8th Annual WML Academic Symposium

Presenter(s): Lindsay Chinn
Title: The Terrorist James Jackson: Radicalization via Unfreezing
Developed under the guidance of Dr. Guy Vitaglione , Psychology

James Jackson, a self-proclaimed white supremacist was ultimately charged with murder as an act of terrorism at the age of twenty-eight. His crime was the devastating ending to his racial thoughts and Crazed psyche. During all my research involving James Jackson one word replayed through my mind, unfreezing. This stuck with me through the weeks of research. I found Jackson’s story to be the epitome of unfreezing: radicalization to escape fear or pain, or to escape disconnection (McCauley, Moskalenko; 2017). I contemplate if there was a traumatic event that arose causing him to snap. I pondered if we as psychologist could prepare children in school with the tools and avenues to explore when faced with disconnection, to differ them from being susceptible to luring radical groups?

Watch the recording below, or on YouTube.