Sandy Hook conspiracy theorists.
Many skeptics (including myself) consider these people to be the lowest of the low.
There are actually two different types of these conspiracy theorists: those who think that the massacre at the elementary school was a false flag attack, and those that think that it didn't even happen at all, more commonly called Sandy Hook Hoaxers.
Today I'm going to focus on the lesser human of the two, the Hoaxers.
Now I have noticed a lot of things about these "people", but I've narrowed it down to five different things.
So here are five things I've noticed about Sandy Hook Hoax conspiracy theorists:
5. They're psychopaths.
Many Sandy Hook hoax conspiracy theorists display behaviors that to some people would be similar to psychopathy.
Most of the believers in this conspiracy theory show no empathy or sadness towards the adults and children that were murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary, nor do they show any empathy towards the people that lost loved ones that day.
Some conspiracy theorists have even been in an active campaign of harassment against survivors and people who lost loved ones in that massacre, much of which has been very volatile and vial. Even those that don't engage in any harassment do often give support and encouragement to those that do.
Worst yet many of them, especially the ones that engage in harassment, will try to "justify" their behavior by claiming that the massacre didn't happen, or that they have every right to do what they're doing (which they don't).
Even if they do sincerely believe that the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary didn't happen it doesn't justify their behavior, because they should be taking into consideration that that the massacre there did happen and that what they are doing is very hurtful, but they're not doing so.
Many of them also don't seem to understand or care that they're behavior could have some severe consequences for them, such as being arrested and going to jail and even prison. And speaking of being arrested and going to jail and prison...
4. They're criminals.
Many of these Sandy Hook hoax conspiracy theorists since the massacre happened have been engaging in a unorganized campaign of internet based harassment against the parents of the children who were murdered, as well as anyone else who was involved with the events of that day.
The harassment in itself is a criminal action, but over the months it has de-evolved into more serious crimes, such as stalking, threats, and even vandalism. There is some speculation that it may be a matter of time before one of these conspiracy theorists finally goes off the deep end and tries to kill one of the parents of the murdered children, or someone whom was involved with the events of that day.
Even those that don't engage in any criminal actions could be considered criminals by-proxy, either by encouraging and giving support to those that do engage in harassment, or to a lesser extent condoning or just not condemning such behavior.
3. They're mentally ill.
I know that most skeptics tend to call certain conspiracy theorists crazy as a means of insulting them (whether we realize that or not), but in the case of Sandy Hook hoax conspiracy theorists many of them have shown signs of having real and perhaps severe mental health issues.
Many of these conspiracy theorists show definite signs of delusional disorders, such Fregoli delusion (which is a mental disorder that causes a person to believe that two or more people are the same person) and/or schizophrenia, as well as other kinds of paranoid delusional disorders and bi-polar disorder.
Not only do paranoid delusional disorders explain why many of these conspiracy theorists believe that the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary didn't happen and that everyone there is an actor, it might also explain why many of them are so aggressive and volatile towards people either involved with the events of that day, or the parents of the children that were murdered that day, or anyone who stands up to them and tells them that what they believe is not true, and that they need to stop harassing the parents that lost their children that day.
Even for those that do have a mental illness it doesn't excuse them for their behavior, and they need to go and get some help.
2. They shocked even skeptics.
After news about the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary broke many skeptics (including myself) guessed that conspiracy theorists were going to make all of these accusations about how the whole thing was a "false flag attack" and that the murderer was either a government agent, or under some kind of mind control.
While predictably conspiracy theorists did make these accusations and thus surprised none of the skeptics that I knew, what surprised us were the claims that the massacre didn't happen at all, and what really shocked us was the behavior of those who believe this.
We've always known that conspiracy theorists can be very aggressive people, but normally their aggressiveness would be focused on the people who told them they were wrong, but in the case with these Sandy Hook hoax conspiracy theorists their aggressive was directly focused on the families that lost children in that massacre, as well as others who were some how involved in the event.
