Why do some people continue to express belief in a conspiracy theory when they actually no longer believe in that conspiracy theory?
Yes, as hard as it might sound to some people, their are people out there that do in fact lie about their beliefs in a conspiracy theory, and there are actually several different reason why someone does this, but one of the main reasons why someone does this is fear.
In fact not only is fear a major reason why someone would claim to believe in a conspiracy theory that they no longer believe in, there are actually several different reasons (or excuses) for that fear.
What if?
Probably one of the most common reasons why a person says they believe in a conspiracy theory, even when they do not actually believe in it is the question of "what if?" as in "what if I'm wrong?"
The fear of being wrong about something is often times one of the biggest reasons why someone claims to believe in something when in their minds they actually don't (or at least question themselves) because they think it might save them in some ways if they turn out to be wrong and it actually is true...
They don't want to look stupid.
For some people whom believe in a conspiracy theory, but have since stopped believing but continue to claim to believe in a conspiracy theory, they may be continuing to claim they believe in a conspiracy theory due to the fact that they, in a way, would be admitting that they were being stupid, and maybe in their egotistical minds, would look stupid in the process.
Because of this fear, combined with their own ego, it can cause a person to continue saying that they believe in a long after they actually stopped believing in a conspiracy theory, and can cause them to continue to try to prove a conspiracy theory that they no longer believe in is real to other people.
They can also be very sensitive as well and blow up when someone questions their claims, or intelligence, or sanity.
They're afraid losing relationships.
Some people might claim to believe in a conspiracy theory not because genuinely believe in it, but because someone they are close to, or a group of people they are close to, believes in that conspiracy theory.
This relationship could be with a family member they are close to, or their entire family, and they're afraid that if they speak out and say that they do not believe in the conspiracy theory that the family member (or members) believes in, or do not even express any of the same beliefs in said conspiracy theory, they may lose what relationship they have with that family member, or their family.
The relationship lose might not come from a family member either. It could be a fear of a lose of friends.
Lets say a person has a friend, or a group of friends, who believe in a conspiracy theory. Or, maybe they even joined an organization that promotes a certain conspiracy theory, and they made friends with some of the people in that organization. Some people might continue to claim they believe in that conspiracy theory long after they stopped believing in it simply because they don't want to lose their friends.
They're afraid of being harassed and retaliated against.
While some people's fear based reasons for continuing to believe in a conspiracy theory they no longer believe in (or never really did) might be a selfishly based fear, some people's fear might be a legitimate fear, such as the fear of being harassed and/or retaliated against.
This fear is a very legitimate in fact, not only because conspiracy theorists have been known to harass skeptics and debunkers who express doubt in a conspiracy theory, or actually prove a conspiracy theory to be false, but also because it has happened before to other former conspiracy theorists too.
This fear of harassment might not even come from people in a conspiracy theorist organization. It may come from the whole community, especially if the whole, or at least many in the community actually believes in a certain conspiracy theory and you do not. Expressing disbelief in a conspiracy theory in such a community could result in some people trying to run that person out of town.
Because of this fear of harassment and other, perhaps more violent forms of retaliation, this may keep a person claiming to believe in a conspiracy theory long after they no longer do.
They're afraid of being abused.
While most people believe in a conspiracy theory because they want to, some people only say they believe in a conspiracy theory out of the very real and legitimate fear of being assaulted by someone close to them that does.
This fear can be very real and could be the result of a spouse, or a boyfriend, or a girlfriend, or even a parent whom is either intimidating, authoritarian, and/or abusive. Combine this with a belief in conspiracy theories that person might have, and it might make a person whom is on the receiving end of the abuse feel like they have no choice but to say that they believe in a conspiracy theory simply to stay safe.
Sometimes they claim to believe in a conspiracy theory not out of the fear of possibly being abused, but because they have been told by the abusive party that they will be beaten if they defy them, or actually have been beaten for defying them.
Fear of financial lose.
The final fear based reason why some people claim to believe in a conspiracy theory even when they no longer do (or never did) is because they have a real financial incentive to claim to believe in a conspiracy.
