Quote Originally Posted by 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.
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,