That is what really shocked us, that they went after people who were truly in pain, rather than the people who could take their abuse and fight them back.
1. They refuse to accept reality.
What happened at Sandy Hook Elementary on December 14, 2012 is not an easy thing to accept. That day a very mentally disturbed young man murdered his mother, then went to Sandy Hook Elementary School and murdered 26 people, 20 of them young children.
We may never know why he did this, but he did, and it's reality, and it's a reality that the survivors of that massacre, and the parents who lost their children that day and never get to see them grow up have to deal with.
I know that some people don't want to accept this reality, but it is a reality, and the people who believe that it didn't happen need to accept that it did happen. They need to move on and leave the people who lost their loved ones in that massacre alone, and if they can't do that for some reason then they need to seek psychiatric treatment so that they can become able to.
Showing posts with label Sandy Hook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sandy Hook. Show all posts
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Fregoli Delusion: A possible reason why some believe in Crisis Actors?
Recently I read this VICE article about a person by the name of Ed Chiarini (whether that is his real name or not is unknown, but it doesn't really matter) whom is a conspiracy theorist whom believes that everyone you see in the media is actually an actor (even famous actors).
His latest target: Senator John McCain, whom he believes is actually Henry Winkler (and no, I'm not kidding, he really does believe that the Maverick is actually the Fonz).
When I first read this article I honestly believed that this person was a poe due to the sheer fact that the conspiracy theories he was creating and promoting were so ridicules that it bordered on satire...
Sadly, it wasn't satire. He really does believe what he is saying. I figured that out when I saw his posts about the Sandy Hook massacre and that everyone seen in photos and videos being "crisis actors". Even a well constructed poe would not cross that line.
After seeing that this person clearly believed what he was saying it became very clear that this person most likely has major mental health issues.
Many people who were commenting on the article were saying that he probably has schizophrenia, which is very probable he does have, but I was told by a fellow skeptic that he may have a rare mental disorder called Fregoli delusion.
Fregoli delusion, also known as the "delusion of doubles", is a mental disorder that is sometimes the result of a brain injury and can leave a person to believe that two or more people are actually one person.
Besides believing that two different people are in fact the same person, other behaviors that can go along with Fregoli delusion includes the following:
Sound familiar?
To me it reads just like the type of behavior a conspiracy theorist who thinks that crisis actors are real and that two different people are one in the same often times displays. Because of this people like Ed might not be able to control their behavior (at least not without some serious mental health intervention) and can lead them promoting some pretty disturbing and disgusting conspiracy theories and not even be aware of the harm they are causing.
While Fregoli delusion is considered a delusional disorder, it is not considered to be a type of schizophrenia, but is in fact a type of Delusional Misidentification Syndrome, which is an umbrella term that encompasses delusional disorders in which a person believes that the identity of a person, place, or thing has been altered.
I don't know if Ed, or anyone for that matter who believes that the Sandy Hook massacre was faked and that what you saw was crisis actors are mentally ill (although it seems very unlikely that they are not) or that if they are that they have Fregoli delusion (they could have something else entirely, or have a different type of mental disorder and Fregoli delusion as well), but Fregoli delusion does seem a likely cause because not only can it cause a person to believe that two different people is the same person, it also causes people to be paranoid and believe that they are being persecuted. Combined this along with impaired self-monitoring and social reasoning as a result of a brain injury that can cause Fregoli delusion, you might get someone who is unable to control their actions, especially over a medium such as the internet, but also unable to understand that their actions are harmful to others and possibly even themselves, thus you have a situation like what happened after the Sandy Hook massacre where some conspiracy theorists were harassing family members of the slain children and some of the heros of that day, accusing them of being crisis actors and even going so far as to threatening them.
His latest target: Senator John McCain, whom he believes is actually Henry Winkler (and no, I'm not kidding, he really does believe that the Maverick is actually the Fonz).
@SenJohnMcCain @ABCWorldNews Hey McCain/Winkler Say hello to your WIFE for us, & to Eugene Levy (AKA ACTING pres of EGYPT) too. We C U- SCTVAnd apparently he also believes that Eugene Levy is the acting president of Egypt.