First, the person could own a business that has clientele that not only believe in conspiracy theories, but believe in it them so much so that they might not do business with someone whom doesn't agree with them (this could be based off of their own fear that a person could be a shill if they don't agree with them).
Because the owner might not want to lose that person's business, they might claim they also believe in that conspiracy theory, why in reality they really don't.
Now the other type of fear of financial lose might not come from the fear of the lose of clientele, but the fear of losing your job, either by getting fired by a manager or owner who believes in a conspiracy theory and doesn't want anyone working for them that doesn't, or a co-worker whom believes in a conspiracy theory, and retaliates and does anything they can to get a person fired because they don't believe in the conspiracy theory that they believe in.
Showing posts with label Negative Behavior. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Negative Behavior. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Friday, February 1, 2013
Conspiracy Theorists: No longer harmless
Up until a couple of weeks ago I use to believe that most conspiracy theorists were just a bit nutty, and perhaps hostile online towards skeptics and people who debunked conspiracy theories, but were relatively harmless, except for those who are violently mentally disturbed (example: Jared Lee Loughner), and that at the most were more likely to alienate themselves from friends and family then anything else, and thus do more harm to themselves then to others.
I no longer believe this.
The reason I no longer believe this is because of the massive amount of illegal harassment being done by conspiracy theorists towards the parents of the children who died in the Sandy Hook elementary school massacre, and towards the heros who's efforts helped saved the lives of many more children.
While the claims made by conspiracy theorists that the attack was staged, or didn't even occur in the first place, wasn't something that fellow skeptics and debunkers like myself were not expecting (in fact, due to the predictability of conspiracy theorists we would have been more surprised if these claims were not made at all) what did surprise us was the sheer amount of slander and harassment (bordering on outright stalking) that has begun to occur.
Because of the actions of some conspiracy theorists in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre I feel that I have been forced to re-examine my view of conspiracy theorists and their behavior, and that view is even more negative then it once was.
It appears that over the last few years as more and more conspiracy theories get debunked, the hostility of conspiracy theorists who continue to hold on to the beliefs continues to rise.
Online threats and even emails towards those who disagree with conspiracy theorists (and don't even try to debunk their claims, just say they don't agree with them and/or don't believe them) have become common place.
Some blogs and vlogs that are dedicated to debunking conspiracy theories are sometimes attacked, and even forced to be taken down by what can only be presumed to be the actions of conspiracy theorists.
Many conspiracy theorists have been purchasing large amounts of weapons for what they very seriously believe will be the coming of the New World Order, in which they will (in their minds) have to fight and defeat.
Now, they are harassing and possibly stalking people who have gone through an extreme trauma, and they do not care that they are causing even more grief and trauma because they don't believe anything happened.
As much as I hate to suggest it, I am seriously starting to believe that we should start sending at the very least the most hostile conspiracy theorists to mental health hospitals, as many of them are appearing to have serious mental health issues that is causing them act out in such and extremely hostile manner towards total strangers, and might cause to to eventually engage in violence.
I no longer believe this.
The reason I no longer believe this is because of the massive amount of illegal harassment being done by conspiracy theorists towards the parents of the children who died in the Sandy Hook elementary school massacre, and towards the heros who's efforts helped saved the lives of many more children.
While the claims made by conspiracy theorists that the attack was staged, or didn't even occur in the first place, wasn't something that fellow skeptics and debunkers like myself were not expecting (in fact, due to the predictability of conspiracy theorists we would have been more surprised if these claims were not made at all) what did surprise us was the sheer amount of slander and harassment (bordering on outright stalking) that has begun to occur.
Because of the actions of some conspiracy theorists in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre I feel that I have been forced to re-examine my view of conspiracy theorists and their behavior, and that view is even more negative then it once was.
It appears that over the last few years as more and more conspiracy theories get debunked, the hostility of conspiracy theorists who continue to hold on to the beliefs continues to rise.
Online threats and even emails towards those who disagree with conspiracy theorists (and don't even try to debunk their claims, just say they don't agree with them and/or don't believe them) have become common place.
