This is why you don’t have to be afraid of the Proud Boys. Not nearly as bad as the Boy Scouts’ initiation.

This CNN piece provides some insight into the Proud Boys:

“They’re men who’ve never had wingmen before,” he says. “They’re afraid to say what’s on their mind for fear of getting into a fight. But if they have that guy or that group behind them, they’re more bold in saying what they think, because they think someone has their back. … The Proud Boys are the vehicle that attracts those people and accepts them in.”

Trump campaign and White House officials attacking Democrats as “sore losers” “cry babies” … trying to “delegitimize” Trump through “unsubstantiated” recounts in 2016.

Any history of the American Civil War is likely to include the phrase “brother against brother.” Donald Trump has divided our country… and our families. Richard Eldredge asks, “Was it worth it?”

Family birthday greetings, anniversary celebrations and graduation photos eventually disappeared from my timeline as other family members used social media to take sides. When I typed the names of relatives I’ve known and loved all my life into the Facebook search box, profiles popped up, along with the phrase “Add Friend.” Or in extreme cases, you vanished completely after blocking me.

The invitations to your holiday gatherings stopped coming. Your daughter got married and I wasn’t invited. We haven’t spoken since 2017.
Over our love-filled 50-year bond, you chose a hate-filled New York millionaire who has never spent a moment with you, cried with one of you when your dad died, hugged another of you at your mom’s funeral or otherwise cared about you.

To be clear, this was never about a difference of political opinion. We’ve gotten through that before. This was about a fundamental difference in morality, integrity and decency and a person who exemplifies none of those things.

We had allowed a complete stranger to vaporize our family. A bond that spans The Beatles and swing sets, Frisbee tournaments in the street, sitting front row together at “E.T.,” late-night cruises in your car while blasting Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” album and me nervously pinning on your boutonniere on the day of your wedding.

The question remains: “Was it worth it?”

I don’t know. You’re the only ones who can answer that. I also don’t know what the future holds for us or even if we have one. You were the person who closed the door on our relationship — and you hold the key to reopening it.

“In the 1956 book When Prophecy Fails, three social psychologists studied a small religious sect in Chicago called “the seekers,” who believed that the world would soon be destroyed by a flood, and that a flying saucer was coming to save them. The seekers were deeply invested in the prophecy’s fulfillment—many had quit jobs and left spouses to prepare. On the appointed day, they gathered at their leader’s home to wait for deliverance. The psychologists wanted to know how the seekers would react when the world didn’t end. Would they realize they’d been duped? Denounce their former belief system? Turn on their prophet? As it turned out, no. When Armageddon failed to materialize, they simply decided that God had spared Earth from destruction because of their faith; that they had been right all along.”

“The psychologists who studied the seekers attributed their rationalizations to the discomfort of cognitive dissonance: When a true believer is faced with “undeniable evidence” that what he believes is wrong, he “will frequently emerge, not only unshaken, but even more convinced of the truth of his beliefs than ever before. Indeed, he may even show a new fervor about convincing and converting other people to his view.”

When the MAGA Bubble Burst