We’re Crazier Than I Thought

Tags

conspiracy psychology, conspiracy theories, crazy people in general

Not so very long ago, I briefly delved into the wacky world of conspiracy theory. That had to do with the kooky ideas that arose immediately following the Boston Marathon bombings. Sources of dubious lineage were quick to report that things were not always what they seem.

I think most of those theories have died the usual death from “lack of credible evidence”. No make that NO evidence.

Still, around every corner there is another waiting, pulsing just beneath the surface, ready to raise its bizarro head.

We’ve looked at he usual suspects here, and frankly I’d not be inclined to go further, but seriously when people you think you kinda know and kinda think are MOSTLY rational, start bringing forth this stuff, it makes you stop and think. Well, it makes me ever so slightly paranoid that people  I think I know are a bit touched if you get my drift.

I know a few folks who believe in aliens visitations and so forth. They seem for the most part fairly tame. Everybody (well a lot anyway) have at one time or another seen something in the sky that appeared strange. If you believe, as I do, that in such a vast universe, it’s more probable than not that other beings of intelligence exist besides ourselves, it’s not an utter stretch that we may have been visited.

But a number of things should be taken into account first:

1. We appear not to be in the center of “life activity”. The solar system is out in the boonies of a fairly nondescript (as galaxies go) galaxy. We are deeply primitive vis-a-vis any species who had the wherewithal to both find us AND visit us, and personal visits would be something much more unlikely say than, simple monitoring by technologically advanced devices.
2. A species more evolved than we are, (and they would all have to be to visit us) must have passed through some sort or sorts of species ending dilemmas of their own. Morality codes probably work against “interference”, i.e., a species must prove it can come through its crises before contact would be established.
3. What in the world would they have in common with us. It’s like asking me to relate to a beetle.

But lets assume that even given that, a species chooses to hang around the earth, watching and presumably interfering. You say what? Interfering? And I say, yes, because most of your full-blown aliens-are-here believers, think that they either help us, or leave clear signs of their visits. They think for instance that humans couldn’t have built the Pyramids (although plenty of experts disagree). They would argue that the large drawings found in South America along vast rock plains are made by them, and can be described as “spaceships” in some cases. Hieroglyphics are often pointed to as having what purport to be “cell phones” or other modern technology which apparently is evidence that the aliens actually helped carve out the structures.

Which all leads to the theory held by “they are here” folks, that the government is and has been aware of this stuff for decades. This is a clue by the way.

Conspiracies usually involve at some point the awareness of the government and their fairly successful attempt to cover them up.

The problem with that of course is that it fails to understand the basic problem of conspiracies. A conspiracy of more than one is doomed to fail almost always. A conspiracy that must be constructed of tens of thousands and handled over decades is ludicrous, quite plainly.

The second reason such a conspiracy is silly is there is no good reason for it. The usual reason for why the government covers up the fact that aliens are among us is, that “panic would ensue and chaos result.” Watch any disaster movie ever made and the reason given for not informing the public is always this one. So we take it for granted without thinking.

Yet is this at all true? If the governments of the world sat down together and presented this information as theorists claim (i.e. aliens have been around since we got up on two legs), then what are the implications? THE FIRST IMPLICATION IS THAT THEY AREN’T MEANING US ANY HARM.  The second would be, “wow we aren’t alone”. The third might be, “I bet they can cure cancer if we ask them nicely.” You get my drift? Why the panic in the streets? No reason.

So much for why the government would hide the information. And down tumbles the house of cards, since there is a plausible explanation for most of the “evidence” usually presented.

So why are we prone to this stuff?

And how do you tell when your friend has slipped off the rails of sanity and entered into bizarro land?

