so glad you posted this -- i often ponder this question and have for years been plotting an oral history project on radicalization, to address just this question.
for me, i was raised by a fairly conservative southern family, with a strong dose of fundamentalism in my teen years on my father's side.
and yet from an early age i had certain values that were not in line with my family's -- i was opposed to the death penalty from the moment i understood it existed; opposed foreign anti-communist intervention without understanding anything about communism (if it's bad, people will figure it out; if it's good, then they have a right to do it); supportive of queer rights while dealing with my own internalized homophobia ("i'm glad *i'm* not a lesbian but people should be able to do what they want").
i didn't get any of those views from my family ... reading is the only source i can come up with.
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branchandroot
radicalization
Date: 2006-12-10 09:09 pm (UTC)for me, i was raised by a fairly conservative southern family, with a strong dose of fundamentalism in my teen years on my father's side.
and yet from an early age i had certain values that were not in line with my family's -- i was opposed to the death penalty from the moment i understood it existed; opposed foreign anti-communist intervention without understanding anything about communism (if it's bad, people will figure it out; if it's good, then they have a right to do it); supportive of queer rights while dealing with my own internalized homophobia ("i'm glad *i'm* not a lesbian but people should be able to do what they want").
i didn't get any of those views from my family ... reading is the only source i can come up with.
laura