Some blogs and vlogs that are dedicated to debunking conspiracy theories are sometimes attacked, and even forced to be taken down by what can only be presumed to be the actions of conspiracy theorists.
Many conspiracy theorists have been purchasing large amounts of weapons for what they very seriously believe will be the coming of the New World Order, in which they will (in their minds) have to fight and defeat.
Now, they are harassing and possibly stalking people who have gone through an extreme trauma, and they do not care that they are causing even more grief and trauma because they don't believe anything happened.
As much as I hate to suggest it, I am seriously starting to believe that we should start sending at the very least the most hostile conspiracy theorists to mental health hospitals, as many of them are appearing to have serious mental health issues that is causing them act out in such and extremely hostile manner towards total strangers, and might cause to to eventually engage in violence.
Friday, August 17, 2012
6 Ways to tell if a Conspiracy Theorist posting on the Internet is Mentally Disturbed
If anyone has ever encountered a conspiracy theorist on the internet, then you know that some of them can be quite intense people, even to the point where you might believe that they are mentally disturbed.
So here now is a list of six ways to tell if a conspiracy theorist that you see posting on the internet might be mentally disturbed:
(Author's note: it should be noted that there is a difference between being mentally ill and mentally disturbed. Mental illness is actually far more common then most people might think. In fact, one-in-four people in the United States has some type of mental illness. You might even know someone who has a mental illness and not even know it. What mental illness is, is something that happens to a person's mind or brain to cause them to act and think irrationally, and they can usually recognize the negative impact it is having on them and their life. As for someone who is mentally disturbed, they also might think and act irrationally, but their irrationality would be in a much more volatile and disturbing manner, and they might be so far gone that they do not realize this.
Also, just because person's posts might indicate that they are mentally disturbed, it doesn't mean that they are in fact mentally disturbed, they could just be a troll, but even a troll can still be mentally disturbed.)
6. Incoherence
Basically speaking, whatever messages they post either barely make any sense, or makes no sense what so ever. This can be a gradual thing, where if you're having an argument with the conspiracy theorist, over time they can begin making less and less sense as they grow more frustrated and angry because you're not agreeing with them, or they're just incoherent out right.
5. Volatile & Vileness
Some conspiracy theorists, especially those who might be mentally disturbed, can become extremely angry in a second, especially when confronted with evidence that the conspiracy theories that they believe in are in fact false. It's quite common for people who are like this to post messages that are best described as either being threatening, insulting, and at the very least, disturbing. Sometimes they'll even make threats against public officials and institutions, or just the people they're arguing with.
4. Paranoia
If a conspiracy theorist argues how everything the media says is a lie, how the government constantly spreads dis-information, and how debunkers are government dis-information agents, and how banks and corporations are controlling the world, then they are probably paranoid. While this might actually be quite common for a conspiracy theorist, some will go on about how you need to prepare, such as by buying all the guns and ammo you can, to building a bunker and living in isolation. They might also not buy certain things, or from certain business, or put their money in a bank account, because they don't trust them.
Some conspiracy theorists who are extremely paranoid will even believe in very bizarre conspiracy theories, or won't even trust their own family. The most paranoid conspiracy theorists most likely wouldn't even use the internet in the first place, because they fear that the government will use it to track them down and harm them.
3. Obsession
For some conspiracy theorists, conspiracy theories can take over their lives. They become obsessed not only with conspiracy theories, but proving that they are real. Some will even abandon their families, or more likely, their families will abandon them, because of their obsession.
It's pretty easy to spot a conspiracy theorist on the internet that is obsessed with conspiracy theories, because they won't stop posting about a conspiracy theory until they are convinced that you are convinced that the conspiracy theory that they are talking about is real, or that they have convinced themselves that they have "debunked" a debunking of a conspiracy theory, or they're kicked off of a website, and even then, because of their obsessive needs, they'll constantly try to find a way to get back in.