1. If you friend already believes in any conspiracy about anything, he/she is more likely to accept another one. Once you have tipped over into the realm of “the government/church/political party is an evil entity bent on attaining power and wealth at any cost” anything goes, nothing is too bizarre to contemplate.
2. A conspiracy believer is not so much the product of a series of convincing pieces of real evidence as it is the product of a mind with a worldview that inclined to think that there are groups “out to get us” however “us” is defined. It’s popular you know in some circles to believe that secularists are “out to get Christians”.
3. Those prone to such ideas are usual cynical about the capacity of humans to be moral, and more likely to believe that politics is always about greed and power and never altruistic in nature. People are animals and left to their own devices are going to do bad things.
4. Conspiracy believers generally have low self-esteem especially at it relates to the world at large and their growing belief that they are powerless to fight back. All great populist movements are inevitably based on the idea that if we join forces we can beat back the monster.
5. Given that we live in perilous times with threats emanating from a variety of sources, the primitive brain reacts in a “fight or flee” mode by trying to make sense of conflicting data. The easiest way to come to some coherence is to lay it to a conspiracy. And of course that leads to “a few who get it” and the feelings of control and superiority that come from being in  the “in group” of those in the know.
6. The computer makes it worse by giving people who have a general “feeling” that something isn’t kosher a means of finding those who are full-blown crazy people who live on this stuff. Thus, if you search for information, you will surely find it, even though it may all be so much nonsense.
7. The more evidence you bring to bear to disprove the conspiracy, the more they will dig in their heels, convinced that misinformation is part of the conspiracy.

So there you have it. Now you know why people in the face of real evidence continue to believe in creationism, climate change denial, and aliens among us.

And if you haven’t had a new conspiracy to think about for a while, here’s the latest.

Unknown of course to the regular press, but well-known to the fringe, Edward Snowden has dropped another bombshell in Moscow. This one pertains to the solar flares that are scheduled to hit the Earth in September killing “hundreds of millions”. The governments have known of this for thirteen years through a psychic process known as “remote viewing” which allows us to “see” distant events now. The government of course has not told us to “avoid panic” and has been secretly preparing all these years.

No matter how deeply you probe this on Google, you will always get led to one article which is usually just reprinted or block posted in parts. Of course the reasoning for the “secrecy” is as faulty as that for hiding our alien friends. And of course, Snowdon’s initial “bombshells” pale in comparison to this one don’t they? Shouldn’t this be the lead?

So it’s time to get back to building that bunker.

Other Sources on the psychology of the conspiracist:

What a Conspiracy Theorist Believes

Why People Believe in Conspiracy Theories

The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories

Paranoia and the Roots of Conspiracy Theories

Moon Landing Faked!!! Why People Believe in Conspiracy Theories

A variety of research papers on the subject

Note: the last three are particularly useful from Psychology Today, Scientific American, and research papers by experts in the field.

 

Related articles

• New JFK documentary alleges there WAS a second shooter in the assassination (truthfrequencyradio.com)
• Denier vs. Warmist: Who made the crazier statement about CO2? (junkscience.com)
• New studies: ‘Conspiracy theorists’ sane, while government dupes are crazy and hostile (federaljack.com)
• HuffPost covers a conspiracy theory (politico.com)
• The Seen and The Unseen: China Has the Body of an Alien on Ice (dreadcentral.com)

Sneakin’ A Peek at ALIENS!!!

Tags

African American, conspiracy theories, Elena Kagan, GOP, immigration, Left, Nazism, Politics, poverty issues, SCOTUS, socialism, South Carolina, voters

At great peril to moi, I have put my sanity on the line for you.

I mean, day in and day out, I link you up to bewitching sites that offer up all manner of intellectual tidbits and naughty amusements to keep you in the know.

But, there are days, when little strikes my professional palate and I, horror of horrors, have nary a thoughtful philosophical insight to prod you with.

What to do? Well, I determined that it was time to return you, kicking and screaming if I must, to the real world. This ladies and gents is why we continue the good fight. For the enemy is all around. It nips at our heels and smacks its lips in anticipation of destroying our right to freedom.

Yikes, that sounded a bit teabaggerish did it not?

But frankly, although they claim freedom as their aim, in reality they would have us adhere to a set of principles defined by them as “Judeo-Christian” in origin. I say origin, since they have interpreted it in their own selfish fashion to support what makes them comfortable in their homophobic, work ethicy, racist, bigoted symbolistic way. And just in case you weren’t aware, the use of Judeo is only offered as lip service since we all know the only good Jew is one who is trying hard to bring about that Armageddony thingie by which the Christian Kingdom of God will descend.

So, with no little trepidation and packing on of extra undies (Depends, I need Depends!), I have with military precision entered into the realm of the nuttier than a fruitcake and retrieved a few symbols of their insanity. All so, you will be renewed in your vigilance, and ever ready to defend our way of life.

