Why People Believe in Conspiracy Theories

[rustygh]

Shrooma, that's kinda funny. ツ

[shrooma]

You're assuming that global warming is a thing. That this, what we see now isn't normal. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtevF4B4RtQ

.

no i'm not rusty, i'm not assuming anything.

what i'm saying, is that the world is getting warmer AND THE GASSES WE'RE RELEASING ARE CONTRIBUTING TO THAT WARMING.

yes, I understand that the earth fluctuates between cycles of glaciation & heating, i'm not stoopid, what i'm saying is that WE'RE CONTRIBUTING TO THAT HEATING. you can't honestly, with all conviction, tell me that we aren't? that the pollution we're causing IS HAVING NO EFFECT AT ALL??

that all the greenhouse gasses we're releasing are somehow magically disappearing?!

i'm not saying we're CAUSING global warming, merely that we're ADDING TO IT.

[Starseed hybrid 1111]

because the world is not what it seems to be that's why

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Folks, this site has dozens of global warming topics, this isn't one of them.

[shrooma]

Folks, this site has dozens of global warming topics, this isn't one of them.

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it's a conspiracy by the moderators to silence us!!

:-D

[shrooma]

Shrooma, that's kinda funny. ツ

.

rusty, how do you do that cool little smiley??

I want one!!

(or are you all conspiring against me to keep me from having one?!

*sob*

:-)

[Kludge808]

NNNOOOOO!!

my member title is now 'conspiracy theorist'!

NNNNNOOOOOOOOOO!!

*sound of uncontrollable sobbing*

:-(

Be at peace with this temporary inconvenience for it shall pass quickly if you post often enough. I recently passed through that terribly uncomfortable phase as well and am available for counseling should you desire it.

[shrooma]

cheers kludge!

how many posts do you have to make before you can pick your own title?

i've got a couple that at least won't make me sound like I should be wearing a tin-foil hat so the Govt. can't read my brainwaves!

:-)

[seeder]

cheers kludge!

how many posts do you have to make before you can pick your own title?

i've got a couple that at least won't make me sound like I should be wearing a tin-foil hat so the Govt. can't read my brainwaves!

:-)

I too am unaware of how to add a personal title, but I should be able too by now surely? so yes Kludge pls reveal the method? Cheers

[Just Dave]

I believe in some because official story is like swiss cheese which gets better with years.. Not everything they tell us is true that has been shown by history and i dont need proof for that...

Still there are some out there who are making them as fruit growing in garden...like Alex Jones or Coast2Coast... both are fantastic source for movie scripts..

[Kludge808]

cheers kludge!

how many posts do you have to make before you can pick your own title?

i've got a couple that at least won't make me sound like I should be wearing a tin-foil hat so the Govt. can't read my brainwaves!

:-)

The magic number is 1000. You're close and Seeder's well past that point.

I had to ask one of the Moderaptorial Entities about it since it doesn't seem to be published anywhere. Also, there seems to be no limit to the number of times you can change your title, kind of like being able to change one's username.

Actually, one could continually change image, title and username, and cause a conspiracy theory to be generated. :-D

[Kludge808]

Still there are some out there who are making them as fruit growing in garden...like Alex Jones or Coast2Coast... both are fantastic source for movie scripts..

Or novel fodder. Science fiction writers love that sort of stuff because it makes creating ideas for a story line so much easier.

[Kludge808]

.

rusty, how do you do that cool little smiley??

I want one!!

(or are you all conspiring against me to keep me from having one?!

*sob*

:-)

Hmmm ... shows as a square with 30C4 inside on two lines for me. It must be a conspiracy. It has to be, in fact. What conspiracy, I'm not sure yet but it will eventually come out.

[Just Dave]

Or novel fodder. Science fiction writers love that sort of stuff because it makes creating ideas for a story line so much easier.

Agreed but what about those people out there who are listening way to much... that isnt good for the mind. Making a conspiracy because neighbour bought a shovel and a bag..

[seeder]

The magic number is 1000. You're close and Seeder's well past that point.

I had to ask one of the Moderaptorial Entities about it since it doesn't seem to be published anywhere. Also, there seems to be no limit to the number of times you can change your title, kind of like being able to change one's username.

Actually, one could continually change image, title and username, and cause a conspiracy theory to be generated. :-D

OK sorted it now...not too tough in the end, but then I ran out of ideas so Im stuck with 'The Tester' till my brain has a creative moment! Cheers!

[Kludge808]

Agreed but what about those people out there who are listening way to much... that isnt good for the mind. Making a conspiracy because neighbour bought a shovel and a bag..

