Anti-Conspiracy Theories #5 We the Sheeple…

[Ensay]

For this I truly am in a deep slumber too.

"The scales have fallen" is another way of saying "I've gone down an internet rabbit hole and have chosen to believe things which make no sense, but must be right cause that guy on Twitter/Substack said it".

 

[Merpedy]

I heard being awake is agony so I’d rather just stay asleep tbh

Controversial but I wonder how much of conspiracy theories is also to do with being white and seeing every other race as a bit lesser than them. The likes of China have been slowly nearing the reality of what I would think some would consider the reality of their conspiracy theories. North Korea has basically been that way since the Kim regime decided they’re Gods. Probably any country that has an authoritarian twinge to it could be included in this really. Some would say that our policies towards asylum claimants are the start of the introduction of that sort of world but of course no one really seems to talk about it. It becomes an issue when they’re, or other Europeans/Americans, are affected

 

[caroleffinbaskin]

It always confuses me when CTs refer to “Joe Public” as a derogatory term. Do they not include themselves in that. Are they separate from the public in some way?

 

[MaineCoonMama]

I heard being awake is agony so I’d rather just stay asleep tbh

Controversial but I wonder how much of conspiracy theories is also to do with being white and seeing every other race as a bit lesser than them. The likes of China have been slowly nearing the reality of what I would think some would consider the reality of their conspiracy theories. North Korea has basically been that way since the Kim regime decided they’re Gods. Probably any country that has an authoritarian twinge to it could be included in this really. Some would say that our policies towards asylum claimants are the start of the introduction of that sort of world but of course no one really seems to talk about it. It becomes an issue when they’re, or other Europeans/Americans, are affected

I've wondered this before, being a CT does seem to be quite a privileged Western thing. Except for Australia, we either don't really exist or are living under some kind of military regime.

On the subject of defibrillators, I used to work for a multi-national company and we had them installed in quite a few areas in the warehouse and offices. This was around 10 years ago so it's not really a new thing to be conscious of the fact that people can have heart related problems at any time. They came in handy when one of the workers had a heart attack whilst in the gym after work.

 

[Moth]

So apparently there's "something off' about the death of Anne Heche, who tragically died following a car crash and resulting fire. The evidence for this 'something off' includes:

• She was in a 3 year relationship with Ellen DeGeneres ( which Heche ended 22 years ago and since when she spent 18 years in two other relationships including a marriage and the birth of 2 children
• She made a science fiction film 14 years ago which involved 'chemtrails' (one of over 40 films and almost 40 tv shows that she appeared in)

Lurking CT-ists may be able to make something of the fact that she also appeared in "Pie In The Sky", "Volcano", "Psycho", "Superman - Doomsday", "My Friend Dahmer", "The Vanished", "Another World", "Save Me" and "Aftermath"

 

[LavaFlake]

Does anyone here struggle with relatives who have been brainwashed by social media?

My sister in law started out as anti vax as she unfortunately knew someone in real life who had one of the one a million reactions to the HPV jab. Then Covid happened and she is not only a Covid denier but things all of Hollywood are paedophiles, there's a gay agenda, the World Bank thing exists, climate change is fake and 5g is killing us all. All the main ones, she believes.

She's british and her friend list is mostly americans who I assume all believe the same stuff. I don't think I or my partner can do anything to change her views but man I find it depressing. Especially as she has young impressionable kids. The impact social media, Facebook in particular, has had on her is astounding. She also bring it up all the time in real life.

It's like they saw her anti vax attitudes and reeled her in for everything else. Awful.

 

[MaineCoonMama]

Does anyone here struggle with relatives who have been brainwashed by social media?

My sister in law started out as anti vax as she unfortunately knew someone in real life who had one of the one a million reactions to the HPV jab. Then Covid happened and she is not only a Covid denier but things all of Hollywood are paedophiles, there's a gay agenda, the World Bank thing exists, climate change is fake and 5g is killing us all. All the main ones, she believes.