2. Unable to see the harm in their actions
A conspiracy theorist who is mentally disturbed might not be able to see or figure out that their own actions are harmful, even if what they are posting might be considered illegal. They tend to not to be able to figure out why everyone is making such a big deal over the way they're acting. Some will even admit that their own friends and family have distanced themselves from them, or that they have distanced themselves from their friends and family because they will not accept what he or she believes in.
1. Admits having a Mental Illness
Some conspiracy theorists will admit that they actually are mental ill, but usually the mental illness that they admit to having is usually anxiety based, which can come about after watching and/or experiencing a traumatic event, such as an act of terrorism, or a mass shooting.
So here now is a list of six ways to tell if a conspiracy theorist that you see posting on the internet might be mentally disturbed:
(Author's note: it should be noted that there is a difference between being mentally ill and mentally disturbed. Mental illness is actually far more common then most people might think. In fact, one-in-four people in the United States has some type of mental illness. You might even know someone who has a mental illness and not even know it. What mental illness is, is something that happens to a person's mind or brain to cause them to act and think irrationally, and they can usually recognize the negative impact it is having on them and their life. As for someone who is mentally disturbed, they also might think and act irrationally, but their irrationality would be in a much more volatile and disturbing manner, and they might be so far gone that they do not realize this.
Also, just because person's posts might indicate that they are mentally disturbed, it doesn't mean that they are in fact mentally disturbed, they could just be a troll, but even a troll can still be mentally disturbed.)
6. Incoherence
Basically speaking, whatever messages they post either barely make any sense, or makes no sense what so ever. This can be a gradual thing, where if you're having an argument with the conspiracy theorist, over time they can begin making less and less sense as they grow more frustrated and angry because you're not agreeing with them, or they're just incoherent out right.
5. Volatile & Vileness
Some conspiracy theorists, especially those who might be mentally disturbed, can become extremely angry in a second, especially when confronted with evidence that the conspiracy theories that they believe in are in fact false. It's quite common for people who are like this to post messages that are best described as either being threatening, insulting, and at the very least, disturbing. Sometimes they'll even make threats against public officials and institutions, or just the people they're arguing with.
4. Paranoia
If a conspiracy theorist argues how everything the media says is a lie, how the government constantly spreads dis-information, and how debunkers are government dis-information agents, and how banks and corporations are controlling the world, then they are probably paranoid. While this might actually be quite common for a conspiracy theorist, some will go on about how you need to prepare, such as by buying all the guns and ammo you can, to building a bunker and living in isolation. They might also not buy certain things, or from certain business, or put their money in a bank account, because they don't trust them.
Some conspiracy theorists who are extremely paranoid will even believe in very bizarre conspiracy theories, or won't even trust their own family. The most paranoid conspiracy theorists most likely wouldn't even use the internet in the first place, because they fear that the government will use it to track them down and harm them.
3. Obsession
For some conspiracy theorists, conspiracy theories can take over their lives. They become obsessed not only with conspiracy theories, but proving that they are real. Some will even abandon their families, or more likely, their families will abandon them, because of their obsession.
It's pretty easy to spot a conspiracy theorist on the internet that is obsessed with conspiracy theories, because they won't stop posting about a conspiracy theory until they are convinced that you are convinced that the conspiracy theory that they are talking about is real, or that they have convinced themselves that they have "debunked" a debunking of a conspiracy theory, or they're kicked off of a website, and even then, because of their obsessive needs, they'll constantly try to find a way to get back in.
2. Unable to see the harm in their actions
A conspiracy theorist who is mentally disturbed might not be able to see or figure out that their own actions are harmful, even if what they are posting might be considered illegal. They tend to not to be able to figure out why everyone is making such a big deal over the way they're acting. Some will even admit that their own friends and family have distanced themselves from them, or that they have distanced themselves from their friends and family because they will not accept what he or she believes in.
1. Admits having a Mental Illness
Some conspiracy theorists will admit that they actually are mental ill, but usually the mental illness that they admit to having is usually anxiety based, which can come about after watching and/or experiencing a traumatic event, such as an act of terrorism, or a mass shooting.
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