I've tried for years with (family member) to understand where they were coming from.

Since J6 I stopped pushing back and just started asking basic questions, simple who, what, when, where, how and why stuff.

It depends on the person but from what I've found speaking to a true believer in this stuff for years there really isn't a thought process. They make whatever argument they think will speak to you in any given moment. You're hitting on something important here. The reason you have an impression that they're chasing trends is because that's what they do. They don't care about honesty or consistency. They care about manipulating things in their favour. Just a few years ago they were aghast about "victim culture", now every single one of them tries to portray themselves as a victim or a martyr.

I'm only 30 and I've seen them twist and bend so many times.