She's british and her friend list is mostly americans who I assume all believe the same stuff. I don't think I or my partner can do anything to change her views but man I find it depressing. Especially as she has young impressionable kids. The impact social media, Facebook in particular, has had on her is astounding. She also bring it up all the time in real life.

It's like they saw her anti vax attitudes and reeled her in for everything else. Awful.

There are a few of us, I've lost two close friends to CT bullshit. Fluoride, aliens, 5g, you name it. My husband has some outrageous views and is very much anti vaccine but he's calmed down a bit. It's very hard to address as the person always seems to think they have the key to the world's secrets and won't budge. I'm sorry I don't have any advice to offer, I cut one friend off and was cut off by the other. My husband and I just agree to disagree as it's not worth arguing about.

 

[Ensay]

So apparently there's "something off' about the death of Anne Heche, who tragically died following a car crash and resulting fire. The evidence for this 'something off' includes:

• She was in a 3 year relationship with Ellen DeGeneres ( which Heche ended 22 years ago and since when she spent 18 years in two other relationships including a marriage and the birth of 2 children
• She made a science fiction film 14 years ago which involved 'chemtrails' (one of over 40 films and almost 40 tv shows that she appeared in)

Lurking CT-ists may be able to make something of the fact that she also appeared in "Pie In The Sky", "Volcano", "Psycho", "Superman - Doomsday", "My Friend Dahmer", "The Vanished", "Another World", "Save Me" and "Aftermath"

I don't get why they've attached CTs to her death. It was pretty clear she had substance and alcohol abuse issues linked to depression. She hadn't had an easy life. Quite why they feel the need to attach a load of mystery to it is beyond me.

I suppose it fits their "everyone and everything connected to Hollywood is bad and off" narrative.

They're also heavily implying Darius Danesh's death was vaccine related without having any evidence.

Does anyone here struggle with relatives who have been brainwashed by social media?

My sister in law started out as anti vax as she unfortunately knew someone in real life who had one of the one a million reactions to the HPV jab. Then Covid happened and she is not only a Covid denier but things all of Hollywood are paedophiles, there's a gay agenda, the World Bank thing exists, climate change is fake and 5g is killing us all. All the main ones, she believes.

She's british and her friend list is mostly americans who I assume all believe the same stuff. I don't think I or my partner can do anything to change her views but man I find it depressing. Especially as she has young impressionable kids. The impact social media, Facebook in particular, has had on her is astounding. She also bring it up all the time in real life.

It's like they saw her anti vax attitudes and reeled her in for everything else. Awful.

Thankfully not! I can imagine how frustrating that would be.

On the contrary, whenever the subject of conspiracy theories comes up in discussions with relatives, we all agree how strange and comical most of it is. I said on here recently how I was discussing them with my brother and he was basically repeating most of the things we say on this thread.

I don't think there's any real way to make them see sense unfortunately, as they get so invested in it, they see any attempt to tell them they may be wrong as an attack. And that's likely to get them to dig their heels in further. I feel if you showed them evidence that proved they were wrong, they'd just say the evidence was fake or part of an agenda. That's how CTs persist - if they believe that they can only trust CTs as the source (i.e. doubt any media, medical journals etc) then they'll never see sense. I think you have to just let them come to their own realisations in time.

 

[Baby Giraffe]

I have read both this post and the CT post and not previously got involved in either (as far as I can remember anyway). They both can seem a little tribal to the casual reader in some cases. Personally I'd never call myself a CTist but likewise I don't blindly believe things either as there is a lot of rubbish in the media and something it is in the interest of big business or politicians to hide things from us or certainly to put a spin on things that suits their agenda. I'm not sure what I'm posting now really and it's only on this one as I'm reading this now, I guess it's just that most people are somewhere in the middle, they don't believe everything they're told by MSN but they don't disbelieve it all either. There are obvious extremes on both ends where far less people sit. I think my position is that not to question anything is very naïve and somewhat in denial of realism but likewise sometimes things are totally exactly what they look like and it must be very tiring always looking for an ulterior motive but there's loads of grey in the middle.

