Barbara Boxer is not a bitch or the "C" word.

[Hortensis]

25. Well, there is something to that, but I think it is

that there is a good mix of others who have been drawn into mostly left-wing extremist behavior on DU, though some right-wingers are no doubt here also (after all, the Democratic Party includes groups like Kentucky's conservative Democrats).

Whether referring to far left and right, radicals, or extremists, extremism is real, of course, and a great of deal of research has been done on it, with more needed. I'm not talking about looking for solutions outside the box, but of extreme behaviors.

One of the more alarming things I've read recently is that people can seduce themselves "down the rabbit hole" of extremism, as it was described, by hanging and agreeing with groups that not only engage in extreme attitudes and behaviors but that also themselves may become more and more extreme over time.

That psychologist's description was not in discussion of politics, but what flashed into my mind was our two-year-long election seasons, during which many people become more and more emotionally invested in their causes and/or candidates. And, of course, forums like DU immediately also flashed to mind. This has been going on for some time now, and it may just have something to do with the fact that our electorate has been moving farther and farther right and left and our politics have been getting more and more batshit crazy.