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Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Conspiracy Theories Have Undue Influence

Now, I'm not saying that Democratic anti-**umpsters aren't fans of conspiracy theories, but **umpster enthusiasts seem to have them beat. Outlandish diatribes are the glue of superstition that hold all fringe groups together (called cults). The closer you get to the fringe, the more prominent is the role of conspiracy theories. Example: those that say an international cabal of Jewish bankers is taking over the world (a persistent anti-Semitic one).

Note: I'm having to use ** for the first two letters of "you know who's" name, because in my previous postings about him, a swarm of hundreds of bot hits from the "land of the Czars" immediately followed in each instance / if you know what I mean. So, I'm  hoping this method will avoid triggering another such assault.

So, why do people believe in conspiracy theories?

"Group identity is a factor:
White Americans are more likely to believe that Obama concocted a fake birth certificate to hide his true identity as a foreigner, created death panels to determine who would live and who would die under his health care plan, conspired to destroy religious liberty by mandating contraceptives for religious institutions, blew up the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig to garner support for his environmental agenda and built concentration camps in which to place Americans who resist, etcetera....."

......"believers in conspiracies cut across gender, age, race, income, political affiliation, educational level, and occupational status. People on both the political left and right, for example, believe in conspiracies roughly equally, although each finds different cabals."



But, even so, some 'pecker woods' really test my patience. For example, view the 52 second clip at the bottom of the page showing Texas pro-choice advocate Carol Everett, who discredits her own movement with inane statements.
[Note: I find many valid points on each side of the abortion issue. Like the "right to die" issue, it requires deeply sober and thoughtful consideration. Not superstitious emotional irrationality or cold hearted connivance.]