As a bike riding, pot smoking, liberty minded hippie, perhaps becoming was the wrong word, but I have more in common with conservatives than the progressive activists.
When you say “except they don’t” and I am part of that group that has, my existence proves you wrong. But perhaps it was just my poor use of language
The key is in the way you're looking at it:
"I have more in common with conservatives than the progressive activists"
You didn't compare conservative activists with progressive activists, or conservative activists with progressives.
If you're comparing the mainstream views of one side with the extremes of the other, (or worse: a caricature of the other side that you've been told about) then of course you're going to find the other more extreme.
No I’m seeing the mainstream left get bullied into becoming the activist left and the moderate leftists like myself are now suddenly closer on the spectrum to moderate conservatives, because the bulk of the left wing went to the left extreme.
When you say “except they don’t” and I am part of that group that has, my existence proves you wrong. But perhaps it was just my poor use of language