No one copes with the effects of prolonged isolation well. Prisoners go psychotic. Even strong, healthy individuals feel their psyche sag. And then there's the rest of us. But what about those seditious rioters? Lockdown lunatics? Pandemic psychotics?
Make no mistake: Part of their blinkered outlook was honed by a solitude spent on social media. A narrowing social media which promoted outrageous conspiracies. Then, those who spent time on such media spent more and more time with these outrageous sources, less and less time with sources which tested these worldviews with evidence. The more time you spend with conspiracy theorists, the less time with diverse others who increasingly have no patience with the anger and thought violence of the lockdown lunatics.
We were all isolated and abandoned by our government. Some of us used our isolation to learn languages, volunteer, read, relearn how to knit, crochet. I expanded my apartment's zombie botanical garden. (Zombie plants, btw, have pet like qualities. They have communicative skills). People actually made and donated masks to non-medical personnel. Others of us had to go to work, regardless of circumstances. We had no patience for the growing lockdown lunatics, who chose--and again--the word is CHOSE. Decided of their own free will to spend more and more of their time on this social media, less and less time testing reality and interacting with diverse populations.
How else do you explain the diverse army of people who, though extremely conservative, had relatively quiet, normal lives? These people knew the laws. Ex-army. Cops. Lawyers. Realtors. Doctors. All of them used to unquestioning obedience to authority--in this case, the authority of social media. How do you understand people who know the meaning of assault. Of breaking and entering breaking, entering, and assaulting? None of them apparently knew the nuances of negotiation and compromise.
Of course, there were some very fragile people there. Emotionally impaired individuals abandoned by all mental health structures. Exposed non-stop to negative emotions on social media.
Worse, besides the isolation and the self-selected decisions to increase their time on social media, is the ignorance of civics--what it means to select leaders by elections. Yes, everyone you know may have been for or against someone. But that is a very narrow sample. Have they ever run for election--I have run for numerous high school posts--I was usually first alternative homerun rep or something like that. When you have elections--someone or ones lose--there is only one winner. Bush Sr. lost after one term. So did LBJ. So did Carter.
In the Somerville Middle School Mock Elections, Nixon won by a landslide. I voted for the Socialist Candidate (whose name I don't now remember). That guy got 2 votes.
I voted for many losing candidates in my life--I have long known that few think/believe as I do. As a Jew, I have it embedded in my DNA that I am an outsider.
Mental health testing will probably be non-revealing. The Nazis, while awaiting trial on Nuremburg, took extensive projective tests which---revealed them to be normal. Nazis also were not exposed to anything but consensual validation. Nazis were expected to be obedient to authority. Apparently a subset of Americans also yearn for this. Now they are in for a rude awakening. Claiming President Trump "invited" you has no legal merit. If you have a history of emotional problems, you may get a lighter sentence. Otherwise, this excuse has all the legal standing of a first grader telling the teacher, "Johnny made me do it." There are always choices. Sometimes doing the right thing doesn't feel glorious. Nonetheless, right is always right.
So--what variables are relevant:
Locus of control. Prior engagement in public life. Isolation. Professional engagement/contact. Prior and current involvement with social media. (Heavy/intermediate/light). Family engagement. Measure of mental stability.
Photo: My zombie Garden