It is very challenging to truly believe in nothing. I think it is much more realistic to see nihilism as a label applied to others’ belief systems that we find entirely void of valid belief.
Organizations described as Nihilistic Violent Extremists do have beliefs that motivate them, they are just vacuous beliefs in the eyes of the vast majority of human beings.
However if you can show me someone who can convincingly claim to be that they really are a nihilist I would be curious to see it.
There’s also a third option, the person doesn’t see a problem with superficially adopting other beliefs as a form of camouflage, but they do have a core set of beliefs.
In general I think the chaos of the internet and the exposure to multiple points of view encourages fragmentation and dynamic systems of belief. I don’t necessarily see it as a bad thing, either.
And yes many people in tech are on the spectrum. I suspect that much of what's dysfunctional with SV and tech culture is the result of raising a generation of socially awkward neurodivergent kids on 4chan and making them millionaires before their frontal lobes have even fully developed. That necessarily bleeds into HN and becomes normalized within the culture as performative cynicism, misanthropy and toxicity.
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Their general MO was to push a kid on the fringes to do something illegal, then blackmail them into upping the risk and illegality. They collected videos of all those “for lulz”. Various crimes included producing CSAM, torturing animals, and assaulting or killing random people.
It’s rare that I sit my kids down and have them watch training videos with me. With this, I did, to show them what’s out there and help them identify it if they ever came across it.
My problem with the NVE label is the scope creep, some would like to apply that label to anyone who has a strong opinion and doesn’t fit in a neat box.
Related concept: Salad Bar Extremism
Part of it is legit, I think. There are legit things to be angry about, though they differ depending on where you live in the world.
Part of it is an addiction. Anger releases some powerful brain chemicals, and it can be addictive.
And for "scratch", it's usually sufficient to compare the angry fanatic's views/actions with some of the more prosocial parts of their supposed ideology.
For starters, “treat others well because everyone deserves our empathy” is completely compatible with atheism.
Of course the actual people doing harassment, exploitation and violence are just dark triad personality types
for everyone else the standard advise applies: BE ANGRY [at sin—at immorality, at injustice, at ungodly behavior], YET DO NOT SIN; do not let your anger [cause you shame, nor allow it to] last until the sun goes down.
The parent comment is warning about the potential for a false representation of a crisis being used to grab more power; the underlying facts being inconsistent with the supposed crisis is not particularly surprising