— Ed Chiarini (@dallasgoldbug) August 27, 2013
When I first read this article I honestly believed that this person was a poe due to the sheer fact that the conspiracy theories he was creating and promoting were so ridicules that it bordered on satire...
Sadly, it wasn't satire. He really does believe what he is saying. I figured that out when I saw his posts about the Sandy Hook massacre and that everyone seen in photos and videos being "crisis actors". Even a well constructed poe would not cross that line.
After seeing that this person clearly believed what he was saying it became very clear that this person most likely has major mental health issues.
Many people who were commenting on the article were saying that he probably has schizophrenia, which is very probable he does have, but I was told by a fellow skeptic that he may have a rare mental disorder called Fregoli delusion.
Fregoli delusion, also known as the "delusion of doubles", is a mental disorder that is sometimes the result of a brain injury and can leave a person to believe that two or more people are actually one person.
Besides believing that two different people are in fact the same person, other behaviors that can go along with Fregoli delusion includes the following:
- Impaired self monitoring, mental flexibility, and social reasoning, including passive acceptance of inaccurate conclusions.
- A tendency to select salient associations rather than a relevant one.
- Mnemonic association of routine thoughts.
- Unable to come up with an alternative hypothesis.
Sound familiar?
To me it reads just like the type of behavior a conspiracy theorist who thinks that crisis actors are real and that two different people are one in the same often times displays. Because of this people like Ed might not be able to control their behavior (at least not without some serious mental health intervention) and can lead them promoting some pretty disturbing and disgusting conspiracy theories and not even be aware of the harm they are causing.
While Fregoli delusion is considered a delusional disorder, it is not considered to be a type of schizophrenia, but is in fact a type of Delusional Misidentification Syndrome, which is an umbrella term that encompasses delusional disorders in which a person believes that the identity of a person, place, or thing has been altered.
I don't know if Ed, or anyone for that matter who believes that the Sandy Hook massacre was faked and that what you saw was crisis actors are mentally ill (although it seems very unlikely that they are not) or that if they are that they have Fregoli delusion (they could have something else entirely, or have a different type of mental disorder and Fregoli delusion as well), but Fregoli delusion does seem a likely cause because not only can it cause a person to believe that two different people is the same person, it also causes people to be paranoid and believe that they are being persecuted. Combined this along with impaired self-monitoring and social reasoning as a result of a brain injury that can cause Fregoli delusion, you might get someone who is unable to control their actions, especially over a medium such as the internet, but also unable to understand that their actions are harmful to others and possibly even themselves, thus you have a situation like what happened after the Sandy Hook massacre where some conspiracy theorists were harassing family members of the slain children and some of the heros of that day, accusing them of being crisis actors and even going so far as to threatening them.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Conspiracy theories only create more conspiracy theories
Conspiracy theories are all over the internet it seems these days, and there are a lot of things I have noticed about many of these conspiracy theories, but there is one thing that seems to be an absolute constant about conspiracy theories:
Conspiracy theories create more conspiracy theories.
Take the 9/11 conspiracy theories for example. What was probably the original conspiracy theory concerning that act of terror was the accusation that the Bush administration allowed it to happen, then it eventually progressed into the belief that the government made it happen, then into the belief that the towers were brought down by explosives, then into the belief that the towers were hit by drones, until finally you get to the really bizarre ones that claim that no planes hit the the World Trade Center towers at all.
Originally it would take years for a conspiracy theory to get to it's most bizarre levels (as the 9/11 conspiracy theories did) but now it takes no time at all.
The Sandy Hook conspiracy theories for example took very little time to go from your basic false flag attack conspiracy theory, to the truly bizarre theory that it didn't happen and that all the grieving parents of the children that were killed were just actors, and that all the children that were killed either were not killed, or never even existed.
That progression took less than a week.
And the conspiracy theories concerning the recent bombing of the Boston Marathon went from being an alleged false flag attack, to being an outright staged hoax in less than a day...
