Why Conspiracy Theories?

[shiels]

When it gets past the fervour tipping point the worst part is seeing them alienate themselves further because of the ranting and difficulty having any kind of enjoyable interaction without spinning off into babble

 

[luka]

That's what I was talking about with the comparison to religion. When they get annoying it really starts to feel like mental illness.

 

[mixed_biscuits]

The majority-opinion (yes, these memes are indeed contagious) covid hysteria is the problem here, not the minority 'covidiots', most of whom are acting as if it's business as usual (hardly a sign of disturbance).

 

[DannyL]

Same is true of conspiracy theories. It’s all just mildly irritating until someone shows up with a gun at a pizza restaurant.

Or in my favoured example, when yr campaigning to stop the bombing of civilians, and become emotionally involved to the extent of watching rescue footage and dreaming about it - conspiracies claiming that these bombings and gassing aren't happening are hugely upsetting

 

[DannyL]

well, in a way, it's probably highly enjoyable for her, plunging into this conspiracy netherworld. makes life more exciting. exercises the brain. the world seems stranger, more interesting.

unless she's really anxious all the time about dark malevolent forces.

what's odd is that she's a passionate Green who can literally weep about the state of the environment and too much car use - so why would she care if fracking-mad, open-up-the-Arctic-for-drillling, climate-crisis-denying Trump got cheated out of an election?

It's not odd she's a green *at all* - they lap this stuff up. Think of the Unabomber. Can all get v "modernity is a trap"/back to the land in an instant.

 

[pattycakes_]

@blissblogger this convo with cintra wilson is interesting. she dated a high ranking pentagon official and basically comes to the same conclusion as @Leo and @padraig (u.s.) - it's chaos. hungry hippos.


The whole convo covers all kinds and i can't remember where exactly she starts getting to the meat of it, but she shoots straight and idk, when i heard it years ago something clicked. great convo all round anyway. maybe your friend would like it?

 

[DannyL]

The Conspirituality podcast might be a useful resource? If only for your sanity, hearing others who've been through similar. They've said a few times they want to be a bit more "active" so maybe that means more "deprogramming resources, Idk?

 

[luka]

You wouldn't bother trying to talk someone out of a religious conversion. These strange events happen in the life of the mind. I tried to talk Craner out of bombing Iraq but in retrospect it wasn't worth it. People get struck down by strange convictions.

 

[shiels]

Once they’ve crossed the threshold their sense of self is bound up in the belief too. So you’re dealing with pride, the need to be right.

sometimes I think another seismic event is required to break the cycle. A birth, a death, a trauma, crisis or epiphany

 

[Mr. Tea]

I tried to talk Craner out of bombing Iraq but in retrospect it wasn't worth it

But the bastard went ahead and bombed it anyway!

 

[luka]

Well this is the problem isn't it. people do what they want and think what they want. You can't control them.

 

[Mr. Tea]

Serious question here, @luka: why do you get so exercised about the Iraq invasion and constantly beat @craner over the head with it, but go all laugh-reacts and "lol danny u wanker!!!" when @DannyL talks about the atrocities happening in Syria?

 

[luka]

That's not a serious question and you aren't a serious person.

 

[DannyL]

You can see it happening in real time here if you're interested :
Monbiot vs. An active disinformation campaign. This is what I'm talking about

 

[Leo]

When it gets past the fervour tipping point the worst part is seeing them alienate themselves further because of the ranting and difficulty having any kind of enjoyable interaction without spinning off into babble

I have a cousin who actually left her husband of 30+ years after he went over the edge. he was a pretty normal guy, relatively conservation but nothing extreme. then he started to empathize with grieved middle-age white guy culture that trump stirred up, then went pretty MAGA. for awhile, they'd still socialize with others and things were fine as long as discussion didn't dwell to deeply on politics, he'd make a comment and then let go. but eventually he became more vocal and confrontational, to the point where my cousin no longer wanted to hang out as a couple with other friends (and some of those friends decided on their own that they no longer wanted to be hang with my cousin and husband).

maybe he always had these beliefs deep down inside, who knows. don't know if he got into QAnon. really sad because he was an ok guy, and now a long marriage is over.

 

[Mr. Tea]

That's not a serious question and you aren't a serious person.

Ha, unlike you, the seriousest man alive. With important opinions on a range of current topics.

It's fine, I knew the question was a long shot.

 

[luka]

It was a bit of speculative shit stirring, which is fine.

 

[luka]

We all like to tag other people and stir the pot. Get a bit of action going on a slow night.

 

[beiser]

Something similar between going conspiracy-bonkers and other ways of going bonkers. my next-door neighbor growing up was a reasonable guy, until one day he told his wife he planned to take a second wife in Uganda. She obviously divorced him, she kept the house, he went to Uganda and presumably learned that the second-wife in question was a scammer who needed assistance in paying school fees… maybe believing that the chemtrails are making the frogs gay is just a more controlled way to go through the same emotional process.

 

[Mr. Tea]

Something similar between going conspiracy-bonkers and other ways of going bonkers. my next-door neighbor growing up was a reasonable guy, until one day he told his wife he planned to take a second wife in Uganda. She obviously divorced him, she kept the house, he went to Uganda and presumably learned that the second-wife in question was a scammer who needed assistance in paying school fees… maybe believing that the chemtrails are making the frogs gay is just a more controlled way to go through the same emotional process.

Now THAT is what I call an anecdote!