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it's the gaslighting of "everything is totally fine, you're overreacting" moreso than moving back loudly could've just been like "it's a hellhole over there, but there's info worth scaping and bringing to you so you don't have to experience it"

I suspect this attitude could be a form of moral bargaining with themselves. Convincing yourself that the place isn't actually that bad probably makes it easier to reconcile the moral paradox of being drawn back to a place you (rightly) portrayed as awful.

It could also be plain gaslighting directed at their audience. "Yes, I loudly and publicly claimed that this place was rotten, and yet I'm back. If you're offended by this obvious contradiction, that's on you."