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A white supremacist took MDMA for a study, and it snapped him out of his beliefs: 'Why am I doing this?' (www.insider.com)

submitted 1 year ago by DevCat to c/[email protected]

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/241900

A leader in the US white nationalist movement realized he wanted to change his extreme beliefs after he took the psychoactive drug MDMA as part of a scientific study.

The man, who is referred to by his first name, Brendan, was enrolled in an MDMA study in February 2020, which investigated whether the drug could increase the pleasantness of human touch, according to an adaptation of the book "I Feel Love: MDMA and the Quest for Connection in a Fractured World" by Rachel Nuwer, published by the BBC.

After the experience, Brendan returned a form to the researchers and wrote: "This experience has helped me sort out a debilitating personal issue. Google my name. I now know what I need to do."

The researchers looked up Brendan and discovered he was a white supremacist, who had lost his job after being revealed as the leader of a white nationalist group. Brendan had attended the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville in 2017.

Immediately they were concerned as to what "sorting out an issue" might refer to, but when they tracked him down, Brendan revealed that what he needed to do was simply love, as opposed to something more sinister.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago (2 children)

This is interesting but the article lost me when it mentioned he started therapy after the MDMA, chicken or the egg? Well, I;m certainly glad that he did some reflecting and saw what he was doing was wrong.

[–] DevCat 21 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I believe he took the MDMA, realized he had problems, and then started therapy.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

It sounds like he realized he had a problem prior to the study, and perhaps the MDMA helped him take the leap into recovery. It would seem there was at least a feeling of regret and uncertainty stemming from being exposed and losing his job.

I wonder if it's a similar mechanism that we've seen with drugs like this and treating addiction and PTSD. The drugs make the brain more pliable, but the desire has to be there to actually see the change.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

The way I read it, the man took MDMA, and during the experience he had a Road To Damascus moment.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago

so, there is a cure!

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Drug them all? At once, just for fun.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

And for Science!

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

Makes sense.

It temporarily boosts your empathy. In the right setting, this can result in deep introspection and amazing clarity--the defensive walls in your psyche are torn down and your ego is supressed. It's difficult to lie to oneself in that state.

While the empathy may fade, the lesson it instills seems to stick.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

This is truly inspirational. Never too late to change.