Conspiracy Theories

Started by APM, September 15, 2020, 09:54:04 AM

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APM

It used to be that people that believed in conspiracy theories were marginalised crackpots who might feature in a TV documentary or may be characterised in some drama series. Generally you didn't meet them in everyday life.  Now it seems like half of America now believes in some conspiracy theory or another (that may be an exaggeration). It doesn't seem to be as pervasive here, but I bet everyone on here knows someone who believes in some conspiracy theory.

Is the growth of this stuff via social media and the rubbishing of expert opinion going to take us back to the dark ages.

Discuss!


imtommygunn

The COVID stuff is interesting. There are a growing number of people who think it and the mask wearing in particular are conspiracies. I am not sure I can fully work out why that is thought. I think it's relating to control and the big brother type stuff.

lurganblue

Quote from: imtommygunn on September 15, 2020, 09:58:25 AM
The COVID stuff is interesting. There are a growing number of people who think it and the mask wearing in particular are conspiracies. I am not sure I can fully work out why that is thought. I think it's relating to control and the big brother type stuff.

I find personal trainers and gym owners are big into this belief.

Rudi

People clearly have too much time & waste it reading and/or spouting shite on social media. Social media is utter dung & yes I can see the irony of that statement.

GetOverTheBar

Some of the 9/11 conspiracy theories are scary that people put forward.

One that never really gets much traction in the West is the Moscow Apartment Bombings.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_apartment_bombings

thewobbler

It's all about perception.

Internet debating, almost without fail, ends up with increasingly personal attack on the poster/person rather than the subject matter. Describing a certain mindset or thought pattern as being that of a "conspiracy theorist" is the new endgame for full time debaters (having succeeded writing "fact" at the end of sentences, describing others' thoughts as being "Karen from Facebook", the straw man discourse, and the recent classic of describing anyone who can show weakness in your viewpoints as having Dunning Kruger).

——

The reason for the lack of trust in masks is simple enough. Continually taking the same bargain basement mask out of your pocket for weeks on end, everytime you enter a shop, has got to be worse for everyone than not wearing a mask. But the former is legal, the latter is not. It's legislation for show rather than effect.



imtommygunn

Yeah the mask thing I more meant the issue people seem to have with control and "this is what they want" etc. The fact that people reuse etc and they could be worse for you yeah I get but it's the control argument I would put more in the conspiracy theory bracket.

Internet debating you are spot on with. Points you make and being described as being part of the far right etc illustrate exactly what you're saying on the personal attack stuff. Having an alternate view seems to be you're the far left or the far right depending on the view.

Hound

Quote from: thewobbler on September 15, 2020, 10:19:05 AM
It's all about perception.

Internet debating, almost without fail, ends up with increasingly personal attack on the poster/person rather than the subject matter. Describing a certain mindset or thought pattern as being that of a "conspiracy theorist" is the new endgame for full time debaters (having succeeded writing "fact" at the end of sentences, describing others' thoughts as being "Karen from Facebook", the straw man discourse, and the recent classic of describing anyone who can show weakness in your viewpoints as having Dunning Kruger).

——

The reason for the lack of trust in masks is simple enough. Continually taking the same bargain basement mask out of your pocket for weeks on end, everytime you enter a shop, has got to be worse for everyone than not wearing a mask. But the former is legal, the latter is not. It's legislation for show rather than effect.

Legislators sometimes get blamed for treating the people like morons, and other times get blamed for not treating people like morons.

It was very clear early on that you treat masks like underwear. Wash after use.

There are people who believe they have a "constitutional right" not to wear a mask. There are others who wear a mask so that it doesn't cover their nose. There are people who don't wash their masks. All fookin eejits. That does not mean the legislation is just for show. The idiots should just be called out more.

thewobbler

"All fookjn eejits" Hound.

That's absolutism, is it not? It really doesn't help.

J70

Quote from: Hound on September 15, 2020, 10:28:25 AM
Quote from: thewobbler on September 15, 2020, 10:19:05 AM
It's all about perception.