Victor David Hansen lambastes the Obama administration for its failures to uphold the law on immigration and swears we are on the verge of civil insurrection.

Other states and even cities are now marching in lockstep to boycott Arizona. Meanwhile, the president of Mexico recently blasted Arizonans from the White House Rose Garden, no less, apparently counting on the president of the United States to go along with this demonization of one of his own states. All this is eerie; it has a whiff of the climate of the late 1850s, when the federal government was in perpetual conflict with the states, which in turn were in conflict with one another, and which often appealed to foreign nations for support.

Jonah Goldberg informs us that it’s just our imagination that the poor are suffering more today than before. Why HDTV’s and IPods and all that junk are coming down fast! The only real areas where costs are going up?

So, what has gotten more expensive? According to St. Lawrence University economist Steven Horwitz, there are only four areas that have become more expensive over the last century as measured in their “labor price”: housing, cars, higher education, and medical care. With the arguable exception of a college degree, all are marked with wildly improved quality. And the main reason for rising medical and college costs (and to a lesser degree housing costs) is that the government has distorted the market by “helping.”

Abigail Thernstrom is all agog over the fact that South Carolina recutelicans nominated a BLACK man to run in the November elections for Congress. See, she says, we are so reformed her, not a bit of racism in us! But then she said this:

The site [the candidates] also contains a video of Scott talking to voters. Not a trace of a southern accent — in sharp contrast to the state’s GOP gubernatorial candidate, Nikki Haley. Indeed, just listening to him, not knowing his color, one might think he was a northern white. His race- and region-neutral voice will likely be an asset should he seek higher office in the future.

Thomas Sowell tells us that democracy is being destroyed apparently because Obama is reaching out to Americans who have often not participated in the political process. They are dangerous says Sowell:

When Adolf Hitler was building up the Nazi movement in the 1920s, leading up to his taking power in the 1930s, he deliberately sought to activate people who did not normally pay much attention to politics. Such people were a valuable addition to his political base, since they were particularly susceptible to Hitler’s rhetoric and had far less basis for questioning his assumptions or his conclusions.

Pete Winn reports that over 800 Orthodox Rabbis say Elena Kagan is “Not kosher” and thus not fit to sit on any court.

. . . that she will function as a flame-throwing radical, hastening society’s already steep decline into Sodom and Gomorrah,” the rabbis said in the statement. [. . .]We’re waiting for the more courageous, decent senators – whether it’s a (Sen.) Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) or a (Sen.) Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) or a (Sen.) Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) – we’re looking for them to stand up and filibuster this embarrassing endangerment of a nomination,” Levin said.

And WND tells us what the sneaky left has really been up to!

Indeed, today in the age of Obama, millions of Americans are “waking up” to the stealth infiltration and subversion of their beloved country and are appalled at what they see: Not only is their government in the hands of the left, but virtually all of our nation’s major institutions – from the public education system to our colleges and universities, from the news media to the entertainment industry, from the unions to our major philanthropic foundations, even many of our churches – have also been captivated by this same destructive ideology.

Phew, I but scratched the surface and I think I’m contaminated, so I got hose off now with plenty of vinegar and baking soda. My eyes burn and I’m feeling queasy. I am hoping that a strong dose of Rachel Maddow or Keith will revive me. But if you see a VOTE REPUBLICAN sign at my drive, well, you know I’ve paid the ultimate price. Be kind. Kill me quick!

Sly Fox or Crazy Boy

Tags

conservativism, conspiracy theories, Faux Noise, Glenn Beck, Jesus, political pundits, religious right, social issues, truth

Well, what can be said of Glenn Lee Beck that has not already been said by muses more wordalicious than me.

I can summarize his life in a few paragraphs, and truly there is nothing much of interest to be found. He was raised a Catholic, his mother may have committed suicide, and he became addicted to both alcohol and drugs.

He found a home in radio, and exhibited early signs of ethnic racism in the way that radio personalities often offend one group for the guffaws of other groups.

He married, divorced and remarried and somewhere in that mix he converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. His main mentor was a guy by the name of W. Cleon Skousen, who was some self-styled anti-communist, John Bircher, Mormon, conspiracy theorist. Beck apparently thinks he is essential reading to “understand” Merika, or at least his version of it.