 

[caroleffinbaskin]

I have read both this post and the CT post and not previously got involved in either (as far as I can remember anyway). They both can seem a little tribal to the casual reader in some cases. Personally I'd never call myself a CTist but likewise I don't blindly believe things either as there is a lot of rubbish in the media and something it is in the interest of big business or politicians to hide things from us or certainly to put a spin on things that suits their agenda. I'm not sure what I'm posting now really and it's only on this one as I'm reading this now, I guess it's just that most people are somewhere in the middle, they don't believe everything they're told by MSN but they don't disbelieve it all either. There are obvious extremes on both ends where far less people sit. I think my position is that not to question anything is very naïve and somewhat in denial of realism but likewise sometimes things are totally exactly what they look like and it must be very tiring always looking for an ulterior motive but there's loads of grey in the middle.

Absolutely, and I think you’ll find that many if not all of us who post here do not blindly believe the media and are open to debate but need solid evidence. I would say we are realists, we know bad tit goes on and there are many injustices in life we don’t fall into the category of thinking everything from Covid to Hollywood is conspiracy central.

 

[Ensay]

I have read both this post and the CT post and not previously got involved in either (as far as I can remember anyway). They both can seem a little tribal to the casual reader in some cases. Personally I'd never call myself a CTist but likewise I don't blindly believe things either as there is a lot of rubbish in the media and something it is in the interest of big business or politicians to hide things from us or certainly to put a spin on things that suits their agenda. I'm not sure what I'm posting now really and it's only on this one as I'm reading this now, I guess it's just that most people are somewhere in the middle, they don't believe everything they're told by MSN but they don't disbelieve it all either. There are obvious extremes on both ends where far less people sit. I think my position is that not to question anything is very naïve and somewhat in denial of realism but likewise sometimes things are totally exactly what they look like and it must be very tiring always looking for an ulterior motive but there's loads of grey in the middle.

I certainly agree that being critical of things is a good idea. Being "anti" conspiracy theories doesn't mean never questioning anything.

On the contrary, we should all take what we read with a pinch of salt; especially if it's more outlandish. The way I see it is: "you're telling me something, but show me how what you're saying is true". I like to see some scientific evidence basically. Whereas a lot of conspiracy theorists (not all) take the piss out of "believing science", especially if that science is peer reviewed.

I mean, the fact this thread exists is because conspiracy theorists wanted a place where their theories wouldn't be challenged - in other words, if you disagree, go elsewhere. Hence why this topic is here.

 

[Merpedy]

I feel like conspiracy theories have become a bit extreme lately. It’s no longer really “there’s evidence to prove this point of view”, instead its “there’s evidence and it can only support this point of view or something similar”. It’s almost like everything is related to this bigger thing which might as well be the war against some weird elite and the “asleep”

I’ve said it before but I used to enjoy browsing the conspiracy subreddit because it was a bunch of people who discussed the evidence and their theories. Last time I checked it had become a COVID-centred discussion. I just had a quick scroll now and it seems to have possibly got a bit more varied from the titles but who knows if the content is the same

I’m also not totally against the view that the rich and powerful do shady things and it doesn’t get covered or the news misrepresents it. I’m reading Putin’s People atm and there’s been some mention of how parts of the Chechen war which vaulted Putin to power were essentially organised by Putin and his buddies - it’s the sort of stuff you’d hear based on conspiracy theories

 

[Moth]

I have read both this post and the CT post and not previously got involved in either (as far as I can remember anyway). They both can seem a little tribal to the casual reader in some cases. Personally I'd never call myself a CTist but likewise I don't blindly believe things either as there is a lot of rubbish in the media and something it is in the interest of big business or politicians to hide things from us or certainly to put a spin on things that suits their agenda. I'm not sure what I'm posting now really and it's only on this one as I'm reading this now, I guess it's just that most people are somewhere in the middle, they don't believe everything they're told by MSN but they don't disbelieve it all either. There are obvious extremes on both ends where far less people sit. I think my position is that not to question anything is very naïve and somewhat in denial of realism but likewise sometimes things are totally exactly what they look like and it must be very tiring always looking for an ulterior motive but there's loads of grey in the middle.

