rationalskepticism.org

TopCat wrote:

orpheus wrote:

Ironclad wrote:That woman has got 'the crazy' in her eyes. Weird.

I saw that as well. But also a strange and sad mixture of crazy, hate-filled, and (here's the sad part) - fearful. She was so afraid that something would breach the walls of her dogmatic belief.

I didn't see any fear there. None at all. We might infer it, as you said, but that's all.

Nor a shadow of doubt. And lots of aggression - she will have had a lot of practice at fighting her corner.

We interpret that as crazy and weird, because there are so few people that are that uncompromising. That hardness is unnatural; it has been conditioned.

Yes, and part of what reinforces it — and most rigid beliefs people hold onto — is fear. Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it's not there. The presentation of characteristics I described are entirely typical of that structure of emotions with overwhelming fear as one of the deep roots. The fact that it's too overwhelming is precisely why it's kept buried in the subconscious. So you're right-- I am inferring it's presence. But not without reason. What you can see are classic and strong indicators that the fear is there, and that it is a huge motivating factor.