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[Servant Corps]

Though some may debate about the relative merits of birthers, truthers, the JFK assassination conspiracy, AIDS conspiracy theory, and the Moon Landing...the fact is, conspiracy theories are there and we will have to live with them. I found an article about conspiracies that I felt may be useful.

Hidden story behind conspiracies

Conspiracy theorists have a bad reputation. They are usually portrayed as paranoid, isolated, deluded people, best avoided.

It is true that there are many sinister and unpleasant conspiracy theories. These are usually the ones that seek to blame all the world's ills on a single racial or social group - Jews, Catholics, Freemasons.

But there are also conspiracy theories that are delightfully dotty. A friend in Ankara tells me many Turks are convinced that, during the cold war, the Russians infested the Sea of Marmara with a sturgeon-devouring predator that sent these valuable fish fleeing into the Russian bit of the Black Sea - thus allowing the Russians to control the world's supply of caviar. That is a theory worthy of James Bond.

The idea that conspiracy theorists are an isolated bunch, on the fringes of society, is also wide of the mark. Some theories are so widely believed that they are now almost mainstream. A recent BBC opinion poll suggested that only 43 per cent of Britons accept the official verdict that the car crash that killed Diana, Princess of Wales, was an accident. The countless "9/11” conspiracy theories also have a surprisingly wide audience - even in America. A Zogby poll last year found that 42 per cent of Americans think the US government is "covering up" facts about the terrorist attacks of September 11 2001.

Why do conspiracy theories command such a wide audience? I have my own theory about that. There are four environments that help to create and sustain paranoia about secret plots. There are closed societies - typified in the Middle East. There are divided societies, such as the US and Spain. There are countries with a genuinely conspiratorial elite, such as Russia. And finally, even in government, there are certain types of people who are natural conspiracy theorists.

The Middle East is particularly fertile ground for people peddling theories about plots. Ahmad Ashraf, an Iranian academic, says that Persians "have relied on conspiracy theories as a basic mode of understanding politics and history." Given their history, this is understandable to a degree. There really was a successful Central Intelligence Agency plot to overthrow the Iranian government in 1953. Other Middle Eastern countries have similar tales to tell. The Anglo-French Suez invasion of 1956 fits the narrative of a conspiracy theory very neatly - there was a secret agreement and the official reason for the intervention was a pretext.

But there is also something internal to Middle Eastern countries that may foster conspiracy theories. A friend who visited Egypt after 9/11 reported back that he could find almost nobody who believed that al-Qaeda had carried out the attacks. My colleague thought that it had something to do with not having a free press. If you start from the notion that the mainstream news is nonsense, then almost anything could be true.

But if censorship promotes paranoia in the Middle East, how does one account for the popularity of conspiracy theories in the US? Bumper stickers that proclaim: "I don't believe the liberal media" reflect the deep mistrust and political divisions between liberals and conservatives. Who knows what The New York Times or CNN are concealing for their own nefarious, liberal reasons? Perhaps it is those UN-controlled "black helicopters" buzzing around in the skies.

In Spain, the wounds of the Spanish civil war lie just beneath the surface of democratic politics and left and right still seem capable of believing the very worst of each other. Both sides have given vent to some pretty scurrilous theories about the "real story" behind the Madrid terrorist bombings of 2004.

Perhaps the most conspiratorial places that I have visited are Russia and Indonesia. In both places, the legacy of dictatorship and the existence of powerful secret services have created a deep belief that there is always a hidden narrative behind the official story.

Russians of all political persuasions often seem to react to any news event by asking: "Who benefits?" So if opponents of President Vladimir Putin gain credibility and sympathy because some of them have been murdered, perhaps Mr Putin's opponents have actually organised the killings themselves? And if President Putin launched the Chechen wars after terrorist attacks in Moscow, perhaps the Russian government itself was the hidden hand behind the explosions?

Many Russians and students of Russia believe these theories. This can create a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you believe that the other side is engaging in nefarious conspiracies, it would be foolish not to do a bit of plotting and provocation yourself.

All this suggests that conspiracy theories flourish above all among the powerless or in undemocratic countries. But even powerful people in the free world can be drawn to conspiracy theories. A long career in the intelligence services can sometimes drive people slightly potty. James Jesus Angleton, a famous head of counter-intelligence for the CIA during the cold war, eventually came to suspect that the heads of several allied governments were KGB agents. He compared the effort to foil Soviet espionage with being trapped in a "wilderness of mirrors."

When powerful people begin to see hidden narratives and plots around them, the consequences can be dangerous. In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, one of my more conspiratorial pals told me: "Iraq did this. Take a look at Laurie Mylroie's book." So I bought a copy of Ms Mylroie's work, Saddam Hussein's Unfinished War Against America.

It attempted to prove that the Iraqis had been behind numerous terrorist attacks on the US, including the first assault on the World Trade Center in 1993. But even more interesting than the contents of the book were the glowing endorsements on the back - from people such as Paul Wolfowitz, then number two at the defence department and Richard Perle, then chairman of the Pentagon's advisory board. The Mylroie thesis has now been widely debunked. But - at a crucial moment - some important American officials bought the theory that Iraq was the hidden hand behind terrorist attacks on America.

