The conspiracy people are just harmless goofballs, right?

[OverTheTop]

Here is a very sad story from just before Christmas here:

Queensland police killings show the threat posed by conspiracy theories – how should police respond?

Conspiracy beliefs can be motivators for actual or attempted violence against specific people, places, and organisations. What should, and shouldn’t, police do to counter them?

theconversation.com

So, they are not necessarily harmless.

 

[Tech 68]

Here is a very sad story from just before Christmas here:

Queensland police killings show the threat posed by conspiracy theories – how should police respond?

Conspiracy beliefs can be motivators for actual or attempted violence against specific people, places, and organisations. What should, and shouldn’t, police do to counter them?

theconversation.com

So, they are not necessarily harmless.

A bit over 50 years ago there was a "nut-job" by the name of Charles Manson.
The point I'd like to raise is one of "cause and effect"... did his conspiracy theory beliefs (i.e. Helter Skelter) make him and his followers the insane killers they became, or were they all totally crazy to begin with, and they latched onto anything they could use to support their "world view"?
Lot's of people believe in different things without being insane or a danger to society, but what worries me is when someone's beliefs are arbitrarily judged as "dangerous".

 

[cerving]

A lot of people back in the early 30's thought Adolph Hitler was just a harmless nut job too...

There's a formula for dictatorship: Become the "man of the people", slowly work them into your confidence while you quietly dispose of the opposition, then once you have a sufficient following and power dissolve any systems of checks and balances so your whims are The Law. Doing this requires a huge ego, and 100% confidence that whatever nut job beliefs you may have are totally right and everyone who doesn't agree with you deserves to be rendered incapable of any opposing action, by whatever means necessary.

 

[Tech 68]

A lot of people back in the early 30's thought Adolph Hitler was just a harmless nut job too...

There's a formula for dictatorship: Become the "man of the people", slowly work them into your confidence while you quietly dispose of the opposition, then once you have a sufficient following and power dissolve any systems of checks and balances so your whims are The Law. Doing this requires a huge ego, and 100% confidence that whatever nut job beliefs you may have are totally right and everyone who doesn't agree with you deserves to be rendered incapable of any opposing action, by whatever means necessary.

Either become "the "man of the people"", or find a group of people you can "scape-goat" for everything that is a problem... or both.

 

[kuririn]

A lot of people back in the early 30's thought Adolph Hitler was just a harmless nut job too...

There's a formula for dictatorship: Become the "man of the people", slowly work them into your confidence while you quietly dispose of the opposition, then once you have a sufficient following and power dissolve any systems of checks and balances so your whims are The Law. Doing this requires a huge ego, and 100% confidence that whatever nut job beliefs you may have are totally right and everyone who doesn't agree with you deserves to be rendered incapable of any opposing action, by whatever means necessary.

Sounds strangely familiar.

 

[cerving]

Sounds strangely familiar.

Yup, the formula is centuries old. Henry VIII used it to great advantage, kicking the Catholic church out of England and forming his own (with himself as the head, of course) just so he could get a divorce. Pretty good example of dissolving the opposition.

 

[ThirstyBarbarian]

There’s a world of difference between the kind of goofball conspiracy theories that some people believe, like the idea the moon landing was faked, versus the dangerous blood-libel type conspiracy theories that are promoted by leaders for their own benefit.

You don’t have leaders out there actively promoting the fake moon landing theory. It’s something people most likely came up with on their own, it spreads organically, and it it doesn’t really harm anyone that much.

But the conspiracy theories promoted by the nazis about the Jews are obviously a whole different class of thing. These kinds of conspiracy theories are intended to scapegoat an entire class of people. They are actively spread by leaders with the purpose of enhancing their own power. And the harm is extreme.

It‘s this class of dangerous conspiracy theory lies that are knowingly and intentionally spread by leaders for their own benefit that seem to be multiplying like crazy these days.

• Election denial
• Anti-vax
• Covid “plandemic”
• Immigrants are killers, rapists, and drug dealers
• LGBTQ groomers
• CRT in schools
• Leftist cabal of baby-eating pedophiles
• False-flag school shootings with crisis actors

These are dangerous ideas with real-world harms to innocent people, and they are actively spread and promoted by people who want power.

 

[ThirstyBarbarian]

There’s an interesting differency between the covid-related anti-vaccine/anti-mandate conspiracy theories and most other conspiracy theories spread by leaders for enhancing their own power.

Typically they are lies that target a group for scapegoating, and if there is any harm, it’s directed at the scapegoated group. Typically the lie does not harm the group spreading it or believing it. The lies about covid mandates and vaccines were intended that way too by scapegoating government officials promoting vaccination and certain ”elites” perceived to be on the “other side, like scientists and medical professionals. Those targeted as scapegoats did suffer real harms. And the political strategy did work by reinforcing an us-vs-them political divide.

But the irony is that the people who suffered the most from these conspiracy theories are the people who believed and spread them. The harms included disease, disability, and death for hundreds of thousands of people who believed those lies.

 

[Dotini]

IMHO, "postmodernism" is another cultural development similar to conspiracy theory which allows people to declare and follow their own reality, one which can flout accepted rules of reason and objective reality.

Per wiki:

postmodernism, also spelled post-modernism, in Western philosophy, a late 20th-century movement characterized by broad skepticism, subjectivism, or relativism; a general suspicion of reason; and an acute sensitivity to the role of ideology in asserting and maintaining political and economic power.

 

[smstachwick]

IMHO, "postmodernism" is another cultural development similar to conspiracy theory which allows people to declare and follow their own reality, one which can flout accepted rules of reason and objective reality.