Many have claimed that Beck is more showman, entertainer than political analyst. Anyone who has tried to follow his convoluted conspiracy theories would be forced to agree. His command of general history is weak, he pulls together disparate “facts” from all over the map, and forces them into unnatural alliance with others and creates bizarre scenarios of evil intent. One can point to his expose` on the reliefs at Rockefeller Center as an example.

It is therefore unclear whether Beck is really crazy and believes all this nonsense, or whether he in fact knows exactly what is going on, and has discovered the cash cow of financial success for himself. One can hardly vilify the man if he is certifiable of course. One can only pity him and vilify Faux Noise for deliberately presenting him as a sane voice of the right.

If he is that sly fox who is milking this cow for all she’s worth. . . .well then, another question comes to mind. And that is simply this:

How does  a person who nominally or otherwise declares them self “Christian” justify the blatant misleading of Americans for personal gain?

There is much in the workings of Beck that suggest that that is indeed what he is doing. There have been reports that he uses Vicks Vaporub to cause his eyes to tear for those dear moments in his monologues when he breaks down, so deeply felt is his angst for America’s woes. He often refers to himself as more showman that political pundit.

There are others besides Beck of course that we might ask a similar question. How about the insurance worker whose job is to sift through claims to find loopholes that can be used to deny coverage and remove perhaps the last hope of patients and their families for life itself? How do these folks, many of whom no doubt, claim Christian beliefs, justify their work?

Not limiting ourselves to Christians, how does the soldier in al Qaeda justify his job of hanging out at mosques and universities, always on the lookout for hapless, lonely, rejected individuals who might be propagandized into giving up their lives as suicide bombers?

How sleep those who organize and disseminate drugs to the addicted–the depressed and mentally challenged, the under educated, and under employed? Whether they be “soldiers in the streets” or their rich counterparts in upscale neighborhoods, how exactly do you live with what you do to other humans?

How rest the scam artists who target the old and mentally soft, securing often entire life savings on bogus schemes to get rich. What do they think as they turn back the bed at the Waldorf, having made another hit, leaving some elderly woman with nothing but shame at her mistaken trust?

It has been said by somebody, that conservatives are just those people who think up reasons to justify their selfishness. I’m not sure that that is a fair statement, but it comes close I think from a liberal stand. Time and time again, we are told all the reasons why we can’t eliminate poverty and homelessness, why we can’t educate everyone well, why we can’t give health care to all. It is always couched in economics, but what it always comes down to is, don’t expect me to pay for it.

The fortunate among us declare that they worked hard for what they have. But in truth, a number of other factors contributed to their success. Their position in the world, their actual place, their family, their ethnic background, and sometimes just grand old luck. Those who have not had the privilege of place and family background has as much right to these things as they.

One can smell behind all the excuses, the really selfish bottom line. I don’t want to give up any of mine, even if it means you will live in deep poverty and misery. Your kids won’t have a chance, and I’ll work very hard to find even more reasons why I shouldn’t be asked to relinquish any of mine. The Beck’s and the O’Reilly’s and the Hannity’s and the Colter’s and the Limbaugh’s and the Bachmann’s, they all are there to tell you that you are right.

The sorry thing is, most of them don’t mean it or care really. They are so wildly rich by comparison, that it doesn’t matter one whit to them. They are happy to feed your selfish desires by telling you you are morally right, because to them its raw greenbacks in return. That’s all it means to them, period.

They have the perfect storm. You don’t watch real news. You watch them, since they feed your fears and your excuses. You in truth don’t know it’s all lies, and they know you don’t know. So of course, they lie with impunity. And all the Jon Stewart’s, all the Keith Olbermann’s and all the Stephen Colbert’s  and Bill Moyer’s, multiplied a hundred fold won’t make a difference, because you will never watch them anyway.

Jesus spent his ministry turning the social system on its ear. He challenged the powers that be that their responsibilities in the end were to the least among us. Jesus spent his time calling out the liars and making people listen to truth. But you have opted out, taking your bible lessons from the Faux Noise crowd. It’s a new kind of Christianity, and one that I suspect Jesus would not be happy with.

How sleep you this nigh?

