Extremists Can Happen By Accident

As I read "The 'Other Side' is Not Dumb", one thing really stuck out to me.  The idea that we can connect on one level with a person and not another, and then feel compelled to align with them in other ways as well.  My friend likes this TV show and because they're my friend they're probably right is a very common reason for people starting to watch a new show.  This trait that we all share appears to me to be one of the most blatant reasons for political polarization.  I read yesterday an article in the New Yorker (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/10/16/birth-of-a-white-supremacist) about a Nazi who participated in the Charlottesville protests as well as runs what is apparently one of the most popular fascist websites on the internet.  In the article, which also included an interview piece, it was explained that at one point not only was he not a Nazi, but he identified on the complete other side of the spectrum at one point, and was a Trotskyite.  However, his habit of idealizing role models and incorporating not only the views he shared but all other views those people held led him to dive down the rabbit hole into Libertarianism and from there to white supremacy and fascism.  However, when reading the interview it becomes clear that although he acknowledges his influences he believes all of his views are his own, that rather than being influenced, he saw himself as making leaps of intuition and understanding.