I think this misrepresents the issue. It isn't the extent to which one believes what they are told by the MSM (or governments etc). The issue is the extent to which one believe conspiracy theories. I think the people that you describe as 'in the middle' are in fact at one end of the scale (described in the following chart as "grounded in reality") and those at the other end broadly endorse the view that the world is controlled by a shadowy (possibly alien) elite who want to dominate or destroy most of the rest of us (described as "detached from reality". The chart below demonstrates the span of belief most clearly. So the purpose of this thread is for people who are largely at the bottom of the inverted pyramid to discuss the to us, increasingly lunatic ideas described above the 'green zone'. Of course it isn't perfect and one can argue that some subjects might be better placed a step up or down the scale. Also I am not claiming that everyone who posts in this tread are all totally in the 'green zone' and that those that post in the other thread are all in the 'red zone'. People here don't all think or believe the same thing and neither do those posting elsewhere.

 

[dorydaryl]

I have read both this post and the CT post and not previously got involved in either (as far as I can remember anyway). They both can seem a little tribal to the casual reader in some cases. Personally I'd never call myself a CTist but likewise I don't blindly believe things either as there is a lot of rubbish in the media and something it is in the interest of big business or politicians to hide things from us or certainly to put a spin on things that suits their agenda. I'm not sure what I'm posting now really and it's only on this one as I'm reading this now, I guess it's just that most people are somewhere in the middle, they don't believe everything they're told by MSN but they don't disbelieve it all either. There are obvious extremes on both ends where far less people sit. I think my position is that not to question anything is very naïve and somewhat in denial of realism but likewise sometimes things are totally exactly what they look like and it must be very tiring always looking for an ulterior motive but there's loads of grey in the middle.

I have very similar feelings on it all. I know some people who can only think in absolutes and the 'grey' in life seems to unnerve them. The 'grey' is far more complex, non-linear and messy- much more difficult to engage with. It's sometimes easier to say, 'This is how it is!' Not all CT-ers are stupid people. Quite the contrary. It's just that they have total conviction in what they believe and and challenge to their belief is a threat to their identity.

 

[Merpedy]

I want my magical powers back pls Satanists

 

[Ensay]

I have very similar feelings on it all. I know some people who can only think in absolutes and the 'grey' in life seems to unnerve them. The 'grey' is far more complex, non-linear and messy- much more difficult to engage with. It's sometimes easier to say, 'This is how it is!' Not all CT-ers are stupid people. Quite the contrary. It's just that they have total conviction in what they believe and and challenge to their belief is a threat to their identity.

I think it's a form of brainwashing really. Which is ironic, as I know they see "the masses" as brainwashed.

But many will start on something small and then that leads to bigger things and so on. Before you know it, it's snowballed and they've gone from a few milder CTs to much deeper stuff.

Plus they appear to see like-minded people as part of their social circle (eg "these are the only people who truly get it"), who'll introduce new CTs into the mix and -- because they see fellow conspiracy theorists as allies -- they'll often start believing in those new CTs without question - especially as they've learnt to either mock or be wary of people who question conspiracy theories.

 

[Doctor_Wibble]

I want my magical powers back pls Satanists

I checked my WEF handbook and it says nothing about losing magical powers so whoever it was wot dun it, it wasn't them.

Satanists are funded and controlled by the WEF. You knew that, right?

 

[MaineCoonMama]

I hope this person hasn't reproduced.

 

[L3moning]

I hope this person hasn't reproduced.
View attachment 1510592

As een on Reddit the other day:

Seems to be a relatively common conspiracy theory that vegetable oil is toxic.

 

[MaineCoonMama]

As een on Reddit the other day:

View attachment 1510611

Seems to be a relatively common conspiracy theory that vegetable oil is toxic.

I've never heard it before. It's almost like they hear something and think the opposite is the truth.