Conspiracy Theories

I had a discussion in my english class about Conspiracy Theories and it was very enlightening. We talked about whether we can trust anything we hear in the media or what we are taught in history. After the discussion I felt very paranoid

I have heard alot of conspiracy theories. Some of them don't make much sense and some of them "seem" true. The theories that do seem true I know are wrong, but it's hard to prove them wrong since they are so fully developed.

Like the Landing on the Moon conspiracy. Some people believe the US government made it all up to reassure Americans that they were ahead in the Cold War. Those people think that they just filmed the landing on the moon in some remote desert in Mexico.

And the holocaust. Some people believe it never happened. They believe its some Semitic ploy to take over the world But the evidence is there. Today, we can see some Holocaust survivors walking around with the numbers on their arms. This is absurd right?

How can people create such nonsensical theories if the evidence is right there? Why do people create Conspiracy theories anyway? Are they paranoid or do they refuse to believe anything the government says?

Originally Posted by Link_fizzle

I had a discussion in my english class about Conspiracy Theories and it was very enlightening. We talked about whether we can trust anything we hear in the media or what we are taught in history. After the discussion I felt very paranoid

I have heard alot of conspiracy theories. Some of them don't make much sense and some of them "seem" true. The theories that do seem true I know are wrong, but it's hard to prove them wrong since they are so fully developed.

Not at all, just stick to facts and you'll win, the people who believe in them won't admit it, but everyone else will know.

Like the Landing on the Moon conspiracy. Some people believe the US government made it all up to reassure Americans that they were ahead in the Cold War. Those people think that they just filmed the landing on the moon in some remote desert in Mexico.

I can, in but seconds, link you to two sites that completely disprove that theory, heck, I can disprove most of the points myself.

And the holocaust. Some people believe it never happened. They believe its some Semitic ploy to take over the world But the evidence is there. Today, we can see some Holocaust survivors walking around with the numbers on their arms. This is absurd right?

Very, the Germans kept very complete records of the Holocaust.

How can people create such nonsensical theories if the evidence is right there? Why do people create Conspiracy theories anyway? Are they paranoid or do they refuse to believe anything the government says?

Various reasons, some start them to make money, others so that they can feel special ("I know something that's fooled almost everyone else."), mental illness, the list goes on.

Heh.

Dan Brown, author of "The DaVinci Code" once said "Everybody loves a conspiracy". I think what he meant was that some people enjoy that sort of thing, mainly because sometimes it's fun to ask "What if?"

Personally, I think people create conspiracy theories due to when people need to hide information for whatever reason, and when that happenes, the thought of "What if?" reigns constant.

Think about it. When your friend is hiding a secret, you begin to wonder, what if it's this, or what if it's that. It's the same basic principle.

Conspiracy theories are some people's ways of trying to explain stuff when they can't figure out why someone would do some act.

Anyways, that's all I have to say on this topic.

I can, in but seconds, link you to two sites that completely disprove that theory, heck, I can disprove most of the points myself.

That would be nice actually.

I know the holocaust and the landing on the moon theories are wrong. I was just using them as examples^^

I agree that everyone loves conspiracies, whether to creat them or to think on them. I mean, it's hard to get an easy answer because someone will always question. That's why it seems hard to prove....

I guess people make up theories because they aren't there to witness the truth. Especially since everyone hides stuff from people.
I can understand why people make up SOME conspiracies. Ok maybe I'm thinking too much but I think the government or people in power can easily manipulate the peolple who don't have power. That is....if they WANT to. Peter Jennings (the abc guy) once said, "Whoever controls the media controls reality." It's scary to think this....

Altho there is most of times some truth in the argument of conspiracy theorists most of them can be disproved... Unfortunately... I always liked the old conspiracy theory, in a way it is our way of keeping control because someone will always ask the questions.

And the peoples denying the holocaust (Anti-Sémites) in french are usually not conspiracy theorists but in fact usually neo-nazis or as you said crazy persons that think that the jewish race wants to take over the world. Oh well.

Another quite interesting one is the 9/11 one. No I do not want to start a debate but I do find some arguments somewhat plausible and interesting. Enough in my opinion to investigate the investigators. Take a look. www.reopen911.com I am not sure if the videos the man produced are still available on the site but I have them here and can provide them to you if needed... Its really REALLY interesting.

Originally Posted by SchattenReïter

Altho there is most of times some truth in the argument of conspiracy theorists most of them can be disproved... Unfortunately... I always liked the old conspiracy theory, in a way it is our way of keeping control because someone will always ask the questions.

And the peoples denying the holocaust (Anti-Sémites) in french are usually not conspiracy theorists but in fact usually neo-nazis or as you said crazy persons that think that the jewish race wants to take over the world. Oh well.

Another quite interesting one is the 9/11 one. No I do not want to start a debate but I do find some arguments somewhat plausible and interesting. Enough in my opinion to investigate the investigators. Take a look. www.reopen911.com I am not sure if the videos the man produced are still available on the site but I have them here and can provide them to you if needed... Its really REALLY interesting.

