Articles

The ideal of purity seduces culture, politics, religion, and personal life; the drive to remain “uncontaminated” so frequently ends in exclusion, hypocrisy, and harm. This article examines the lived experience of the Illusion of Purity and its permeation of extremist movements.

Author

Lauren

date

February 12, 2026

Finding Internal Safety After Extremism

This piece isn’t an argument for self-isolation or independence at all costs. It’s a reflection on something quieter and more foundational: the understanding that a sense of safety must come from within, regardless of who is present or absent in our lives.

Ask a Former #4 – Mental Health Support

What victories can we help participants celebrate that may not be obvious to everyone? What is the best advice we've been given? What is the worst?

Ask a Former, March 2025

Four out of five of us received movement-related tattoos, and the reasons people got them were as interesting as the reasons they did not.

With Friends Like These...

Re-acclimating to the normal world can feel impossible for Formers. Jamie shares insight into some challenges we face.

Ask a Former, February 2025

Am I supposed to tell everyone I know about my past? What about on first dates?

Ask A Former, January 2025

When will I stop feeling ashamed about my past?

The Day I Found Out I Was An Extremist

When there aren't words to describe your past, how do you talk about it?

On Grief and Radicalization

In loving memory of my father.

One Door Opens, Another Closes

You can't always bring your past with you.

They say resentment is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. How do we get the bad stuff out without harming ourselves?

Bad Friends With Worse Habits

In order to survive, you must escape reality. What happens when the fantasy becomes your eventual demise?

In Defense of Academia

My name is Angela and I am a Pete Simi superfan.

Is it my civic duty to hate myself forever if I leave the far-right?

A look of those who are only hobbyist Nazis.

Salting and Healing Our Wounds

An excerpt from Tony McAleer's book, The Cure for Hate.

The Irony of “Utopia”

u·to·pi·a | (n) - an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect.

What does it mean to leave? Where do you go?

We know, you're extremely smart and subversive and only want to do right by Your People. But there's that itch in your brain that you can't scratch- If I'm doing the Good Thing, why does it feel bad? Why do I keep suffering the consequences of my own actions? We are sharing stories, airing grievances, celebrating wins, making fun of bad decisions, but always showing compassion for who we used to be. We've been where you are- looking for a fight, or maybe that one thing that either ties all of your beliefs together or unravels everything. Ask us a question, give us something to chew on, let us know how you really feel. We're around.

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