One more person submitting oneself to these theories = one less person independently thinking for oneself.
I think that's impact enough.
Especially when, like I said, more and more people are attracted to this stuff because of how they feel government is letting them down.
Who really knows where these theories and the social media circles that feed off of them might lead to.
Once people feel like they have nothing to lose, it could be much more impacting than someone hammering away at a keyboard feeling like they're enlightened because they watched a Youtube video. All it takes is a group of nutjobs and a breaking point. Add a strong following of people who truly believe and cling to the cause, who really knows what could result from a circlejerk of morons who think they have it all figured out.
pkcRAISTLIN
I don’t disagree that there is loads of potential for problems. But you will find the vast majority of these idiots are incredibly passive, which is why I described them as impotent. It’s easy to be a keyboard warrior. It’s hard to effect meaningful change (even moreso when you’re a few screws loose). In reality what you’ll find is these people ing their own lives up because of their stupid ideas, but having negligible impact on normal people or society at large.
saluyamo
quote:
Originally posted by LoveHate
what do you guys think about , the recent emergence of people thinking this was a hoax?
That the mental health system in America really needs an overhaul.
OrangestO
:haha:
Halcyon+On+On
People questioning and feeling let down by the government is nowhere even near a new thing.
OrangestO
quote:
Originally posted by Halcyon+On+On
People feeling let down by the government is nowhere even near a new thing.
And where did I say that it was?
I was making more of a point about how social media gives theorists and alike the ability to connect with and influence a greater spectrum of people who feel this way.
I agree with you, though, people have always been pissed off with government. But people haven't always had a tool like the Internet to feed off of those feelings and create a stir among communities of other people who search for an outlet to be a part of that "answers" their questions about it.
People would rather believe a nutjob who tells them something that sounds persuasively plausible instead of staying in the dark and searching for the light themselves.
Halcyon+On+On
quote:
Originally posted by OrangestO
With more and more people starting to question and oppose the government
I thought this rather implied that dissatisfaction with the government was a burgeoning phenomenon, but I did kind of take it out of context with the rest of what you said.
And although you're totally correct that the internet has enabled people to project their stupidity all over the place, I think it has just as well offered an opportunity to debunk the self-appraised debunkers, and likewise offer a platform for rebuttal that did not exist before. Of course, there's no convincing the true conspiracy theorists, but like pkc said, 99% of them are absolutely impotent, cellar fungus that has no interest in revealing the truth about things, but a fetish for veiling their own ignorance (to which no one is truly innocent of anyway) with the chaff of convoluted allegations of the authorities that be (and even ones that don't 'be').
In essence, the internet just makes it easier to drop innocuous little 'Obama is NWO, Fema camps, chem trails, etc' remarks that were probably just as prevalent a neurosis among people as they've always been; but works like King Kill 33 are still going to be an overwhelming exception, despite the unprecedented potential for dispersal that did not exist in a more cellular time.
I get the kind of hopelessness that each election seems to elicit in people, but I don't subscribe to the internet merely being a disinformation stream. It seems to me that, for the first time ever, the widest opportunity for every person to research and inform themselves on certain topics is present in most every home in the US, and although it can be rather dismaying that many people do not utilize its capabilities (again, no one is innocent here) in this manner, it's certainly preferable to the alternative: the television feed that facilitated elections for decades prior.
OrangestO
quote:
Originally posted by Halcyon+On+On
It seems to me that, for the first time ever, the widest opportunity for every person to research and inform themselves on certain topics is present in most every home in the US, and although it can be rather dismaying that many people do not utilize its capabilities (again, no one is innocent here) in this manner, it's certainly preferable to the alternative: the television feed that facilitated elections for decades prior.
People do "research and inform" themselves. The problem is that many don't know how to do it the right way, so they find themselves on these websites dedicated to propaganda. Most people's research skills boil down to Googling cliched terms and phrases that point them toward a website telling them the "answer," instead of taking the time to buy some books, brush up on some history, and piece together the puzzle themselves.
Uneducated people — the general public — will remain uneducated if they're not taught how to conduct investigative research, critically think about the content of that research and come up with their own answers of why things are the way they are.
And yes, anything is better than "the tube." Yet I'm still amazed at how many people still base their votes on advertisements, debates or an opinion from a political pundit. It's too easy to look up candidates' track records online and to learn about who they really are and what they really stand for, but I guess it's still easier for most people not to :(
The guy helps 6 kids who have just survived a shooting and gets his life turned upside down by a bunch of utter ing morons who love guns more than they value life.
I think every kid in america should be made to watch this video in school:
kkkkkkkkkkk, I'm quickly re-thinking my use of the term "innocuous". The Salon article has more details. I suppose it's rather telling that White Supremacist website members (Obviously the shooting was a conspiracy by the black president to take all of their guns away) would form this idiotic theory when they feel targeted. Aww, poor white guys! It's rather telling that sick, paranoid people contrive these elaborate explanations to make sense of their problems, however many more problems it likely causes them.
I hope the FBI nails some of these heads.
DOOMBOT
Why do people believe it was staged? Is there something "strange" about the incident that is getting people to ask questions in regards to its legitimacy?
enydo
quote:
Originally posted by Halcyon+On+On
kkkkkkkkkkk, I'm quickly re-thinking my use of the term "innocuous". The Salon article has more details. I suppose it's rather telling that White Supremacist website members (Obviously the shooting was a conspiracy by the black president to take all of their guns away) would form this idiotic theory when they feel targeted. Aww, poor white guys! It's rather telling that sick, paranoid people contrive these elaborate explanations to make sense of their problems, however many more problems it likely causes them.
