Entries by Diane Benscoter

Preventing and Recovering from Extremism (Video)

It’s been a few months since I have been in touch with you. Own Your Brain continues to grow!   Tragedies like the mass shooting in Orlando and almost all terrorist attacks and hate crimes are the result of a young mind being influenced by some form of extreme mental manipulation.  Politicians try to exploit […]

Radicalization – Into and Out of Hate (video)

If you want to understand how the recent terrorist attacks in Paris could happen… you have to start with understanding the radicalization process. Christian Picciolini was vulnerable to the radicalization that he happened to be exposed to at a critical time in his life. The suicide bombers in Paris were vulnerable to the radicalization which […]

Sam Harris Podcast on Cults

I just listened to the Podcast Sam Harris posted a few weeks ago. The link is below and I definitely recommend listening to it. Sam makes a strong argument that “belief is the primary driver of behavior”. He points to cases such as the Heaven’s Gate cult, in which members took their own lives, or […]

Richard Dawkins Tweets a Question

Richard Dawkins tweeted the following today. “My son’s a good Muslim … so I don’t understand what he’s doing there [trying to join ISIS].” Is it precisely BECAUSE he’s a good Muslim? There was an immediate response of people calling Richard names and being aghast at the question. Most didn’t take it as a question, […]

Should We Talk to Terrorists?

The Big Question, the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations – in partnership with the Institute for Strategic Dialogue is asking the question, should we talk to terrorists. I’m sure it will be a great discussion. Since I won’t be able to attend, here are my thoughts. I would like to re-frame this question. […]