isolation from General society based on unpopular views - and I don't mean not being in the majority, I mean only a handful of people in the country or world share your views), people know their views are extreme.

Examples of people I would consider extremists: terrorists, people who believe we could benefit from genocide, people who believe homosexual relationships should be punishable by law, people who believe those who eat meat are some kind of sociopathic murders (not just a general meat-is-murder idea).

I have a lot of friends who are vegan, some maybe radically so. They share information on veganism and aside from believing in health benefits or animal rights, they believe a widespread vegan movement would benefit the economy and environment. They actively pursue educating people on and spreading their beliefs. But I wouldn't call them extremists, as so many people do believe in them, they do have rational reason to believe what they do, and they don't harbor animosity towards those who disagree.

I know one person, who is what I would consider an extremist vegan. She regularly gets into heated arguments over it, experiences a lot of turmoil over people who don't follow her ways, does not allow animal products in her home whatsoever, calls people who eat meat "carnies" as a kind of slur, and truly believes if you eat meat you are an active participant in animal abuse. I think she knows her views are extreme, although I can try to ask if she views herself as an extemist.

Not really.
I am very pro-choice, feminist, equal rights, sex positive, science, environmental and typically liberal in most scenarios.
with a heavy dose of JUST BE NICE TO PEOPLE OK

I don't consider myself an extremist because with the exception of being kind to people and standing up against certain groups imposing their beliefs/hatred on other groups...I am always open to new ideas/proof/other points of view.
I think part of being an extremist is NOT being open to new information, which I always am.

People can believe what they want to believe. I will stand up when their beliefs begin to harm other people...otherwise? whatever. Sit on your porch and yell about how the black gay prostitutes are going to hell just don't vote or anything lol

My feelings exactly.

Echoing two things that have already been said...

1. The world is one giant gray area - there are very few things that are black and white.

2. People that we generally label as extremists generally do not see themselves as such.

I don't consider myself an extremist. There are areas in which I'm passionate about, and hold strong feelings about, but not to an extreme. I'm also not the type to argue about something over and over - I love a good debate/discussion, but if a conversation I'm having is no longer respectful or rational, I'm likely to walk away.

The issue with the notion of "extremism" is that it is all relative. In the culture in which I live, my views are not terribly extreme. Some more or less "popular opinion" than others, but I can't think of a single thing that I believe that most in my culture would call extreme.

However, in a different culture, my beliefs that I ought to be able to pick who to marry, drive a car on my own, not be raped by my significant other, choose whether or not to have children, pierce my ears, wear a bikini in public, speak ill about my government, fail to actively practice any religion, etc. could all be construed as extreme.

If there were one "objective truth," extremism would be easier to define. I personally don't believe that there is a single objective truth about the world, and so with no single point of comparison, it gets much harder to define the concept. One could have very average beliefs within a culture that many in other cultures would call "extreme." If somebody's beliefs are extreme relative to mine and the general consensus of my culture, does that make them an extremist? Or does that merely make me egocentric? And then, on what scale do we define a "culture?" Does a family constitute a culture? A school? A village? A nation? A neighborhood? Which leads me back to my main point.

It's all relative.

^ basically this ^

Goingnowhere had so many good points!

Fran maybe I'm a little more extreme than you lol I don't think people should be able to yell at people from their porch about going to hell. Preach in church, sure. Tell me you believe it in line at the bagel store, ok, even though you're stupid and I hate you. But start yelling at people publicly, I think that's nothing short of harassment and that people who do that should be at least given a citation or ticket for disturbing the peace.

And I think that's how I know im becoming at least radical. I'm definitely way more judgemental of people's radically conservative views as I become more educated on how their standpoints negatively impact my life and my family's. If you're racist I think you're an asshole and a horrible person and I can't do that well "that was how they were raised" or "well that's how it is in some areas" or "they're just subject to the media's influence", yeah no. If other people can learn not to be racist than so can you. I'm at a point in my life where I no longer speak to my blatantly racist, homophobic family members except when absolutely necessary.

Like, when the Mike Brown incident happened I had people arguing with me about it who hadn't even bothered to read the indictment. If they read it and we're educated on the case, I'd be happy to listen to their points and look into them further. But, they didn't, they clearly had very little information on the issue they had such strong views on, and refused to read the indictment. Ten years ago I would have written them off as naive or uneducated but if you can cite Fox News in a FB argument you can google a PDF of the **** indictment, so my opinion of those people were that they're just simply assholes. And really lazy. And uneducated but it's their own **** fault. Uneducated is an excuse I'll buy for people with illiterate parents or who come from a ghetto or dropped out of school because of a learning disability. Uneducated isn't an excuse for middle class white third generation American parents who paid for your state college education.

So kind of a rant, lol, but that's why I think some people would consider me an extemist. My friends in academia and my minority friends certainly don't think so. I'd just call myself a radical.

Nope, wouldn't call myself an extremist about any of the usual venues, I am not overly religious or political so I can't understand why someone would get extreme over it, but whatever.

The only thing that bothers me is people who are anti-military, it's ok to not support war in of itself, but protesting soldiers funerals (a dear friend of OH was killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan last year and there were those ass hats across the street) is wrong and shouldn't be allowed IMO. Let the poor family grieve in peace.