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When we hear the word ‘extremist’ we envision loud, angry, vitriolic tirades. We envision rage filled belligerent protests. We envision threats of violence and persecution. We envision lethal acts of violent terrorism. These are all certainly examples of extremism and horrifying ones at that but they are manifestations of extremism not definitions of it. They are what happen when extreme ideologies meet extremist modes of thinking and perceiving.
An extreme is something which is at the outermost reaches of a given spectrum. The farther away from the central norm the greater the extreme. This applies to any spectrum of any kind, including any form of physical or behavioral phenomena. Minus fifty degrees Celsius is extremely cold as plus fifty degrees is extremely hot. Two feet tall is extremely short for a human as eight feet is extremely tall. Brushing your teeth twenty times a day versus brushing them only once a year are extremes of behavior. All spectrums have their central norms and their outer extremes.
When we add –ism or –ist we move from simple occurring phenomena to deliberate actions. They denote a particular way of perceiving and approaching things, a specializing or intentional narrowing of…