Sometimes it will go even further than just going from being mundane to being really bizarre (and perhaps harmful), sometimes it will lead to the creation of a conspiracy theory will actually end up being what's called a "counter conspiracy theory".
What a counter conspiracy theory is, is an attempt to counter a conspiracy theory with a conspiracy theory that is the exact opposite of that conspiracy theory (and in some cases themselves becoming pretty darn bizarre).
Going back to the 9/11 conspiracy theories, while there are a lot of conspiracy theories concerning who did it, there are some conspiracy theories concerning the creation of the 9/11 conspiracy theories.
The main ones being that they were created simply as a way to try to either get or keep the United States out of the middle east. There are some claims that Al-Qaeda created those 9/11 conspiracy theories, and even payed people in the United States to spread these conspiracy theories.
Then there are of course the counter counter conspiracy theories, which basically are conspiracy theories that claim that the counter conspiracy theories were created as nothing more than propaganda to make people fearful of believing in certain conspiracy theories, and as a way to make conspiracy theorists look like traders, and that if you believe in these conspiracy theories, you are a trader.
This is basically what happens when a conspiracy theory is created. It creates more and more conspiracy theories, and conspiracy theories that are meant to counter those conspiracy theories, and other conspiracy theories that are meant to counter those conspiracy theories.
In the end it all becomes so confusing that it is best just to ignore them all and go about your life.
Conspiracy theories create more conspiracy theories.
Take the 9/11 conspiracy theories for example. What was probably the original conspiracy theory concerning that act of terror was the accusation that the Bush administration allowed it to happen, then it eventually progressed into the belief that the government made it happen, then into the belief that the towers were brought down by explosives, then into the belief that the towers were hit by drones, until finally you get to the really bizarre ones that claim that no planes hit the the World Trade Center towers at all.
Originally it would take years for a conspiracy theory to get to it's most bizarre levels (as the 9/11 conspiracy theories did) but now it takes no time at all.
The Sandy Hook conspiracy theories for example took very little time to go from your basic false flag attack conspiracy theory, to the truly bizarre theory that it didn't happen and that all the grieving parents of the children that were killed were just actors, and that all the children that were killed either were not killed, or never even existed.
That progression took less than a week.
And the conspiracy theories concerning the recent bombing of the Boston Marathon went from being an alleged false flag attack, to being an outright staged hoax in less than a day...
Sometimes it will go even further than just going from being mundane to being really bizarre (and perhaps harmful), sometimes it will lead to the creation of a conspiracy theory will actually end up being what's called a "counter conspiracy theory".
What a counter conspiracy theory is, is an attempt to counter a conspiracy theory with a conspiracy theory that is the exact opposite of that conspiracy theory (and in some cases themselves becoming pretty darn bizarre).
Going back to the 9/11 conspiracy theories, while there are a lot of conspiracy theories concerning who did it, there are some conspiracy theories concerning the creation of the 9/11 conspiracy theories.
The main ones being that they were created simply as a way to try to either get or keep the United States out of the middle east. There are some claims that Al-Qaeda created those 9/11 conspiracy theories, and even payed people in the United States to spread these conspiracy theories.
Then there are of course the counter counter conspiracy theories, which basically are conspiracy theories that claim that the counter conspiracy theories were created as nothing more than propaganda to make people fearful of believing in certain conspiracy theories, and as a way to make conspiracy theorists look like traders, and that if you believe in these conspiracy theories, you are a trader.
This is basically what happens when a conspiracy theory is created. It creates more and more conspiracy theories, and conspiracy theories that are meant to counter those conspiracy theories, and other conspiracy theories that are meant to counter those conspiracy theories.
In the end it all becomes so confusing that it is best just to ignore them all and go about your life.
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, January 25, 2013
Blaming Video Games... Again
After the shooting at Sandy Hook elementary many people began looking for someone, or something, to blame (most likely because the killer (and I will not mention his name in this article) took his own life and the public wants some sort of sense of justice) and there are a lot of things they are blaming.