Short Takes on the Day, 04/27/09

Tags

conspiracy theories, divorce, Health & Human Services, Health care, John McCain, medicine, pandemics, Pope Benedict, swine flu, torture, waterboarding

Well, yesterday’s post must have concerned God, since he went to some efforts to make me feel better about missing church yesterday. Later in the morning, I developed a definite fever, and felt lethargic. Rut-row, was the swine flu coming my way? We had been in a hospital for goodness sakes only Friday, and you know that everybody gets sick when you go near those places!

It didn’t last long. After I ate, I felt quite a bit better and the “symptoms” disappeared. So I started to feel a bit justified in my choice. Turns out though that it was never to be.

Today, which cooking up a storm, I finally got to sit down and turn toward my daily office practices. I happened to gaze out the window, and you guessed it, a solidly flat tire met me. Given that with all the rain, something like four inches total, nothing was getting down the lane but the Bronco, I was never going to church yesterday anyway. So I figure God was telling me it was okay, that I sorta fudged on “not being able to get out.”

***

John McCain continues to fascinate me. His daughter has come out in favor of gay rights and is taking plenty of pot shots at Karl (slight of hand) Rove. But the old man continues his shameful crap. He’ s more than willing to accept that waterboarding is torture and we shouldn’t do it, but thinks we should “move on” and not prosecute the slime balls who have ignored the Geneva Conventions and well, defend the practice on unproven claims that “it worked.” McCain remains the candidate who cuts corners on ethics to continue stroking the base. Word is  that he’s getting a real run for his money by an ultra conservative in Arizona, who is beating him over the head about his immigration policy (which of course, McCain no longer wishes to even speak of.)

***

Speaking of the new swine flu, and we were, how’s come we keep getting diseases from animals? I mean this seems always the case doesn’t it? Do they ever get sick from us? Other than getting murdered for food and tested for cosmetics and such? I mean that’s enough to be really mad at us I guess. But I haven’t seen any pigs sneezing. Is that a sign? I yell at one of our cats, Kate. She sneezes all the time, and never covers her nose, but that’s another story.

I’m just wondering if this is some massive conspiracy by the animal kingdom to do us in. I can understand why they might think it a good idea, but really our menagerie of spongers are way to lazy to work for their supper or pay any rent. They need us, like it or not. So enough with giving us all this darned illness! (You know this might have something to do with birds committing suicide by flying into jet engines……just thinkin’.)

***

Oh and while we are still talking about the flu, and we still are cuz I said so. Just wanted to give a nice shout out to the Rethugs for their help. Not only did they insist that money allotted to “pandemic disease” control be taken out of the stimulus package because it somehow didn’t create jobs, but they are blocking the appointment of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius for HHS. You know, it’s to the point where you almost have to think there is a satanic force at work making sure the GOP is on the exact wrong side of everything these days. (Shall we reload in our circular firing squad boys and girls, and continue to off each other faster than a Democrat can win an election against ya?)

***

It seems that all was atwitter for nothing much. Lots of speculation was afoot that things would not go well when Charles and Camilla had a private audience with his Holiness Benedict XVI.

First of all, it was expected that the Pope would be chastising the couple, since both are divorced, which is not kosher in the Vatican (I love mixing religions like that). It was also theorized that Benedict would present the couple with a facsimile of Henry VIII’s request for annulment. Neither one happened.

Apparently the meeting was quite chatty. This of course leads to new speculation that the Vatican is thinking about relaxing the divorce prohibition for its flock. Camilla was married to a Catholic, although Charles was not (actually it’s against the law for a royal to marry a Roman Catholic under current Acts of Secession). The pope we understand did want that dropped.

I’d not place too much emphasis on his meeting the two and not wagging his finger at the couple for “living in the sin of adultery” though. It would take some mighty fancy foot work to change the Church’s stance on divorce without a whole lot of other dogma threatening to collapse. When you make claims that the Church is prevented from error by the Holy Spirit, it is a big no no to suggest said Spirit in error.

Course, there are ways around this, but who is gonna be big enough to say they “misinterpreted” the Spirit? So don’t look for any change soon. So far the willing martyr has not been found. Swords are being readied perhaps for the inevitable falling upon though.

***

that’s all folks!