I’d suggest NOT giving him more liberalism, since that has already demonstrated the predictable outcome.
Ignore all the joke answers here. It seems insensitive given the subject matter. He’s probably lonely and feeling left out. If he has siblings it’s all the more likely. I was an alienated teenager who was in a place similar to your son I think. I eventually realized I and many others we’re being used to further the agenda of some unsavory fucks who wanted to send us back to the 1860’s. Try to show him how much he means to you. Let him know you care about him. Just don’t drive him away, Show some love and compassion and he’ll realize he’s drinking the kool-aid eventually I think. Hope this helps, good luck!
Specifically try to get him into some hobby or social activity that will draw his attention away from the fasc stuff. Was there anything he used to love, any friends he’s drifted away from that you could try and get him talking to again through a shared activity?
Source: am psych nurse. You don’t confront / directly argue with delusions and other thoughts related to maladaptive social behavior; you subtly reduce their attractiveness while encouraging healthy human connection.
Additionally, I would suggest activities that doesn’t isolate him further or put him in a group of like minded people. Cooking classes would be nice.
Doing political stuff for Christmas is one way to ensure you have a nazi kid forever. Just ignore the politics, give a normal gift. Love will conquer all the hatred that he has. Good luck.
Start with video games. But try to make it a game that has couch co-op so your family can come together.
I don’t see that much in modern games sadly. Tekken 8 has it, that’s all I can think of.
Coal. For some reason Republicans love that stuff.
The best gift will be the same understanding, acceptance, and love you show all your kids.
- subscription to Brilliant
- museum card (go with him)
- trip abroad
- night out to stand up comedy
- tickets to an anime convention
Edit: maybe get him a busuu, rosetta stone, or duolingo subscription so that he can learn a new language, and maybe the desire to travel to experience life outside of the country, learn about new cultures and people, and so on.
To be honest brilliant seemed so cool to me like 7 years ago and I got a subscription and found that I basically learnt nothing from it even though I spent hundreds of hours.
It’s good at making you “feel” like you’re learning but it’s pretty bad at actually teaching things.
A textbook will go so much further.
Why is his political opinion important for a Christmas present? Just give him something he’d like.
And if all he wants for Christmas is an ethnically homogeneous fatherland?
Just stick to socks I say.
Just make sure they’re white.
The more you try to overtly meddle the more the kid will be convinced of their beliefs, reactionaries thrive off disagreement and arguments.
Get them something normal, perhaps something the connects with nature. Your goal should be to get them to connect with you and the rest of the family, you want them too feel like they are part of the in-group.
Just out of curiosity, do you know what drew him to this line of thinking in the first place? Any particular media he’s consumed? Knowing how one first enters into fascism can help in undoing that damage.
I would say, a good conversation. Listen to him, ask question, don’t be too judgemental (and that can be hard). But also accept, that for a big part, you can’t form/force his way of thinking. In the end he has to find his own way in life.
Das Kapital
An education?
- Peter Kropotkin, The Conquest of Bread (1892)
- Murray Bookchin, The Ecology of Freedom (1982)
- Abdullah Öcalan, Democratic Confederalism (2011)
While those are cool books you’re not going to turn a facist kid leftist by gifting them anarchist books they aren’t ever going to want to read.
Especially when their radicalisation likely came from the instant gratification of social media.
They probably feel like the odd one out. Feelings of loneliness can often lead to this kind of radicalisation. You want to make the kid feel loved. Gifting them books from your ideology is pretty much the worst thing you could do (unless it’s some sort of “side gift”). Because it’s basically screaming “I’m not going to get you anything you want unless you change for me” — aka. I do not love you unconditionally, which a kid never wants to hear