Many conspiracy theorists are convinced that there is a secret story behind America's decision to invade Iraq. It is also possible, however, that America went to war partly because some senior officials had themselves fallen prey to a conspiracy theory. But perhaps I am getting lost in the wilderness of mirrors.

(7/31/2007)
     - By Gideon Rachman, The Financial Times

Link to Article. The Article was found on Zogby, who may have a conflict of interest, considering that they have been paid to conduct surveys on behalf of the 9/11 Truther Movement.

[SalmonGod]

Personally, I think 'conspiracy theory' is a term thrown around as derogatory way too often.  You can't even mention verified historical facts without being told to loosen your tin-foil hat sometimes.  I get very tired of it.

[darkrider2]

Seriously guys. You should stop before they find out what you're talking about.

Delete this thread, delete all history of this threads existance, and clean up all your digital footprints.

If you get digitized, then don't say I didn't warn you.

[Aqizzar]

Well, okay, that's some interesting history and commentary on common conspiracy theories, I suppose.  Doesn't really say anything about how they start or why people believe them.

It's certainly not necessarily an ideological thing either.  My grandmother (age 65ish) ran into quite a crisis of conscience during the last Presidential election.  She's a lifelong democrat, and despised Hillary Clinton, but was absolutely and totally sure that Barack Obama was actually born to a prostitute in Kenya and was going send the American military there to secure the capitol for his family.  Or something.  Seriously, it was a mind bender to listen to.  As is, the only other people I've yet encountered who honestly believe the "birther" stuff were bikers, unsurprisingly enough.

[SalmonGod]

As is, the only other people I've yet encountered who honestly believe the "birther" stuff were bikers, unsurprisingly enough.

Bikers?... like what a Hardley Ableson gang?

[Shambling Zombie]

People give governments too much credit. I mean, if they can't even get Iraq quiet and 'find' convincing WMDs, how could they be skillful enough to successfully cover up such huge events as alien contact and faking the moon landing?

[Earthquake Damage]

People give governments too much credit. I mean, if they can't even get Iraq quiet and 'find' convincing WMDs, how could they be skillful enough to successfully cover up such huge events as alien contact and faking the moon landing?

Popular fiction contains countless examples of nefarious (and effective, until the scrappy everyman or whoever shows up) secret plots.  When a trope is so commonplace, surely it reflects and/or has a basis in reality, right?  Or something.  Doubly so when the presentation is emotionally stirring, which good fiction is.  Irrational emotion and what not.

[Criptfeind]

Personally, I think 'conspiracy theory' is a term thrown around as derogatory way too often.  You can't even mention verified historical facts without being told to loosen your tin-foil hat sometimes.  I get very tired of it.

Can you elaborate on this?

[Urist Imiknorris]

Freemasons.

[Tilla]

People give governments too much credit. I mean, if they can't even get Iraq quiet and 'find' convincing WMDs, how could they be skillful enough to successfully cover up such huge events as alien contact and faking the moon landing?

As South Park has taught us, the 9/11 conspiracy...was a conspiracy! To make us believe the government is competent enough to pull off something like that in secret!

[SalmonGod]

Personally, I think 'conspiracy theory' is a term thrown around as derogatory way too often.  You can't even mention verified historical facts without being told to loosen your tin-foil hat sometimes.  I get very tired of it.

Can you elaborate on this?

Sometimes people will call you a conspiracy theorist for any questioning of mainstream media or public official's explanation of political events or motivations.  It's a character attack meant to lump you in with the same type who believe in UFO cover-ups and lizardfolk doppelgangers.  In this case, I usually respond by saying "Umm... this shit actually happens sometimes, alright?" and will point to historical examples.  Pointing to these historical examples will often just get you further characterized as a conspiracy theorist, even if they're proven (but willfully ignored by the other party because it's all conspiracy theory).

Other times I will get attacked as a conspiracy theorist for explaining my stances on current events by putting them in their relevant historical contexts.  For instance, criticising U.S. foreign policy regarding regions where they have previously engaged in unsavory forms of meddling.  Chances are, if other people aren't agreeing with me in the first place, they're just going to shrug me and anything else I say off as conspiracy theory for bringing up those past meddlings, which just don't fit with the heroic portrayals of american leadership offered by high school history texts.

[Criptfeind]

Huh. I really have never ran into such a thing.

Obviously it is Conspiracy.

Also, does anyone else find the treads name hilarious?

[TherosPherae]

Wait.... so this thread is a conspiracy theory about conspiracy theories?

Hmm... time to start a conspiracy theory about the conspiracy theory about all the conspiracy theories. Hold onto your tinfoil hats, ladies and gentlemen, this might turn fractal.

[Tilla]

Wait.... so this thread is a conspiracy theory about conspiracy theories?

Hmm... time to start a conspiracy theory about the conspiracy theory about all the conspiracy theories. Hold onto your tinfoil hats, ladies and gentlemen, this might turn fractal.

He knows too much. Alert HIMEOBS

[lemon10]

People give governments too much credit. I mean, if they can't even get Iraq quiet and 'find' convincing WMDs, how could they be skillful enough to successfully cover up such huge events as alien contact and faking the moon landing?

They did find WMD's, in the form of a book describing the ritual nessasary to awaken cthulu. They had to keep it secret obviously, so most people never knew.