Isn't ANY theory just mass conformity?

[B.Basher]

You guys always talk about being made to believe facts and manipulated as a mass. Didn't you ever realise your conforming to a political and socialist mindset yourself? I'm pretty sure 100% of you here have no first hand evidence of any conspiracy theories, just word of mouth and theories spread on the Internet. I'm not saying your wrong, but it seems hypocrisy to me to label the government as vultures manipulating the masses with prestigious theories and generalisation of opinion when, simply put, it's the same for any point of view. Any widespread opinion is made just that through word of mouth and the masses banding together to spread their word.

Obviously, it's a just cause to speak out against the government for such a crime, but the way I see it, people are sheep whatever point of view they decide to conform to. People see sense in whatever theory they wish, but the theory is never theirs to begin with. I call it fault of mankind, not fault of big government.

I'm not arguing against anyone, just bringing up a theory of my own. Discuss? (or flame :D )

[IamTheWalrus]

I guess in a way it is conforming, but its conforming to our own groups, making a general opinion for us or (people) to follow, but just because your following that general opinion doesnt meen your not rising up against the government, or atleast you think you are... unless the conspiracy you are following is a government conspiracy... hahaha I hope someone has seen that south park.

[shoi]

i agree but i think its more than that...


i think people who often follow conspiracy theories feel good about themselves... like they have a higher intelligance and are above the masses who just follow... i mean like thats always the argument "just think about it! look! ur stupid if u dont believe me"

while they dont say it that bluntly that is often what seems to be conveyed by the documentaries and such...

i just think often times people feel above the government/civilians/military/ect wen they follow a conspiracy, since they have outsmarted aformetentioned establishments...

[delusionsofNORMALity]

as depressing as it may seem, ours is a herd mentality. aside from the occasional rogue, we all feel the instinctive urge to band together for survival. that being said, we must also realize our need for individuality. to strike out against the power structure (real or imagined) is one way for the common man to feel himself part of an elite group, to set himself apart from the masses and control his own destiny. the problem with this, as you pointed out, is that these groups become the mainstream, so those "elite groups" must go farther and farther afield or find obscure topics to obsess about in order to remain unique.
sure, it's a conceit to believe that "i" alone can see through a web of deception, but it seems to be a healthy conceit. as the conspiracy community evolves it creates more and more subsets of these "elite groups" and keeps us from merging into one huge herd, incapable of growth or creativity.

[Puffdamagicdragon]

The nature of the human mind will always attempt to fill gaps in knowledge with speculation. The acuracy of a conspiracy would depend on the qulity of the info and the method (ie:conjecture/scientific) used to analize it. So with the level of fear and missinformation about these days i personally beleive the "Truth" would probably be somwhere in the middle of imagination

[JackdaWack]

The meaning of conspiracy..... i dont belive anything any one says unless they have some hard proof, otherwise its just speculation.

[harris7]

i think people who often follow conspiracy theories feel good about themselves... like they have a higher intelligance and are above the masses who just follow... i mean like thats always the argument "just think about it! look! ur stupid if u dont believe me"


I think you should stop generalizing. Iâ??d say itâ??s the biggest problem with your reasoning.

[harris7]

You guys always talk about being made to believe facts and manipulated as a mass. Didn't you ever realise your conforming to a political and socialist mindset yourself? I'm pretty sure 100% of you here have no first hand evidence of any conspiracy theories, just word of mouth and theories spread on the Internet.
)

do you really mean first hand evidence? How many things do we acctualy have that for?

did bush really get elected? well i've never seen him or the whitehouse
Does Iraq exist? Never seen it. I guess thats invalid.

or, do you mean: Do people bother to research their facts?

I agree most dont, but lets not assume everyone dosn't

[Matt the Funk]

Indizzeed? Animals follow t3h pack leaderzz.

[Specialty Cakes]

as depressing as it may seem, ours is a herd mentality. aside from the occasional rogue, we all feel the instinctive urge to band together for survival. that being said, we must also realize our need for individuality. to strike out against the power structure (real or imagined) is one way for the common man to feel himself part of an elite group, to set himself apart from the masses and control his own destiny. the problem with this, as you pointed out, is that these groups become the mainstream, so those "elite groups" must go farther and farther afield or find obscure topics to obsess about in order to remain unique.
sure, it's a conceit to believe that "i" alone can see through a web of deception, but it seems to be a healthy conceit. as the conspiracy community evolves it creates more and more subsets of these "elite groups" and keeps us from merging into one huge herd, incapable of growth or creativity.

Is it really that the real rogues who go out there are struggling to stay ahead of the pack and retain their originality? I don't think so, I think that it's the inverse (or converse, hell if I know.) I think that the "herd" as you call it, is trying to stay with the "real" rogues. I also think this is a generalization. many people follow a conspiracy theory not because they want to be part of the herd, but because they see something that seems to hold water, so they agree with it, and to call them conformists is a bit harsh,

[Polymirize]

according to that view though, there's no such thing as nonconformity. Only conformity to different poles.

I think its a rather dualistic view. After all, most of the time in the world we have more than two options to choose from. And there are plenty of people who agree about a certain issue and yet, within that group, disagree about others.

some people choose to believe what they're told, and others choose to try to find the truth for themselves. But that can apply within any group. And doesn't guarantee any particular set of beliefs at the end.