Countering right-wing conspiracy theories.

[safeinOhio]

Had a conversation with a guy that really bought into a "mind control" conspiracy theory. He wraps it in this long story about Area 51 and they it gets even stranger. I'm thinking, why? This helped and needs more research.

Going forward, helping citizens distinguish fact from fiction is going to be an increasingly important challenge. Debunking conspiracy theories when and where they appear is helpful, but it cannot just be the media or the political leadership who provide this information. We have to understand the psychological triggers and motivations if we want to mitigate the influence and potential dangers of this kind of thinking. Because the truth is that conspiracy theories will always thrive when people feel like they are not in control of their lives, and when significant tension exists between societal subgroups.

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/psychology-qanon-why-do-seemingly-sane-people-believe-bizarre-conspiracy-ncna900171

[rampartc]

1. you will never convince me that lee harvey oswald acted alone

or that ua 52 was not shot down over Pennsylvania.

I was near the industrial canal when the levee was blown.

listed as a few examples of ct that are not limited to the rw nuts.

the media reports the official stories of such events, and can not be expected to credibly debunk the resultant, inevitable, conspiracy theories.

part of any rwnj conspiracy theory is that the "liberal media" will never tell the truth about events.

skipping a few thoughts here, but the best way to avoid a conspiracy theory is to tell the truth, as soon as possible.

[safeinOhio]

2. I stopped a guy 3 or 4 years ago.

I was at a flea market and this nut job had a crowd around him, swearing that Obama was going to declare a national emergency and cancel the election and declare himself king.
So, I asked him if he really thought this was going to happen. Oh, yes he says, it is going to happen. So, I said I didn't and I was willing to bet him a thousand dollars that it wouldn't. I said we can both put up the money with a neutral person and if we have an election I get the money and if not you'll get to keep my money. He said he wouldn't do it. So, I said "then you don't even believe it either". Everyone started to laugh at him and walked away.

I think the only thing that might work is "put up or shut up".

[FakeNoose]

3. That's a good way to handle these guys

... but first make sure they aren't carrying a loaded pistol or something worse.

So many crazy nutjobs out there, and why are they all ChumpHumpers?

[jberryhill]

4. You're not just whistling Dixie...

https://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=125x73867

[rampartc]

5. interesting thread at link

there is certainly a lot of confusing information that does not fit into the official story.

the truth may be as simple as "fbi dropped the ball and a committee had to convene to punish the innocent, give medals to the guilty, and publish a list of suggestions that would not have helped and no one will implement."

I suspect this thread is about to be marked "off topic."

[Hortensis]

6. MSNBC interviewed some 60-ish "Qers" yesterday, and one

normal-looking couple are among the elite in a world of the clueless who "know" that Hillary Clinton was POTUS at one point. Unfortunately that wasn't followed up, so we don't know what years. Did a "flashy thing" in TVs and street lights wipe out our memories?



These are interesting illustrations of how normal personality traits can become so strong and dysfunctional as to become personality disorders. These people aren't insane, because supposedly professional counseling could put them in touch with reality, at least for a while, but there's not going to be any counseling.

We're seeing that diagnosable personality disorders are fairly common. But, in addition, a far larger number of people have "traits" of disorder that are less strong and adverse so that they manage to get along "normally." If our neighbor who's sure prescription antihypertensives almost killed him and refuses anything that's undergone clinical trials dies prematurely from this "silent killer," will that mean it was a disorder and not merely strong traits of?

From bestpractice.bjm.com: "Relatively common, chronic pattern of perceptual and behavioral abnormalities. These manifest as problems in at least two of the following domains: cognitive-perceptual, affect regulation, interpersonal functioning, or impulse control. Read More:

Definition: Personality disorders refer to enduring patterns of thinking and feeling about oneself and others that significantly and adversely affect how an individual functions in the various aspects of life. In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5),[1] the personality disorders fall into 10 distinct types: paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal, antisocial, borderline, histrionic, narcissistic, avoidant, dependent, and obsessive-compulsive.