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| - Let's say that you are right and everyone else is wrong, but everyone outside your little group of like-minded righteous people is simply too dumb to understand that you are superior. Surely, you would be tempted to try to reach their hearts by methods that might seem a little silly and counterproductive? A character doing Activist Fundamentalist Antics is likely to shout all the wrong slogans at all the wrong places: religious gatherings, family holiday dinners, even funerals. They might make botched attempts at Easy Evangelism or Epiphany Therapy, coming across as a general Jerkass. They are likely to step on all toes, including their own, and trip over their own feet in all sorts of ways. One hallmark of this mentality is the desire to forbid other people from living their lives — not because they involve the character in the violation of some taboo and not because they disobey some "universal" morality derived from the faith, but simply because they exist and isn't a part of the character's Small Secluded World. Some psychologists have argued that the reason why some cultists are behaving like this is that they are desperately trying to convince themselves of the righteousness of their cause. When The Fundamentalist (or any other fanatic) is played this way, they can still be scary. There might be a real risk that they'll go off the deep end and bring out the Torches and Pitchforks or resort to Honor-Related Abuse. Then again, it might also turn out that whatever Windmill he was fighting was No Mere Windmill after all. Extra bonus points if two or more groups are doing this at the same time against each other. This might lead to spineless authorities giving in to both sides, resulting in particularly surreal and hilarious cases of Political Correctness Gone Mad. Silly, scary, or both, while the person doing Activist Fundamentalist Antics is often genuinely unsympathetic, it is not always so. They can have other redeeming qualities, or be on the right track but are taking it too far. They might also be wrestling with their life, conscience, and/or world-view. Note that a character doesn't have to be an organized activist to be this trope, taking an activist attitude is enough. Please note that this trope relies on how attitudes and behaviors are portrayed within the narrative of a work, and is thus incapable of having Real Life examples: While everyone agree that there's a lot of silly Activist Fundamentalist Antics in Real Life, there will never be a consensus on which groups are this trope and which ones are not. Compare Straw Loser and Black and White Insanity. Contrast Against My Religion, where the character personally refuses to do things that he considers to be against his religion, rather than trying to bully everyone else into behaving the same way. Also contrast The Soulsaver and Soulsaving Crusader, which can contain behavior that would be this trope if it weren't justified within the narrative. A particularly over-the-top Soapbox Sadie might act this way for every new cause that pops into her head. While there are people like this, No Real Life Examples, Please Examples of Activist Fundamentalist Antics include:
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