[hackuser]

> the world is changing rapidly, and there are no guarantees what the future will bring.

I guess that's been true for centuries, but I don't see what it has to do with militias. Like everyone with a bad idea, they want to say 'this time it's different'.

> There is no law of the universe that precludes smart people from believing in ideologies or causes that you personally dismiss.

Perhaps not a law of the universe, but it's not just personal subjectivity. I personally dismiss that the world is flat, and I'm confident smart people widely agree with me for a good reason.

[tedks]

>I guess that's been true for centuries, but I don't see what it has to do with militias. Like everyone with a bad idea, they want to say 'this time it's different'.

Well, automation is going to start taking away knowledge worker jobs soon, so many intelligent people might find themselves in rather dire circumstances.

It's certainly unfair to compare rightism to flat-earthism. If you can't admit that there are people as smart or smarter than you who have opposite political views, you're hopelessly blinded by partisanship.

[hackuser]

> It's certainly unfair to compare rightism to flat-earthism

I didn't; I was talking about fringe movements planning for the collapse of civilization. They certainly do not represent the right wing.

[tedks]

By definition no extremist represents the center or the average of their political ideology. But extremists exist and occasionally are very intelligent.