This is very true. What I find interesting is that a single event can generate a number of conflicting conspiracy theories, each having its own supporters. 9/11 is a good example (And anyone who starts a 9/11 discussion here will be subject to the Wrath of Waspie!) since it created a bunch of them. They all start with the premise that "da Ebil Gummint Lies!" Well, yeah. That's part of the process of doing business as a government. All governments lie as a matter of policy. The fact that a government lies about one thing does not automatically imply it will lie about everything else. That is a logical fallacy that can be disproven rather easily.

Calling a government (as an entity) a "pathological liar," which has been done by at least one person here, says that the government in question is incapable of telling the truth. That is the definition of being a pathological liar. It also says that any documents like licenses are automatically invalid, that any payments made by the government to its citizenry are worthless and so on. This extends from the top down to even the smallest local governmental entity.

But then, what of the CTists (conspiracy theorists) who fabricate evidence to support their claims? What about the fact that any time a weakness in a CT (conspiracy theory) is exposed, it has to change and grow to cover that weakness. (One thing I've learned is that any given CT can expand to the point that every man, woman and child alive now and yet to be born has to be part of it or it fails completely.) And what about the fact that the CTists have absolutely no problem with the fact that there are many, many contradictory CTs covering a single event?

OTOH, expecting the official version of an event to remain constant is illogical since it will change with new discoveries. While CTists point to these changes as solid evidence of "hiding the truth," they are normal for any ongoing investigation, especially if the base reference point is the chaos immediately following a major event. Once all of the real evidence is gathered and the official story stabilizes, it doesn't have to grow to cover weaknesses. Will it be perfect? Nope. There will always be questions that lack answers. There will always be holes that are left unfilled. Such is the nature of reality. It's also one major difference between the truth and a CT. The latter will do all it can to cover any holes to leave an absolutely airtight story, pouncing on the unanswered questions in the official version as though they were gold in the process.

I do enjoy a good conspiracy theory, not to believe but to read as the pure fiction that it is. A well done one is definitely worthy of being made into a screenplay.

BTW, I swiped your sig to use in the one I have for the various ham radio lists I'm on. They'll get a kick out of it. :-)

[Babe Ruth]

Kludge

Long time no see. Earlier in this thread I offered that perhaps an alternate title to the thread would be Why Do People Believe Known Liars. Pretty funny, eh?

Anyway to your point above, most people did not start at the point "da ebil guvmint" as you suggest. Most CTs start from the simple and easy premise that the official story cannot be true. It is a lie. Fails under close scrutiny. Contradicts the laws of physics.

However else you may want to put it, but "da ebil guvmint" was not the starting point, but rather the logical conclusion of analyzing facts and being able to see the big picture.

[ali smack]

I believe in "Conspiracy Theories" When the "official " Story seems fishy and when there is IMO some clear evidence which points to a Conspiracy theory.

I believe with the vast majority of Conspiracy Theories they are not true. And are based on rumours and gossip. Where there isn't any evidence.

I do agree that some people such as Alex Jones and David Icke, obviously have something wrong with them, the way they throw accusations around and come up with the most absurd stuff.

[rustygh]

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E3%83%84

[No Censorship]

There are varied reasons. Conspiracies are part of the historical record. It's not silly to believe that movers and shakers sometimes engage in conspiracies. Santayana explains it best. Of course, that doesn't mean that all or most claims should be given the same weight. It's best to judge each case on its own merits. Don't engage in all-or-nothing thinking. Do your own research, independent of others' claims.

[No Censorship]

Here's a corollary. Why do some people reflexively believe and trust authority figures? They're just as dangerous as fanatics at the opposite end, in my opinion. My own theory is that people throw the baby out with the bath water because they don't want to be identified with "those people". If you're a conspiracy theorist, the other people are sheep. If you're a hardened skeptic, the other people are nuts. That's why it's so important to examine each individual case on its own. Forget about "us" and "them", and step out of your box.

[sickpuppy]

Forget about "us" and "them", and step out of your box.

Whoever looks into the mirror of the water will see first of all his own face.

Whoever goes to himself risks a confrontation with himself.

The mirror does not flatter, it faithfully shows whatever looks into it;

Namely, the face we never show to the world because we cover it with the persona, the mask of the actor.

But the mirror lies behind the mask and shows the true face.

This is a test sufficient enough to frighten most people off.

~Carl Jung,

[Godofcats]

The explanation is simple, people like being stupid.

[promKing]

Yes why do people believe in conspiracies and hoaxes like the one that communists from Nicaragua will come to destroy the US or why do people believe in a hoax that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction? Or why did they believe that Vietnamese people will come to destroy US? Where are people's brains? Where are the skeptics and debunkers to tell people that it's all a BIG FAT LIE?

[Frank Merton]

You gotta watch immigrants -- they do all sorts of things like introduce new cuisines and customs and fashions and ideas. Before you know it you are a much richer, happier nation.