Physical crises can both trigger radicalization and catalyze deradicalization

Evidence

Two cases described physical health issues related to military experiences. One white supremacist attempted to join the military but was denied due to a physical issue and described that experience as a “letdown,” a time when they started to seek out members of an extreme group. For the other, a military injury led them to a drug addiction and interactions with other individuals with substance use disorders who were in extreme groups. Physical health was also a driver for deradicalization (discussed in more detail in Chapter Six) in two former white supremacists’ cases—for one a cancer diagnosis turned them toward religion, which in turn helped deradicalize them, while another had medical complications due to drug use, which was a tipping point for their family members to intervene and help them on a different path. — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America, 298

Categorization

• XREF: Directly relevant to the reader’s broader hypothesis about withdrawal-of-conflict: here exit is partly external-familial, a cancer diagnosis, and religion rather than confrontation. Useful against hypothesis. — connects to: Single dramatic life events can trigger both radicalization and deradicalization — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America:…, 68; Major events trigger waves of radicalization across different ideologies — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America:…, 182; Trauma before joining creates psychological vulnerability that radicalization later exploits — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America:…, 294 (+7 more)
• ADDENDUM: The amputee’s rationalization sounds like status compensation; possible angle but thin.

Broader Connections

• Negative life events predispose but never alone cause radicalization #qualifies (0.86) — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America, 56
• Personal crises precede and open receptivity to religious radicalization #expands (0.82) — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America, 327
• Radicalization factors are non-deterministic and heterogeneous across individuals #qualifies (0.78) — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America, 226
• The most powerful radicalization pathways combine personal psychological vulnerabilities with perceived community victimization. #expands (0.75) — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America, 156
• Economic retrenchment produced defensive embourgeoisement rather than further radicalization #complicates (0.75) — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory, 140
• Algorithmic-radicalization narratives may overstate causation since most frustrated users stay moderate #complicates (0.74) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 387
• Personal uncertainty, perceived injustice, and group threat jointly drive radicalization #expands (0.72) — Lea Echelmeyer, Anne-Marie Slotboom, and Frank Weerman, The Putative Effect of Identity on…, 267