While the main focus of "blame" is on gun control laws and improving mental health care, people are also focusing their blame on videos games (just like they did after the Columbine massacre).
The particular is on violent video games, and while the killer did play video games in high school, it's not clear if he played video games into his adulthood, nor is it known if he played violent video games.
Even if the killer did play violent video games for hours on end, it doesn't mean that it caused the killer to take his mother's guns, go to a nearby school, and murder a bunch of kids and teachers. He probably would have done it anyways regardless of if he never watched any type of violent media what so ever.
If video games caused young people to become violent killers, then there would be more school shootings then there really are (and by the way, the media does tend to sensationalize this stuff. School shootings are actually very rare) because lots of teenagers play violent video games. In fact I played violent video games with my friends when I was a teenager, and it never made any of us violent. If anything those games kept us from going out and getting into trouble.
Video games do not cause people to become violent. What causes people to become violent is either long term exposure to real violence (not imaginary violence), psychological issues, drug addiction, or a combination of two or all three.
The reality is that video games (and also music, movie, and television, which are also some things that some people are claiming influenced the killer to do what he did) do not cause people to become violent, and there is no evidence that it does, and by all appearances this is nothing more then a moral panic by people who think that seeing fictional violence will cause kids to commit real violence, much like how some people back in the 1980's believed that playing Dungeons & Dragons would cause teenagers to convert to paganism and Satanism, or that reading Harry Potter would cause kids to start practicing witchcraft.
No video game in the world, no matter how violent it is, is going to influence someone to go out and kill a bunch of people, the same as keeping kid away from any exposure to violence is going to keep them from becoming a psychopath that kills a bunch of people.
One more note: Most video games are violent, be it either cartoonish, or realistic. Heck, the first video game I ever played, Super Mario Bros, would be considered violent, but it never caused to want to go and jump on top of people's heads and throw fire balls at them. If any negative things happened to me from playing video games then it would be that I would sometimes play them for hours on end (much like many people do today).
While the main focus of "blame" is on gun control laws and improving mental health care, people are also focusing their blame on videos games (just like they did after the Columbine massacre).
The particular is on violent video games, and while the killer did play video games in high school, it's not clear if he played video games into his adulthood, nor is it known if he played violent video games.
Even if the killer did play violent video games for hours on end, it doesn't mean that it caused the killer to take his mother's guns, go to a nearby school, and murder a bunch of kids and teachers. He probably would have done it anyways regardless of if he never watched any type of violent media what so ever.
If video games caused young people to become violent killers, then there would be more school shootings then there really are (and by the way, the media does tend to sensationalize this stuff. School shootings are actually very rare) because lots of teenagers play violent video games. In fact I played violent video games with my friends when I was a teenager, and it never made any of us violent. If anything those games kept us from going out and getting into trouble.
Video games do not cause people to become violent. What causes people to become violent is either long term exposure to real violence (not imaginary violence), psychological issues, drug addiction, or a combination of two or all three.
The reality is that video games (and also music, movie, and television, which are also some things that some people are claiming influenced the killer to do what he did) do not cause people to become violent, and there is no evidence that it does, and by all appearances this is nothing more then a moral panic by people who think that seeing fictional violence will cause kids to commit real violence, much like how some people back in the 1980's believed that playing Dungeons & Dragons would cause teenagers to convert to paganism and Satanism, or that reading Harry Potter would cause kids to start practicing witchcraft.
No video game in the world, no matter how violent it is, is going to influence someone to go out and kill a bunch of people, the same as keeping kid away from any exposure to violence is going to keep them from becoming a psychopath that kills a bunch of people.
One more note: Most video games are violent, be it either cartoonish, or realistic. Heck, the first video game I ever played, Super Mario Bros, would be considered violent, but it never caused to want to go and jump on top of people's heads and throw fire balls at them. If any negative things happened to me from playing video games then it would be that I would sometimes play them for hours on end (much like many people do today).
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