How ordinary, lonely young people are drawn into extremist movements. This is Logan's research field and a core thread of Troll.
Where it comes up 4
Within this theme 14
Concepts 2
- Self-Help as Gateway to Extremism
In Troll, a 4chan-style forum's ten guidelines begin with genuinely good advice (reject nihilism, persevere, quit porn) before moving to who 'our people' are and who the enemy is. Logan…
- Radicalization
Logan's research field: what leads an otherwise normal person to join an extremist movement or terrorist group, regardless of ideology. He describes recruiters who validate young men's real…
Books 1
- Troll
Logan's 2023 novel about Peter Riley, an aspiring actor who becomes the online provocateur and cult leader 'Petrol'. It's written as short, dated fragments (forum posts, lectures…
People 3
- Logan Macnair
Criminology professor at Douglas College and Simon Fraser University in Vancouver who researches radicalization, terrorism, extremism and extremist media strategy; author of the novel Troll…
- Marcus Aurelius
Author of Meditations, cited as one of the dead you speak with when you read.
- Andrew Tate
Both Tamir and Logan think he is 'full grift': self-made success-story self-help with misogyny attached. He rose to fame as Logan finished Troll, so readers' comparisons are retroactive…
Quotes 3
Never accept the philosophies of fatalism, defeatism or nihilism. The survival of our people is reliant upon your ability to not give up even against seemingly impossible odds. Your ancestors survived and persevered so that you could be here today; you owe it to the future generations to do the same.
At the end of the day there's something inside them that's missing. For some of them they fill that hole with Funko Pops and video games; for some of them they fill that with darker things and go in much darker directions.
Don't get bamboozled, don't join a cult, read a book. Your life will be better.
Insights 4
- Borrowed wisdom as a battery
Classical quotes work as batteries that power whatever idea they are plugged into. Influencers must then cross a line to set themselves apart from the thousands of others quoting Marcus…
- Terrorists who walk among us
Many people 'terrorize' their families, workplaces or industries without making the news, out of the same troubled roots as extremists: a repressed or badly integrated shadow. Logan agrees…
- Nobody is born a neo-Nazi
To depict extremists honestly you have to show why people join. The path usually starts with self-discovery and legitimately good advice about accountability. The poison only comes later…
- Extremists sell an answer to malaise
Effective extremist propaganda doesn't deny young people's pain. It says 'your feelings are real and valid' and then supplies a reason and a group to blame, turning private emptiness into a…
Organizations and movements 1
- 4chan
The model for the forum in Troll ('the more unhinged Reddit'), where extremists post ten guidelines for escaping a 'useless existence'.