Conspiracy people give me a break

[delusionsofNORMALity]

i don't really see anything wrong with conspiracy theorists. for the most part it's just fanciful imaginings and paranoid delusions, but from time to time they uncover some hidden truth or bit of forgotten information and they always keep us questioning the veracity of those we have placed in power. the only problems are those of their followers who allow their childish naivete, blind hatred and impotent rage to override their common sense. these are the folks who see only conspiracies and blind themselves to any possibility that something might actually be as it seems. though they are more irritating than dangerous, there is always the possibility of taking such a stance too far. that certainty that they are one of the few who see the true nature of their surroundings is born of the same mentality that assured such men as stalin and hitler of their superiority. after all, we all want to be special and some prefer to maintain an illusion of superiority rather than admit that they are just like the rest of us, struggling to understand those things over which we have no control. some men find that illusion in religion, some find it in the battle for wealth or power, some find it by despising all those who they see as having power over them and ridiculing those that don't share their beliefs.
:hippy:

[mfqr]

i don't really see anything wrong with conspiracy theorists. for the most part it's just fanciful imaginings and paranoid delusions, but from time to time they uncover some hidden truth or bit of forgotten information and they always keep us questioning the veracity of those we have placed in power. the only problems are those of their followers who allow their childish naivete, blind hatred and impotent rage to override their common sense. these are the folks who see only conspiracies and blind themselves to any possibility that something might actually be as it seems. though they are more irritating than dangerous, there is always the possibility of taking such a stance too far. that certainty that they are one of the few who see the true nature of their surroundings is born of the same mentality that assured such men as stalin and hitler of their superiority. after all, we all want to be special and some prefer to maintain an illusion of superiority rather than admit that they are just like the rest of us, struggling to understand those things over which we have no control. some men find that illusion in religion, some find it in the battle for wealth or power, some find it by despising all those who they see as having power over them and ridiculing those that don't share their beliefs.
:hippy:

You make a good point.

[wickerbill]

Vostro, I think you are being naive. I wonder why your comments are so angry and you choose to resort to name calling? Authority should always be questioned, especially in a democracy! The government works for us, we pay them! To not know that there are conspiracys in our government is to deny history. Especially the last 6+ years.This is the first time in history that the US has condoned & passed laws that protects torture, illegal war, spying unfettered on US citizens, lawless mercenarys, etc. The mentality that you display is,I suspect, the same as that of the German people as Hitler rose to power.These people on the whole were not bad, they just let themselves be misled. The repercussions of our actions during the last 6+ years will haunt us for decades.

[vostro]

The mentality of the German people that let Hitler rise to power is we're poor, in despair, and getting the short end of the stick as a result of WWI. "We need breathing room" And just a little bit at a time.

How that compares to not buying other people's escapist make-believe I have no idea - because it doesn't.

The vigor of most conspiracy defense is a function of how entertaining the idea is. Just because you lie to yourself don't expect me to buy into it.

[wickerbill]

Your last post says volumes.

[vostro]

Indeed it does. In fact, if you're interested in Nazi analogies - I'd say the conspiracy theorists are more comparable to the brainwashed German people. Both bodies of people on-the-whole lead lives that are lacking emotionally or otherwise; and are willing to buy into something that is either twisted logic or irrational in order to fill that void or have the hope of filling it. Pot calling the kettle black if you ask me.

[Hardcore Newbie]

Indeed it does. In fact, if you're interested in Nazi analogies - I'd say the conspiracy theorists are more comparable to the brainwashed German people. Both bodies of people on-the-whole lead lives that are lacking emotionally or otherwise; and are willing to buy into something that is either twisted logic or irrational in order to fill that void or have the hope of filling it. Pot calling the kettle black if you ask me.

not that I'm a conspiracy theorist or anything, I just dropped in, but what you did is the same tactic that the faithful use when dismissing the non-believers. They claim that since God isn't in my life, that my life lacks meaning and that I must be very sad all the time. Stop trying to lump everyone who questions the government as a crack pot.

[vostro]

When we discuss the feeding habits of field mice we speak about the group as a whole. If 90% of field mice display the same feeding habits and you're having an abstract-level conversation about it, you're not obligated to include the 10% exception. The same rule applies for almost all things. For some reason when we start talking about people, out of sheer self-importance, others get this impression that it's intellectually dishonest to talk in generalities. No one goes to bat for the field mice because it would be ridiculous. Somehow peoples' oversensitive egos change the rules. Well I don't go by those rules.

Similarly, if 90% of the time you walked by someone with a cane and they hit you with it, eventually you would be guarded when you walked by people with canes. That's how our brains work, and for good reason. In my life I have very, very rarely met a conspiracy theorist who wasn't a complete crack pot. That's my experience, at least 90%, just like the field mice. I have every right to lump conspiracy theorists together as crack pots. And stop with the misconstrued straw-men arguments already - it's not everyone that questions the government. That was never, and will never be, my argument. If you're going to criticize me, have the target be something I actually said. Everyone questions the government at some point, so that would mean my position is that everyone is a crackpot. I question the government. As I said - if I wasn't ready and willing to break the law I wouldn't be on this forum in the first place. If you believe in 3+ conspiracies, judging from my personal, and not limited exposure to people who believe in 3+ conspiracies, it is extremely probable that you believe in those things as an expression of escapism. You have no right to tell me I can't make judgments based on personal experience, what my personal experience was, or that it is inappropriate to share that experience with others.

My biggest question is why I feel compelled enough by this topic to waste my time writing on this thread. Maybe its a way for me to release pent up frustration, accumulated over many years, listening to people force their bullshit fantasies down my throat. Standing at the top of the World Trade Center train station with bullhorns. My next move, if I don't get the gratification I'm looking for out of this thread, is going to be equipping myself with my own bullhorn, and when I see another one of those guys I'm going to stick it in his ear and tell him to SHUT THE FUCK UP.

[jakez]

What exactly is a "crack pot"? Believing in 3+ conspiracies? lol, that is completely pulled from your personal opinion, where is the science in that? You're comparing scientific studies of lab rats to the general population of humans that know nothing except what they read in the newspaper or see on TV. Comparing fact and fiction now are we..

[vostro]

Scientific discourse and personal conclusions are both based off of observational experience. That is the link in a more condensed format if my explanation was too abstract.

To answer your question in 1000 words, I have attached an image of a crackpot.