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I've recently made this decision with my lifelong closest friend. I've known about his changing views for a while but its really hard to let go of a friend I've had for 15 years. I justified it to myself because I wanted to make sure he had my perspective around and I thought he was starting to mellow out. Turns out he was just learning to avoid politics around his friends.

It came to a head when I moved to a new city and he stayed with me for 2 weeks. After hanging with my local friends for a year, I realized I was always avoiding the elephant in the room with him. When I introduced him to my friends, I realized I was really hoping he wouldn't say anything crazy. I was really hoping my trans friend wouldn't show up in case he decided to make that a focal point. He's been "getting more religious" (dominionist, christo-fascist). And I can tell he's still disguising himself even when we talk openly about politics and religion.

More recently, two other friends stayed with me for a week. They're also long-time friends with the first guy. We all collectively realized that we were much more comfortable around each other than we were around him. I was excited to introduce them to my local friends. I never had to pick my words or hold my tongue. So I'm going low contact with him. It sucks but I can't call someone a friend that has such fundamentally opposed values to my own. If it were just a difference in how much taxation is the right amount or how healthcare should be administered, I could look past it. But he's gone pretty authoritarian and believes some of my other friends shouldn't exist. I can't reconcile that.

I actually have been that in the past year. Helped organize his victims to kick him out of a local community.

I'm getting emotional whiplash from the amount my emotions go from "fuck them all violence is the only answer" to "you should keep an open door for when their faces are undoubtedly eaten by leopards and need help"

Let them know they'll be welcome once they stop being fascists. The only good fascist is a dead one, but killing fascists isn't the only way to get rid of them.

I am :( but they keep telling me we need fascism to get rid of fascism.

Be the reason why a fascist feels unsafe.

Excluded?

Bro they have all the power in USA.

So low-strata fascists are typically like low strata cultists^†^ in that they're typically drawn in by neo-nazis (or whoever) giving an ounce of regard to them when they're alone and socially isolated. The indoctrination and costly identity markers follow.

At least this is my take based on stories I've heard from those who have escaped hate groups, militant groups and dangerous NRMs. Transition from membership to outsider (optimally involved in more benign social groups) is difficult and takes a while.

That said, fascists are dangerous both by being politically active (in the US, politically active in a system where safety checks have been stripped away or subverted) and by being violent or engaging in direct action. And in these cases, doing what is necessary to stop them can qualify as self-defense.

† As a cult researcher, I feel the need to define this, since cult is a loaded word. By low-strata cultist I mean a low-rung member of a dangerous NRM or seller from an MLM.

I find this depressing. The only thing this world isn't really trying these days is to reach out and be there for people almost unconditionally. It's lame, but, we still need to be the change we want to see in the world. The less light there is in the tunnel. the darker it gets.

When your friend has an addiction, you try to support him to quit. If a friend turns into a fascist , you should support him to quit, exclusion will only make him more extremist :(

Is that the TF2 font?