Tunnelvisionary
Member
I was having a thought earlier today after visiting Max Bliss' facebook page. I don't have facebook myself anymore, but I was looking through his photos and noticed how popular they were. I saw many people commenting on them on what wonderful work he was doing, how he was such a good man, compliments for his looks, etc.
He would respond in turn about how nice everyone was, how confident he was the NWO would be defeated, how fast everyone is waking up (likely felt so positive from the endorphin rush he got from such overwhelming support and love).
I wonder if the sense of community, higher purpose (in spreading CTs and fighting a higher power), and having the overwhelming approval of your peers makes one feel like they NEED the conspiracies more and more to defend the kind of social position and community they find themselves in.
Now, I know those that believe in CTs are not a homogenous group of people all with the same motives and reasoning...but for people like Max Bliss...what social consequences are there for not believing in the conspiracy? Perhaps people in that position are even harder to reach through debunking because they have much more personal investment in these theories. I'd imagine losing that sense of connection and community and like you're all fighting together against some omnipotent bad guy takes a much more personal toll and why they must come up with any and every reason not to listen to debunkings.
I'm probably not making any huge revelations here, but perhaps knowing this can help those entrenched in the conspiracy for emotional reasons not feel like they need conspiracy for community.
For one, when I was a believer in conspiracy theories and eastern spiritual philosophy (I'd say I was more into spirituality on its own than CTs to be quite honest), I considered myself a man of science, but I felt like debunkers lived colorless lives without any sense of wonder. "Everything is fine, no evidence for this, don't waste your time, facts facts facts, we know we know we know".
Not intending to offend whatsoever, but this was just my perception at the time.
Debunking/debunkers often come off as cold, calculated, and dry, and it may be this perception that makes people feel if they don't have the conspiracy, the only other option is to lead a disconnected life without much joy or wonder. Seems to be part of the reason why so often you may hear "well, science doesn't know everything! You can't say you know everything!" when no one was making that sort of claim.
I'm not sure what can be done about that, as usually discussion of facts and evidence has to by as objective as possible, and thus dry. But it might help to establish common ground when discussing things with believers in CTs when straight facts don't seem to be working and they are resistant to reason, and often break out into emotional appeals.
In addition, the need to feel like you are special and living a special kind of life can be another draw to conspiracies, and its probably exacerbated when you are a leader of such movements and are frequently validated by your followers. In my own experience, without the need to feel like I was going to become a special enlightened person through spirituality, I didn't have that subtle sense of superiority over the average joe who just wasn't in the know. Coming to terms with the idea of being average was pretty difficult for a while.
I have some ideas for establishing a common ground or maybe addressing the deeper, emotional aspect with people who believe in CTs. Being that everyone has their own reasons, it's probably best not to assume this will speak to everyone, but maybe it can help. I don't have time at the moment, but could type up some ideas on how to address these later.
Have a splendid day, everyone.
He would respond in turn about how nice everyone was, how confident he was the NWO would be defeated, how fast everyone is waking up (likely felt so positive from the endorphin rush he got from such overwhelming support and love).
I wonder if the sense of community, higher purpose (in spreading CTs and fighting a higher power), and having the overwhelming approval of your peers makes one feel like they NEED the conspiracies more and more to defend the kind of social position and community they find themselves in.
Now, I know those that believe in CTs are not a homogenous group of people all with the same motives and reasoning...but for people like Max Bliss...what social consequences are there for not believing in the conspiracy? Perhaps people in that position are even harder to reach through debunking because they have much more personal investment in these theories. I'd imagine losing that sense of connection and community and like you're all fighting together against some omnipotent bad guy takes a much more personal toll and why they must come up with any and every reason not to listen to debunkings.
I'm probably not making any huge revelations here, but perhaps knowing this can help those entrenched in the conspiracy for emotional reasons not feel like they need conspiracy for community.
For one, when I was a believer in conspiracy theories and eastern spiritual philosophy (I'd say I was more into spirituality on its own than CTs to be quite honest), I considered myself a man of science, but I felt like debunkers lived colorless lives without any sense of wonder. "Everything is fine, no evidence for this, don't waste your time, facts facts facts, we know we know we know".
Not intending to offend whatsoever, but this was just my perception at the time.
Debunking/debunkers often come off as cold, calculated, and dry, and it may be this perception that makes people feel if they don't have the conspiracy, the only other option is to lead a disconnected life without much joy or wonder. Seems to be part of the reason why so often you may hear "well, science doesn't know everything! You can't say you know everything!" when no one was making that sort of claim.
I'm not sure what can be done about that, as usually discussion of facts and evidence has to by as objective as possible, and thus dry. But it might help to establish common ground when discussing things with believers in CTs when straight facts don't seem to be working and they are resistant to reason, and often break out into emotional appeals.
In addition, the need to feel like you are special and living a special kind of life can be another draw to conspiracies, and its probably exacerbated when you are a leader of such movements and are frequently validated by your followers. In my own experience, without the need to feel like I was going to become a special enlightened person through spirituality, I didn't have that subtle sense of superiority over the average joe who just wasn't in the know. Coming to terms with the idea of being average was pretty difficult for a while.
I have some ideas for establishing a common ground or maybe addressing the deeper, emotional aspect with people who believe in CTs. Being that everyone has their own reasons, it's probably best not to assume this will speak to everyone, but maybe it can help. I don't have time at the moment, but could type up some ideas on how to address these later.
Have a splendid day, everyone.