The Problem With Conspiracy People

"The problem with conspiracy people is that they think 100% of everything is a conspiracy which only makes the problems of this world worse. Yes, there are conspiracies going on, and we should be aware, but when you believe that everything is a conspiracy, you become paranoid; and when you are paranoid, you are just as lost as those you are trying to awaken."

There are many things in this world that are going on that are indeed part of a grand web of conspiracy. However, there are little things that happen here and there that are unrelated to those actual conspiracies that we should all be aware of. Some things are not conspiracies, they are just things that happen. When you assume that everything you see is part of a conspiracy, paranoia steps in and now you look the fool. Paranoia is not helpful, but being alert is. Just be alert to what's going on, but don't be paranoid about it.

Conspiracy = something going on that is secretive, hidden from public view, usually some sort of agenda is involved, has been proven or exposed

Conspiracy Theory = the assumption that something secretive is going on, something that has not been proven or exposed

By "conspiracy people", I assume you mean conspiracy theorists. And no, they do not. Sweeping generalizations ("100% of everything is a conspiracy") serve no one.

Much conspiracy is exposed by insiders, but not all. Again, one cannot generalize. This was more true earlier in our history, but have you noticed how much more is covered up, questions unanswered and answers stonewalled by the authorities since 9/11? Do you not wonder why we have all surrendered our freedoms so eagerly in the wake of that tragedy? That in itself has become an even greater and truer tragedy, in my opinion. People have completely surrendered their critical thinking over to knee-jerk responses. Whistle-blowers are now traitors. If Watergate were to happen now, we would have none of Woodward's and Bernstein's brand of journalism on the horizon. The NSA would shut them down fast. Look how they're still dogging Julian Assange and Edward Snowden for their "crimes". Look at poor Chelsea Manning! But look at the fallout from the information they set free. Look how the s**t is still exploding all over the place. They can't stop it as long as there's anyone willing to stick their necks out and tell what's really going on. Look how quickly they're made to be traitors too. Wow. And we sit by and let them get away with it.

What you're saying is to see it where our "betters" permit us to learn of it. We need to be able to ask questions and get answers. We need to be able to trust our "betters". Who here trusts them? Any of them? The good ones are few and far between.

On now to the paranoia aspect: Well that's obviously not a desirable result, but we all have our own threshold and what pushes one person over the edge may be a lot less than for another. Where is your trigger? Do you know? At what point do you call it vigilance and at what point is it paranoia? Likewise, when is it apathy or does this stuff simply not bother you? You might have read about the Russian performance artist who recently stripped down to his skin at Red Square and sat down on the cobblestones. He allowed himself to get pretty chilly before proceeding to drive a nail through his scrotum into the cobblestone ground below. This was in protest to the apathy around him.

I think we all need to be free to be who and what we are. But first, we need to have support from our civilization, our society, our community, our family, ourselves. We are entitled to know. This requires that we ask. When we ask, we require truthful answers. I don't think paranoia is entirely without justification in a lot of cases. At least those people are aware. Are the apathetic? Not to my mind. They are truly zombies.

I just found this quite relevant blurb online: They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-45 by Milton Mayer, an excerpt which I think illustrates at least my perspective on this matter very clearly. There are very fine lines between things. It's sometimes very hard to see things shift. Is it better to be called paranoid, an alarmist, or a conspiracy theorist than to simply refuse to acknowledge impending danger or outright doom? Maybe the paranoid are our canaries in this coal mine: When they aren't singing anymore, be afraid.

I could've stated it better, yes. I obviously didn't quite get across what I meant to. In my head it's so much clearer.

There ARE conspiracies going on all around us all the time. The paranoid people become problems, the ones that have a conspiracy theory about everything, even things that can't possibly (not in our state of reality) be linked to any kind of conspiracy. I'm lacking the ability to come up with examples at the moment, but there are things. That's what the target of the statement was. And when those people, the paranoid ones, that give the rest a bad name and make all of the others look crazy. That's all.

I'm sorry I can't get my message out the way it is in my head. Also, this was written some time ago, and I guess in a lot of ways, should've been revamped.

"Haters gonna hate." Sometimes conspiracy takes decades to prove. In the meantime, there will be those branded as paranoid who see the subtleties and nuances that lend themselves to being labeled as paranoid. What are you going to do? Deny your own truth to appease the few who don't like the association? Not anymore. It's time for people to go with what they know to be right and stop backing down off their truth.

If someone is really paranoid and seeing monsters around every corner, that's another thing, but that's also not going to reflect on the genuine theorists. The genuinely pathologically paranoid need help and understanding, not pushing further away. Information is what they're lacking so fear has engulfed them. It would be nice to take them under your wing and walk with them a while, so to speak. See whence their problem stems and see what you can do to fix that.

Of course there's a chance that you'll see that there really is something in what they're saying and that it's not actually paranoia at all. This is a blade that can cut both ways.

Never thought about it that way. Good observation. Of course there are some conspiracies out there. I think we here know most of the relevant ones that do exist, but I don't think everything's a conspiracy.