No it isn't, they make up facts, ignore other ones, and twist some others. I can assure you that 9/11 happened exactly the way everyone says it did. www.911myths.com should show that.




As for the moon hoax, www.badastronomy.com and www.clavius.org debunk it very well.

I just read in either Stuff, Maxim, or FHM one of those i cant remember whitch but it had an article on a Conspiracy Theory of the 9/11 attacks. Saying that the people who believe this say the towers did not fall from the crash but form explosives. They think the government set the whole thing up just for a reasone to go to Iraq and Afghanistan. I mean everything was set up. From the plane highjacks to the pentigon not even getting hit by a plane. Why would people come up with something like this? I mean would our government even consider killing many innocent live like that just to go to war? I was just awe struck at some of the things the conspiracy theryists were saying. Does anyone else know of this matter?

All of that is actually disproven quite well by GDwarf's site (thanks btw its interesting too) but the fact is in my opinion is you just never know thats why we always have to question everything.

Originally Posted by SchattenReïter

All of that is actually disproven quite well by GDwarf's site (thanks btw its interesting too) but the fact is in my opinion is you just never know thats why we always have to question everything.

Wooh, a convert. I'm actually surprised, you'd be amazed at how entrenched many of the people who beleive that are, you've got people claiming it was missles, and that all the eye witnesses were bribed into silence, etc.

I just tend to look at both sides and make my choice from there... Unlike my father... uugh. And I know exacly what you mean, most "believers" tend to select what they want to see and forget that someone might have a better argument then them.

Wow, you know they could have easily had a better way of getting into war with Iraq and stuff then killing 3,000 or so people. Oh i dono make up some stuff up, spread it around until people are convinced and there you go no1 died in the proccess of going into war!

Originally Posted by Tre

Wow, you know they could have easily had a better way of getting into war with Iraq and stuff then killing 3,000 or so people. Oh i dono make up some stuff up, spread it around until people are convinced and there you go no1 died in the proccess of going into war!

I agree. They didn't need to kill of that many people to start a war. They could just do what they did for Vietnam. I believe Lyndon Johnson didn't tell the public about what they were doing, but in secret, the the americans provoked the vietnamese. So it was us who started it. And then after the vietnamese attacked back, we declared the war. I think alot of presidents used the provoking strategy to start wars or "resolutions".

I dislike using the term "conspiracy theory" because it's built up such a negative connotation in our culture. When people hear "conspiracy theory" they usually approach the theory with a bias. I also think it's wrong that the public generally accepts the government sponsored explanation of events to be the official or true story, as if the government has never lied to us (American citizens) before. However, as a person who subscribes to many "conspiracy theories" I will be the first to say that they are just that- theories. But then, so are the "official" explanations. Its almost impossible to have perfect information about an event that leaves no gaps. There will always be issues like mistranslation, misinterpretation, looking at facts selectively and outright lying. So I think everyone should just keep an open mind.

About the 9/11 theories, I would encourage people to see "Loose Change", a documentary that not so much proposes a theory, but points out many large discrepancies of the government's explanation of events. You can see it here.

If you do decide to see it, please do so with an open mind, and watch the entire thing.

Originally Posted by The Gentleman

I dislike using the term "conspiracy theory" because it's built up such a negative connotation in our culture. When people hear "conspiracy theory" they usually approach the theory with a bias. I also think it's wrong that the public generally accepts the government sponsored explanation of events to be the official or true story, as if the government has never lied to us (American citizens) before. However, as a person who subscribes to many "conspiracy theories" I will be the first to say that they are just that- theories. But then, so are the "official" explanations. Its almost impossible to have perfect information about an event that leaves no gaps. There will always be issues like mistranslation, misinterpretation, looking at facts selectively and outright lying. So I think everyone should just keep an open mind.

About the 9/11 theories, I would encourage people to see "Loose Change", a documentary that not so much proposes a theory, but points out many large discrepancies of the government's explanation of events. You can see it here.

If you do decide to see it, please do so with an open mind, and watch the entire thing.

Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.
Loose change is horrible, it twists facts, invents new ones, and ignores others.
I'd also like to point out that I use the term 'conspiracy theory' for very few situations. The person has to be going against an authority figure with no proof but 'discrepencies', and has to ignore actual proof when it's given to them. The 9/11 theory is like that.

On top of that, conspiracy theories really aren't theories, they might qualify as hypothesis, wheras the official version tends to actually be a theory. What do I mean by that?

A hypothesis is an idea that hasn't been tested.
A theory has been tested and has held up to examination.

I appologise if this sounds rude or flippant, but I'm tired of people harping on conspiracy theories with no proof but little pixels that they think are the wrong colour. Or people who obviously know more about how buildings fall then demolition experts, architects, and engineers.