Canada

No, it's an actual fucking cult...

Source: Personal experience with this deranged thinking from family

Oof, this guy seems easily swayed.

Was it really just boredom that had brought him here [,the first far right v. antifa] rally, I asked him. “Yeah,” he said emphatically. He hadn’t felt any prior urge to join a protest movement? “I didn’t know what it was. Like I said, the security guard just told me that there was going to be a protest.” If he’d gravitated toward the anti-fascist side, would he have joined their organization instead? “For sure.”

I'm glad he got out, but there's got to be something more going on in his life, searching for meaning or guidance. In this, he's going from ethnic (but not practising) jewish, to fundamental christianty, to far right, to antifa, to judaism.

Great read - the part about meeting Bowen was powerful.

For Manning, the most time-consuming component of the process is helping her clients battle through the void. They’re often left with a deep sense of personal loss: of close friendships, brotherhood, and community. Forming, or repairing, non-extremist relationships is no picnic. “Learning to trust people outside of the movement,” Manning says, “that one can be hard.” Leavers also lose their sense of identity and purpose.

I went through all of this when I left the church. It's a terrifying thing to realize that many forms of Christianity operate as, and have morphed into, cults.