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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Are Conspiracy Theories a Conspiracy? (personal) |
| 2004-01-17 |
| (Fred, sorry to stretch the definition of "news," but I thought the Rantburgers might want to see this. Some recent events are possibly relevant.) "Black" or "false flag" propaganda is propaganda that portrays itself as favorable to, and usually as originating within, a particular group; but which is actually disseminated by opponents in an attempt to create disaffection, fear, suspicion, hopelessness, or confusion within the targeted group. I have direct knowledge of at least one media based "false-flag" propaganda operation ("Indy-borg") that seeks to plant paranoid conspiracy theories among the adherents of the far left. "Far left" is defined here as "left" (in conventional terms) of the mainstream of the Democratic party. This would include the Green Party, the organized anti-war movement, the mainstream of politicized academia, the Islamo-fascist fifth column and its apologists, and the politically oriented segments of leading-edge popular culture.) I am also aware of far-left media activists having run the same kind of operation against the conventionally defined right. Indeed, the media generally associate such theories with the far right and there are many examples of such. But I believe they are actually more prevalent on the left, and that the left is inherently more susceptible to them. The left is generally much more closely associated with the worlds of entertainment and popular culture than is the right, automatically bringing in those who are given to substituting emotion and imagination for logic or facts. Additionally, certain fundamental principles of left-wing activism lend themselves to a conspiracist interpretation of events. One is the need to explain the lack of popular appeal for an ideology that conspicuously defines itself as representing "the people." Another is the far-left’s authoritarian view of power itself and how it would be used, leading automatically to the projection of that behavior onto those who actually have power. I don’t know whether this particular story ("Bush Body-Count") is a false-flag, but several similar and widely disseminated lefty conspiracy theories definitely are. Those who believe in such things as mind-control beams and flawlessly concealable domestic assassinations are unlikely to believe that there is any point in the legitimate political process. Initially, paranoid conspiracy theories will tend to inflame true believers. Ultimately, however, their effect is demoralizing. The magnitude of the power required to successfully execute and conceal these alleged conspiracies becomes especially intimidating over time. Why oppose Bush, or any other person in authority, if his cabal can rig elections, assassinate opponents, silence the media, and even control your thoughts? Believers thus become ideological drop-outs and their influence within certain organizations and factions can turn those into drop-outs as well. Look very closely and you will see this happening right before your eyes. |
| Posted by:Atomic Conspiracy |
| #9 BAR, the Bush Body Count is a sexist fraud as there was no list related to Barbara. If there was a Bush that I thought would order political assasinations my money is on Barb, the elder. Can you imagine if she had been president at the same time as Maggie Thatcher. Together they would have ripped off Sadaam's head and pooped down his neck. Qadaffy would have een whimpering in his closet. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-1-17 5:21:25 PM |
| #8 Nude pictures all over the internet?!? That would be something new, wouldn't it? |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2004-1-17 3:49:35 PM |
| #7 Shipman, no I haven't, but I hardly think the nerds at NASA could keep something like that secret. The nudes would be all over the internet in an effort to get funding for a manned mission. |
| Posted by: ruprecht 2004-1-17 3:24:52 PM |
| #6 You're mostly right ruprect, but have you seen the suppresed pictures of the ice nudes of Europa? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-1-17 2:27:22 PM |
| #5 In a similar vain from what I understand the Air Force floated flying Saucer rumers to help cover up the various skunk works projects being flown throughout the Southwest. It's not a right or left issue but they did provide enough truth to give folks something to sink into but get them intellectually on the wrong path. After the SR-71 and later the stealth bomber and fighters went public the UFO folks modified their own conspiracies to make them American built with UFO technology instead of straight out UFOs. Other conspiracies, like the claims that the Moon landings were faked or that their is a Face on Mars are maintined to help a select few sell books. |
| Posted by: ruprecht 2004-1-17 2:22:39 PM |
| #4 I thought Kennedy was killed because he found out about the secret cancer cure and the gasoline pill. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-1-17 2:14:12 PM |
| #3 There is a real-world example. The Soviets planted and pushed the theory that the CIA killed Kennedy. It was mainly believed and promoted by useful idiots (Stone, who sets a record for being a useful idiot), but it did incalculable damage to the US. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-1-17 12:10:55 PM |
| #2 "Don't attribute to malice what is adequately explained by stupidity." You'll find equally lunatic rumor-mongering around the world. One of my favorites was something told my mother when Doe assassinated Tolbert: "Queen Elizabeth has a large book that explains everything, and she will fix things." |
| Posted by: James 2004-1-17 10:35:00 AM |
| #1 One is the need to explain the lack of popular appeal for an ideology that conspicuously defines itself as representing "the people." Heck that is easy to explain. They do not argue or debate well. Its all emotion, and raw feeling, with little to no logical structure. It is asertions devoid of evidence, proof or really anything much in the way of epistemology. Take for instance all the "real reasons" Bush went to war. Protecting Israel, stealing the oil, etc. The great thing about these charges of intent, is that intent is a mental thing. Without a valid mind reader, there is no way to prove, or refute the claim. There is no way to compare the statement to the reality in an objective manner. It is great as a sound bite, but as a logical argument, it does not persuade. And their inability to persuade means they get more and more frustrated at the "stupidity" of those they are trying to persuade. Which leads them to simply and openly declare that the very people they need to persuade are stupid. Which makes it that much harder for them to persuade. And so it goes in an ever deepening pit of irrelevance, and what appears to be mental instability. |
| Posted by: Ben 2004-1-17 3:35:16 AM |