Reaching Out

I go out of my way to talk to people I don't agree with. And this is not just over minor things, this is over big controversial things such as a lot of the subject matter on this blog. Why? When you find someone you disagree with, you have found the edge of your echo-chamber: if you want to help change someone's opinion, this is your only chance. But most of the time you can't change someone's opinion by arguing with them, right? 100% correct. So why discuss something with someone when you know their opinion won't budge yet?

Marketing In the Soul Age describes people identifying themselves, at least as consumers, as a unique combination of memberships in different groups. Taking me for example, I generally associate with LDS, Tai Chi, Full Contact Weapon Fighting, Yang Gang, Antioch University, AntiMLM, etc. Think about your life, what groups do you identify with?

Now, let's take two opposites, on one hand we have a Mr. Antifa who is an anarchist, and on the other hand we have a Ms. Alt-right who is a fascist. Let's say these two open a correspondence. They argue, make a lot of broad accusations towards each other, offend one another deeply, and so on.

But as this correspondence continues something interesting happens. When Mr. Antifa goes back to hang out with the other anarchists, Mr. Antifa is more knowledgeable about fascist views. Mr. Antifa becomes the anarchist group's resident expert on fascist thinking, their resident fascist. Likewise when the Ms. Alt-right goes back to hang out with her fellow fascists, Ms. Alt-right rapidly becomes the fascists group's resident anarchist.

Even though Ms. Alt-right and Mr. Antifa may not agree with each other's thinking most of the time, because they understand each other's perspectives, they can use those opposing perspectives when it suits them. Mr. Antifa has a better understanding of how strong authority can have its advantages in certain situations, and Ms. Alt-right can see the flaws in strong authority figures and the need to avoid complying with authority blindly.

I recently posted a Tai Chi video on the Tres Espadas YouTube channel, and there is praise there in the comments by someone named "White Lives Matter." Does that sound like someone I would normally agree with? HELL NO! But look, here we have someone at least sympathetic towards white separatist views praising:

1. a channel and club with a spanglish name "Tres Espadas," (racist whites I have spoken to are offended by white people using Spanish names for things,)
2. a video which talks about a Chinese Martial art, "Tai Chi," (amidst the COVID-19 pandemic anti-Asian sentiment is high,) which is also 
3. a video featuring kids who are obviously at most only half-white. (When white separatists say they want to protect a future for white children, they are saying they eschew mixed race relationships.)

Having someone calling themselves "White Lives Matter" like that video is huge. That means when they are hanging out with their unsympathetic-to-BLM group, they are likely now the racially progressive one in that (probably racist) group!

I implore people in the anti-MLM community to keep this group association concept in mind. If you have correspondence with someone who is in MLM, they become that MLMer who has anti-MLM friends. This is one of the best things you can do to help them leave MLM, because as they inevitably run into the problems in MLM, they will have YOUR anti-MLM perspective for handling those problems, and they will have YOU as a friend so they are not so isolated as they leave MLM.