How to make and break an extremist

The Conservative leadership contest is showing the worst of the current political climate. Moderate (as moderate as Conservatives go) MPs are being thrown out in favour of right-wing candidates. Moreover, these right wingers have no plan for the future and their past policies look like something from an Orwellian nightmare. So how can these callous clowns still be popular? How has British politics become so divided and angry?

Extremism comes in all forms; from those of religious origins, such as ISIS, to hard right politics in the form of Neo-Nazis; and is hateful in nature, often persecuting those who are perceived as different from them. As many of us know, hate is grown from fear; and the fear itself is born from isolation and ignorance. 

In Britain, there is a growing wealth gap between the highest and lowest earners; the top 1,000 richest people in the UK now own £724bn, almost triple the amount from ten years ago. Now the 1% of highest earners own more than twenty times the wealth of the poorest 20%. This issue has been exacerbated by government rulings such as; benefit freezes, universal credit and tax cuts for the rich, to name but a few. Further to the deepening inequality, services have been slashed leaving many with lower quality healthcare, education and security. Ordinary people have been forgotten by the government and felt isolated from politics. 

Children living in poverty can often find themselves struggling in school through hunger; emotional stress and even bullying. Such challenges can cause children to feel further secluded from the world around them and may push them to act out, leading to punishments and a distrust of authority. At home, parents are forced to work longer hours to support their family; therefore they lose precious time with their children. 

In his TedTalk, Christian Picciolini spoke about his troubled youth, as a child of an impoverished family. He talked about how his parents’ long working hours regularly left him feeling alone and looking for a sense of belonging. What he found was a group of Nazis, which he slowly became a leader in. 

This story is similar to that of Caleb Cain, a former right-wing enthusiast who now runs programmes to help those following in his footsteps. Caleb has depression, which led him to leave university and return to his hometown. As his friends were still at university, he turned to YouTube for comfort, which led him down a rabbit-hole of alt-right propaganda from the likes of Ben Shapiro and Stefan Molyneux. Slowly, he began to believe in the narrative that immigration is the route of most American problems. 

Newspapers capitalise on this disconnect by giving those left behind an outlet for their (understandable) anger and a figure to blame- immigrants and Muslims. Headlines such as; ‘Strangers in our own country’ or ‘Migrants take ALL new jobs in Britain’ began scaremongering readers into believing their misfortune was down to high immigration, not the government. In a recent survey, 35% of Britons feel that Islam is a threat to the British lifestyle, and that is no surprise with headlines like these. The mainstream media allows readers to distance themselves from the individuals that are demonised, whilst also allowing them to feel accepted in their bigotry. Statistics are twisted and the infamous ‘fake facts’ are portrayed as true, persuading their audiences that their prejudices are valid.

During the Brexit campaign, Nigel Farage led his team with malice and ill-intent but he has been praised and treated as a ‘hero’. The public, in particular the lowest earning, have felt forgotten and ignored for too long to trust the government or preachy political commentators; they are looking for something different. Brexit gave people someone to blame- Europe, immigrants and ‘Remoaners’. Some blame has turned to hatred; at boiling point, a ‘Britain First’ extremist shot, stabbed and killed Jo Cox, a Labour MP known for her open attitude towards migration. 

But how can we change this hostile environment? We need to re-engage with those who are least represented in parliament; we need to seek their input about future programmes and legislation. Many extremists feel isolated, so enabling communities to gather at centres and open events can ease the disconnect. It is wonderful that our world has become so interconnected through online means, but we must also ensure that we grow our connections in person and in our local communities too.

Education is a key component to opening people’s minds to other groups within their community; as mentioned earlier, fear grows from ignorance. Teaching about other faiths, races and backgrounds will allow people to base their opinions on facts and not emotion or falsities. Knowledge and logic will always prevail over hysterical lies. It is also important to remember that those believing right wing propaganda are not stupid, nor foolish, but have simply had enough of feeling like outsiders. It is possible to educate people without patronising, and we must treat people with dignity and kindness, even if it is not reciprocated.

Finally, we need to provide a purpose for people who may feel that their life has no meaning. This is important especially with those who feel that immigration is encroaching on their daily living or that they are unemployed because of migrants. Empowering young people with skills to get ahead in the job market may promote a sense of pride and purpose; decreasing the disdain for those different to themselves.

It is never too late to create a more loving a peaceful society and giving individuals a sense of identity, community and purpose is key.