Internet debating, almost without fail, ends up with increasingly personal attack on the poster/person rather than the subject matter. Describing a certain mindset or thought pattern as being that of a "conspiracy theorist" is the new endgame for full time debaters (having succeeded writing "fact" at the end of sentences, describing others' thoughts as being "Karen from Facebook", the straw man discourse, and the recent classic of describing anyone who can show weakness in your viewpoints as having Dunning Kruger).

——

The reason for the lack of trust in masks is simple enough. Continually taking the same bargain basement mask out of your pocket for weeks on end, everytime you enter a shop, has got to be worse for everyone than not wearing a mask. But the former is legal, the latter is not. It's legislation for show rather than effect.

Legislators sometimes get blamed for treating the people like morons, and other times get blamed for not treating people like morons.

It was very clear early on that you treat masks like underwear. Wash after use.

There are people who believe they have a "constitutional right" not to wear a mask. There are others who wear a mask so that it doesn't cover their nose. There are people who don't wash their masks. All fookin eejits. That does not mean the legislation is just for show. The idiots should just be called out more.

It's quite amazing and sad that you have to take the time to explain something so bleeding obvious.

sid waddell

Quote from: imtommygunn on September 15, 2020, 09:58:25 AM
The COVID stuff is interesting. There are a growing number of people who think it and the mask wearing in particular are conspiracies. I am not sure I can fully work out why that is thought. I think it's relating to control and the big brother type stuff.
Because there's a well funded worldwide right-wing war of disinformation and propaganda precisely to push this stuff

The aim of it is to destroy the concept of objective truth and leave people so completely and utterly confused that they turn to fascists peddling simplistic, easy and fake answers to what are in reality very complex problems

This stuff doesn't come out of nowhere, it's heavily pushed by those who have a lot to gain from it, be it fascist or aspiring fascist governments, their compliant media, their online bot and troll armies or online grifters out to get rich




J70

Quote from: APM on September 15, 2020, 09:54:04 AM
It used to be that people that believed in conspiracy theories were marginalised crackpots who might feature in a TV documentary or may be characterised in some drama series. Generally you didn't meet them in everyday life.  Now it seems like half of America now believes in some conspiracy theory or another (that may be an exaggeration). It doesn't seem to be as pervasive here, but I bet everyone on here knows someone who believes in some conspiracy theory.

Is the growth of this stuff via social media and the rubbishing of expert opinion going to take us back to the dark ages.

Discuss!

The US President rarely hears or sees a conspiracy theory that he doesn't endorse, as it serves his needs in reinforcing the white grievance politics, nurtured for decades by the Republicans, that he has used as the basis of his political success.

sid waddell

Quote from: GetOverTheBar on September 15, 2020, 10:18:20 AM

One that never really gets much traction in the West is the Moscow Apartment Bombings.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_apartment_bombings
This one is almost certainly true, it isn't a fringe conspiracy theory, the documented facts of the case squarely point to there being no other explanation other than that the Russian regime did it themselves in order to grease the path for Putin establish himself as a quasi-dictator and as a fake pretext to obliterate the Chechen rebels

Russia's very own Gulf of Tonkin or Iraqi WMD

Hound

Quote from: thewobbler on September 15, 2020, 10:36:29 AM
"All fookjn eejits" Hound.

That's absolutism, is it not? It really doesn't help.
More helpful than making excuses for the eejits who think they have a constitutional right to refuse to adhere to the rules of when/where to wear masks.

Or using the excuse that some eejits don't wash their masks, so therefore masks have no benefit!?

thewobbler

Quote from: Hound on September 15, 2020, 10:54:50 AM
Quote from: thewobbler on September 15, 2020, 10:36:29 AM
"All fookjn eejits" Hound.

That's absolutism, is it not? It really doesn't help.
More helpful than making excuses for the eejits who think they have a constitutional right to refuse to adhere to the rules of when/where to wear masks.

Or using the excuse that some eejits don't wash their masks, so therefore masks have no benefit!?

But Hound these decrees are coming from governments who throughout Covid have made confusing, strange and inconsistent decisions.

That you happen to agree with this particular one surely shouldn't sway you to believe that it's 100% the right decision?

Is there really no room to raise an eyebrow on this one? Must we really trust that Boris's interpretation of the science is the correct interpretation? Cause that's what I'm reading from you.