conspiracy theorists

[armedindy]

how do you treat those friends of yours that beleive all the crap??

lets hear what they beleive and how you respond to it....do they beleive 9/11 was a hoax....maybe that the world ends in 2012....maybe they believe in bigfoot i dono.....personally i think Biggie is still alive..but w.e maybe he lives in the woods of northern cali and he IS bigfoot ..... there we go

 

[.40caltrucker]

I try to have a coherent conversation with them without fighting. Just had one last week about 9/11 building 7. It was fun but neither of us changed each others minds, and really didn't expect to either. He put forth all his support for controlled demo and I countered, but most importantly it remained a calm discussion. With both of us respecting the others opinion.

Maybe it's because we've been friends for 18 years now.

Those convinced against their will are of the same opinion still.
Dale Carnegie

 

[Sylvain]

 

[Lucas156]

I think its a good idea to question the things that the mainstream believe to be true. When you try to look at it from a different perspective it opens your mind up a bit.

 

[armedindy]

I think its a good idea to question the things that the mainstream believe to be true. When you try to look at it from a different perspective it opens your mind up a bit.

couldnt agree more.....nevertheless

 

[Ogre]

Well, I usually keep my tin foil hat information to myself, unless the subject gets broached and those listening actually seem receptive to hearing a different point of view. If they aren't, I usually just keep it to myself because people arent going to change my mind by getting pissy and acting like I'm an idiot, and I'm not going to jump someones ass just because they don't want to make the leap to think outside the box.

 

[011101110111]

how do you treat those friends of yours that beleive all the crap??

lets hear what they beleive and how you respond to it....do they beleive 9/11 was a hoax....maybe that the world ends in 2012....maybe they believe in bigfoot i dono.....personally i think Biggie is still alive..but w.e maybe he lives in the woods of northern cali and he IS bigfoot ..... there we go

The problem with [many] conspiracy theorists, is they don't bring any facts to the table and the refuse to accept it when facts are presented. Many of them operate from pure emotion. Emotion and facts don't mix.

 

[Ogre]

The problem with [many] conspiracy theorists, is they don't bring any facts to the table and the refuse to accept it when facts are presented. Many of them operate from pure emotion. Emotion and facts don't mix.

I find that on many occasions, facts are brought to the table, but their facts often conflict wtih mainstream facts. Or the facts given on both sides, may not contridict one another, but they are weighted by their side far more than the other. So the crux of the issue is that cynnics will only believe the facts given to them from the mainstream, and any other source is garbage or irrelevant. While you are correct, many are presented with emotion, are you diputing the likely possiblity that those who dispute these theories, also get emotionally charged and digress to the lowest common denominator?

 

[011101110111]

I find that on many occasions, facts are brought to the table, but their facts often conflict wtih mainstream facts. Or the facts given on both sides, may not contridict one another, but they are weighted by their side far more than the other. So the crux of the issue is that cynnics will only believe the facts given to them from the mainstream, and any other source is garbage or irrelevant. While you are correct, many are presented with emotion, are you diputing the likely possiblity that those who dispute these theories, also get emotionally charged and digress to the lowest common denominator?

No, I don't dispute that the potential for emotion exists on both sides and not saying that either side cannot be wrong. I have to believe that on the conspircists' side there exists some kernel of truth. Almost always, though, with topics so large as the JFK assassination, 9/11 or Roswell, both sides are operating with only partial information. One of the dangers is filling in the partial information with opinions and passing them off as facts. Another is the correlation is causation fallacy. In either case, it's difficult to convince [some] conspiracists away from those positions with actual facts. When someone gets so committed to their position that nothing can talk them out of it, it ceases to be an intellectual perspective and becomes an emotional one.

Also, facts cannot contradict themselves. Either the data is not complete or the supposition has to be scrutinized more closely.

 

[VN Vet]

I find it fun to discuss. I see it something akin to adult comic books and has entertainment value, IMO. Do you enjoy a good sci-fi movie? Have you ever discussed the movie with friends? To me it's the same thing. I can get enjoyment out of peoples oppinions.

Watch the evening news on any channel. It's full of conspiracy theories.

 

[ocsdor]

 

[ocsdor]

 

[armedindy]

thats the exact image that inspired this thread

 

[fullmetaljesus]

Its funny some of the things brought up here, about debating conspiracy theorists. About how you cant reason with them, because they bring no facts and are too emotionally attached to the theory to change their mind. Is the same reason why its hard to debate with religious people about religion.

i challenge you all to go back and read the first page as if you were an atheist and the thread was talking about christians (not picking on christians here. )

 

[EvilBlackGun]

So I only ...

... buried HALF of my weapons-cache. Just in case the conspiracists are right -- errr, wrong -- err, no, wait. Ummm, and my food, too. Drilled a well, just in case. SOMEBODY MUST be right. Somebody MIGHT be wrong. The only conspiracy I'm really worried about is that one against the whole Constitution. That's against ALL of us. EBG

 

[aronhubbard]

The other problem with conspiracy theories, is that they use a lot of unrelated inconsistencies with the "mainstream explanation", without either discussing how many facts DO fit the mainstream theory, or postulating a workable theory of their own. If they do propose a theory (the moon landings were faked in a LA sound stage) this theory is quickly torn apart by credible experts, who are then called mainstream shills.

It's not enough to say "jet fuel doesn't burn hot enough to melt steel" or ask "How does a plane 125 ft. wide and 155 ft. long fit into a hole which is only 60 ft. across?" You have to put forth a theory that explains all the available facts BETTER than the mainstream one. I've never seen a dedicated conspiracy theorist do that, and defend that theory without resorting to ad hominem attacks and bizarre reverse appeals to authority. It just seems to me like a form of mental masturbation. A way to a seem intellectual without any sort of rigor.

That said, I love them, and investigating them. I don't believe any of them, but it's fun to think about and read. I usually learn a lot to boot. I'm amazed at how brazen lies put forth about the JFK investigation by Jim Garrison are widely believed by the public. The biggest one that springs to mind is the "pristine bullet" BS.