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More oxford books @ www.OxfordeBook.comFore more urdu books visit www.4Urdu.comLOVE IS EXCEPTION MAKING 237of being gay, always reminding myself that gay was ‘irrational.’ ” 54 IfObjectivism was a religion to some people, it was a notably dogmaticand confining one. Led to Rand by a quest for answers and a need forcertainty, her followers could find themselves locked into the system shehad created.The presence of Rand, a charismatic personality, was enough to tipObjectivism into quasi-religious territory, but Objectivism was also easyto abuse because of its very totalizing structure. There were elementsdeep within the philosophy that encouraged its dogmatic and coercivetendencies. Although Rand celebrated independence, the content of herthought became subsumed by its structure, which demanded consistencyand excluded any contradictory data deriving from experience oremotion. Rand denied any pathway of knowledge that did not derivefrom rational, conscious thought and did not lead to the conclusionsshe had syllogistically derived. Thus Objectivism could translate quicklyinto blind obeisance to Rand. One former Objectivist remembered, “Ifyou think to yourself, I have to be able to go by rational arguments, andyou’re unable to refute them, then you’re really in a bind, which is wherewe all were.” At NBI balls dozens of women appeared in slinky, oneshoulderedgowns, like Dagny wore in Atlas Shrugged. When Ayn andFrank purchased a new piece of furniture, the Objectivist dining tablebecame all the rage. 55Roy Childs, an active Objectivist and later advocate for anarchocapitalism,remembered that many did not simply read Atlas Shrugged butwere “dominated” by it. Rand’s fan letters reflected this truth. “Your philosophyhas affected me to such a depth that I can longer think outsideits context, nor can I picture myself in any other activity, save the discussionof it,” one man wrote to her. Another college student reportedcheerfully, “About a month ago I noticed how much I was talking aboutyour books to my teachers and classmates. As a result of my enthusiasmI have lost two friends. I am beginning to realize how unimportantthese people are. 56 Just as her fans mimicked Rand’s language andrhetorical structures, so too could they come to imitate her psychology,including the rejection of friends who did not measure up to Objectiviststandards. Principled schisms and breaks were commonplace in theObjectivist subculture as fans followed Rand’s cues about proper humanrelationships.