A white supremacist and two MDMA pills
A story by Rachel Nuwer published by the BBC shows how even the most hardcore white nationalist has the power to experience change. It all happened to a 31-year-old man named Brendan, whose life was in a hate-fueled freefall until he happened to take MDMA, known recreationally as ecstasy or Molly.
Nuwer is a freelance science journalist and the author of “I Feel Love: MDMA and the Quest for Connection in a Fractured World.” She hopes that by exposing people to the benefits of MDMA, the world can be changed through empathy.
“If people can use MDMA as a therapy to help get over their trauma and have more bandwidth to care about things in the world, maybe we could have a better place for wildlife and nature,” she told Publishers Weekly.
Back in 2017, it seemed like there wasn’t much help for Brendan. He was a member of Identity Evropa and attended the infamous Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where three people died and dozens were injured.
Can MDMA help to dispel bigoted beliefs? This excerpt from my book, I Feel Love, delves into the possibilities and limitations of using the drug for this purpose, through the story of a disgraced white supremacist who unwittingly took MDMA. https://t.co/jvana0rjd8 @BBC_Future
— Rachel Nuwer (@RachelNuwer) June 16, 2023
Identity Evropa, now known as American Identity Movement, is a white supremacist group that the Southern Poverty Law Center refers to as a “campus-based organization [that] focuses on raising white racial consciousness, building community based on shared racial identity and intellectualizing white supremacist ideology.”
Brendan rose in the ranks of Identity Evropa, eventually becoming the coordinator for the entire Midwest. But all that changed in 2019 after an anti-fascist group doxxed Brendan and 100 of his fellow Identity Evropa members. After his identity became public, he lost his job and many of his closest relationships.
A few months later, Brendan signed up for an experiment at the University of Chicago on whether MDMA increased “the pleasantness of social touch in healthy volunteers.” Thirty minutes after taking 110 mg of MDMA, Brendan had a revelation. “Wait a second – why am I doing this? Why am I thinking this way?" he thought to himself. "Why did I ever think it was okay to jeopardize relationships with just about everyone in my life?"
A hallucination of a heart
After a researcher put him into an MRI, he was tickled with a brush. "I noticed it was making me happier – the experience of the touch," Brendan told the BBC. "I started progressively rating it higher and higher." One word popped into his mind: connection.
Brendan’s experience with MDMA is commonly felt by people who take the drug recreationally. MDMA triggers the release of neurotransmitters that make people feel euphoric, relaxed, and friendly, with a heightened feeling of security.
During the session, Brendan developed an understanding of humanity that was more like a revelation someone would have at a rave or in the desert during the Coachella festival. He realized that all humanity was “one” and that interpersonal connections were all that mattered.
“I realized I'd been fixated on stuff that doesn't really matter, and is just so messed up, and that I'd been totally missing the point. I hadn't been soaking up the joy that life has to offer,” he said. The experience completely changed the direction of Brendan’s life. He began meditating, attending therapy and working with a diversity, equality, and inclusion consultant to help him grow past his old ways. But there is still work to be done.
"There are moments when I have racist or antisemitic thoughts, definitely," he said. "But now I can recognize that those kinds of thought patterns are harming me more than anyone else."
Researchers believe many prejudiced views are hardwired into people at a young age and can be hard to change, especially with an unwilling participant. So the notion that someone can be transformed by taking a drug in a therapeutic environment provides another avenue for change.
Of course, we won’t be able to drug our way to a new world without hate, but Brendan’s story shows that when people are starved for real human connection, a small amount can be incredibly transformative.
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"Now your fishes will be warmed."
"To have one’s eyes lined with ham."
"To lay your head in water."
"Repetition teaches the donkey."
"I only understand train station."
"To speak directly from the liver."
"Horse horse, tiger tiger."
Beaver in water. Photo by 
An actual beaver dam on the now-thriving Price River
Medusa image of giant squid in Gulf of Mexico off of Mississippi Gulf CoastPhoto credit: 
Sign warning against feeding alligators next to alligator in Mississippi marshlandsCourtesy of Jacalyn Wetzel
Mississippi Gulf Coast beach in BiloxiCourtesy of Jacalyn Wetzel
2009 photo of giant squid caught in Gulf of Mexico near Mississippi GulfPhoto credit: 
Thank goodness this story has a happy ending.
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."