Per wiki:

Per the citation, I started my research on the first wiki that usually pops into people’s heads, the English Wikipedia. Generally this definition matches the one found there.

Postmodernism - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

A cursory glance, however, reveals most sub-headings in the Manifestation sections to concern the arts with very little in the way of what I’d consider more applied humanities (the most visible being Urban Planning). Nothing on subjects that more obviously experience erosion from conspiracist thinking, nothing of a civic, sociological, political, historical, or popular scientific nature.

While I’d call a link between unfounded conspiracy theories and postmodernist philosophy plausible, I would need more evidence before accepting that it’s strongly supported.

 

[ThirstyBarbarian]

I’ve only ever heard of postmodernism as an architectural style.

 

[Dotini]

Origins of Postmodernism - Modernism and Post-Modernism in British Literature

sites.google.com

 

[CalebJ]

I'm a little confused here. Are you explaining your philosophy, Dotini?

 

[kuririn]

Just read that the latest conspiracy theory says that the hike in egg prices is due to the commercial egg producers conspiring with feed producers to alter their formulas so that the hens of backyard producers lay less eggs.
Industry experts say that it's because of the culling of millions of hens due to avian flu outbreaks, and rising production and labor costs.
While the latter makes more sense the former appeals to my "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" side.
Heh.

 

[Rob Campbell]

Just read that the latest conspiracy theory says that the hike in egg prices is due to the commercial egg producers conspiring with feed producers to alter their formulas so that the hens of backyard producers lay less eggs.
Industry experts say that it's because of the culling of millions of hens due to avian flu outbreaks, and rising production and labor costs.
While the latter makes more sense the former appeals to my "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" side.
Heh.

Time to invest in tin foil futures.

 

[Marc_G]

Just read that the latest conspiracy theory says that the hike in egg prices is due to the commercial egg producers conspiring with feed producers to alter their formulas so that the hens of backyard producers lay less eggs.
Industry experts say that it's because of the culling of millions of hens due to avian flu outbreaks, and rising production and labor costs.
While the latter makes more sense the former appeals to my "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" side.
Heh.

Right. Try this on:
We all know that all these viruses started in China, right? And now we know they've been sending balloons over here for years, right? So if you look at one of those balloons, it's white and stretched out a bit, right? Looks like an egg up there, don't it?

I say the so called avian flu is just China infecting our hens, and the high prices peaking right when the balloon shows up proves it. Doesn't it make sense? I mean, I'm just asking questions. That's what science is, right?

 

[kuririn]

Right. Try this on:
We all know that all these viruses started in China, right? And now we know they've been sending balloons over here for years, right? So if you look at one of those balloons, it's white and stretched out a bit, right? Looks like an egg up there, don't it?

I say the so called avian flu is just China infecting our hens, and the high prices peaking right when the balloon shows up proves it. Doesn't it make sense? I mean, I'm just asking questions. That's what science is, right?

If that's true then we should all be thanking them for lowering our blood cholesterol by eating less eggs.
Now if they could only do something about bacon.
Oh wait. Swine flu.

 

[Cnorm]

Just read that the latest conspiracy theory says that the hike in egg prices is due to the commercial egg producers conspiring with feed producers to alter their formulas so that the hens of backyard producers lay less eggs.
Industry experts say that it's because of the culling of millions of hens due to avian flu outbreaks, and rising production and labor costs.
While the latter makes more sense the former appeals to my "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" side.
Heh.

I heard differently today. The version I heard was there's some link between eating a lot of eggs and not getting covid. So the gubmint forced the chicken farmers to destroy tons of eggs rather than send them to market because they want the population to be sick. Or something. I didn't care enough to pay attention to the details.

 

[Marc_G]

If that's true then we should all be thanking them for lowering our blood cholesterol by eating less eggs.
Now if they could only do something about bacon.
Oh wait. Swine flu.

For the record, consuming cholesterol in eggs doesn't seem to correlate with blood serum cholesterol. That was just a conspiracy theory from the 80s.

 

[boatgeek]

I heard differently today. The version I heard was there's some link between people eating a lot of eggs don't seem to get covid. So the gubmint forced the chicken farmers to destroy tons of eggs rather than send them to market because they want the population to be sick. Or something. I didn't care enough to pay attention to the details.

That's ... a bold theory.

 

[Cnorm]

That's ... a bold theory.

Meh, probably not all it's cracked up to be.

 

[ThirstyBarbarian]

I heard differently today. The version I heard was there's some link between people eating a lot of eggs don't seem to get covid. So the gubmint forced the chicken farmers to destroy tons of eggs rather than send them to market because they want the population to be sick. Or something. I didn't care enough to pay attention to the details.

Gubmint tryin’ to control the supply of Eggvermectin, and now the prices of eggs is totally scrambled.

 

[ThirstyBarbarian]

My doctor said to switch to duck eggs, but he’s a quack.

 

[kuririn]

I guess the yolk's on us.

 

[kuririn]

These conspiracy people are so intractable.
Logic doesn't work on them.
They're so hard boiled.

 

[kuririn]

Well, there goes my egg lofting budget.
Maybe I'll switch to gliders.

 

[ThirstyBarbarian]

Many conspiracy theorists are harmless nuts, but some are eggstremists.

 

[jbsommerfeldt]

 

[boatgeek]

Well, there goes my egg lofting budget.
Maybe I'll switch to gliders.

The best thing about egglofting is the omelet afterwards. Don’t even need to scramble the eggs after cracking them.

 

[kuririn]

Many conspiracy theorists are harmless nuts, but some are eggstremists.

Omelet that one slide.