Citation

Simi P, Blee K, Demichele M, Windisch S. Am. Sociol. Rev. 2017; 82(6): 1167-1187.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, American Sociological Association)

DOI

10.1177/0003122417728719

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The process of leaving deeply meaningful and embodied identities can be experienced as a struggle against addiction, with continuing cognitive, emotional, and physiological responses that are involuntary, unwanted, and triggered by environmental factors. Using data derived from a unique set of in-depth life history interviews with 89 former U.S. white supremacists, as well as theories derived from recent advances in cognitive sociology, we examine how a rejected identity can persist despite a desire to change. Disengagement from white supremacy is characterized by substantial lingering effects that subjects describe as addiction. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of identity residual for understanding how people leave and for theories of the self.

Language: en