I have an old classmate who is a US Capitol Police Officer

[apnu]

48. I was recruited twice by Nazis in my teens and 20s.

It it was not for a Jewish history teacher in high school, I would not have been equipped to recognize the signs of fascism.

They are very good at recruitment. They are patient and know the process takes a long time for it to transform a normal person into a full fascist.

The Internet and Social Media accelerates this process but it is still a process that happens over time. They come to you as friends, sympathetic to whatever is upsetting you. Once an emotional trust is built, they start testing the waters and slowly introduce concepts, but continue to lay on the emotional bond to mask what they are really saying.

This how the trick always goes: find recruits when they are lost, scared, worried. Turn that fear into anger. Direct that anger at a scapegoat. Poof you are now a fascist.