Bunk, debunking bunk, and what an interesting subject it is. If I'd known how interesting debunking is I might have abandoned bunk sooner. Well, probably not. That was a process for me, and it took some time. I try to describe it to current CT's as "waking up and waking up again" because so many CT's self-describe as having a profound and sudden "awakening" where they feel they're seeing the world as it really is, sometimes for the first time in their lives. This new reality contains a belief in one of more conspiracy theories, and this “awakening” is actively supported and encouraged by other CT’s on social networking sites and message boards. If there’s one thing I can say I admire about the CT community it’s this; they are very skilled in the art of networking.
I joined MySpace in May, 2006. The first few months were great, and the 2006 MySpace format was really wonderful. I reacquainted with old friends, found music posted there I couldn’t find anywhere else, I had my own blog, and for those of you who never knew that site “back in the day”, I’m sorry, and it’s too late. Sure, MySpace still exists, but the format has been tinkered with and changed so much that it’s barely recognizable to those of us who knew it when. Ah well, things change, and for me and many others it did have a down side. The down side was that MySpace became a social networking site where conspiracy theorists joined up in very large numbers. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Not that there’s anything wrong with that unless you find yourself in a vulnerable life situation or two, have a tendency to want to understand what the people you find interesting and have respect for believe about life in general, or see your friends list explode to over 600 in less than two months, with at least 550 of those new “friends” being conspiracy theorists. Then there might be something wrong with that. There was something about all those factors combined that took me on an interesting journey.
I think having my MySpace friends list exploding from under 100 to over 600 in less than two months must have had an effect on me. I don’t remember any ego-gratification coming from that (not consciously), but that factor had to be there. I certainly started to notice when other CT’s got too big-headed, and perhaps I wasn’t as big-headed as some, but I’ve accepted the reality that my sudden popularity on MySpace must have impacted my belief system. There was an urgency, we were going to save the world, and come on…if my friend number on MySpace had more or less stayed the same, under 100, would I really have gotten sucked into the CT world? I honestly don’t think it would have happened.
I've never had a religious awakening, but I’ve read a great deal about the experience, and the awakening to conspiracy theory looks to be very similar. A sudden change of heart and mind, an awakening…it can be very heady stuff, especially when there’s a network of like-minded people and you spend a great deal of time supporting each others theories and awakening experiences. And then you’re a member of a movement, and you belong to the very small group of people who know something the entire rest of the world does not. That alone should be a warning. Radical shifts in long-held belief systems don't often happen suddenly, and feeling as if one has “suddenly awakened to the truth” is clearly a highly charged emotional response. And BTW, those dots you just connected were drawn by somebody else. You just think you’re a “free-thinker”, and you just think you know something most of the other people in the world don’t, and you believe that everyone who disagrees with your views is either ignorant, or working for “them”.
So…now that some of us have had the “waking up” experience and have now “woken up again”, how are you going to explain what we think away? We believed exactly as you do, and now we don’t. Oh yeah…shill, disinfo agent…blah blah blah…right. Really? That is so lame. And BTW, you’d be surprised at just how alike you CT’s sound. You’ll never know though, not unless you suspend everything you believe in and consider the possibility you might, just might, be wrong. I have no idea why that’s such a difficult thing to do, but I had the same problem. Maybe that's something more people should think about. Why don’t you read more debunk sites if you’re so sure of your beliefs? If you know the truth, then nothing you could ever read will convince you you’re wrong, right? So what are you afraid of? I know the answer to my question, but if you still believe in the chemtrail CT, you don’t. Does that challenge you at all or make you want to defend your position? Good. Prove me wrong and explore some decent debunking sites (I recommend contrail science), spend at least 1/10th of 1% of the time you've spent reinforcing your belief in chemtrails, and let’s talk.
I don't claim to predict the future, but I predict deafening silence from many of my Facebook friends.
In Part II I’ll discuss some other contributing factors that caused me to believe in “chemtrails”.
Janet D
I joined MySpace in May, 2006. The first few months were great, and the 2006 MySpace format was really wonderful. I reacquainted with old friends, found music posted there I couldn’t find anywhere else, I had my own blog, and for those of you who never knew that site “back in the day”, I’m sorry, and it’s too late. Sure, MySpace still exists, but the format has been tinkered with and changed so much that it’s barely recognizable to those of us who knew it when. Ah well, things change, and for me and many others it did have a down side. The down side was that MySpace became a social networking site where conspiracy theorists joined up in very large numbers. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Not that there’s anything wrong with that unless you find yourself in a vulnerable life situation or two, have a tendency to want to understand what the people you find interesting and have respect for believe about life in general, or see your friends list explode to over 600 in less than two months, with at least 550 of those new “friends” being conspiracy theorists. Then there might be something wrong with that. There was something about all those factors combined that took me on an interesting journey.
I think having my MySpace friends list exploding from under 100 to over 600 in less than two months must have had an effect on me. I don’t remember any ego-gratification coming from that (not consciously), but that factor had to be there. I certainly started to notice when other CT’s got too big-headed, and perhaps I wasn’t as big-headed as some, but I’ve accepted the reality that my sudden popularity on MySpace must have impacted my belief system. There was an urgency, we were going to save the world, and come on…if my friend number on MySpace had more or less stayed the same, under 100, would I really have gotten sucked into the CT world? I honestly don’t think it would have happened.
I've never had a religious awakening, but I’ve read a great deal about the experience, and the awakening to conspiracy theory looks to be very similar. A sudden change of heart and mind, an awakening…it can be very heady stuff, especially when there’s a network of like-minded people and you spend a great deal of time supporting each others theories and awakening experiences. And then you’re a member of a movement, and you belong to the very small group of people who know something the entire rest of the world does not. That alone should be a warning. Radical shifts in long-held belief systems don't often happen suddenly, and feeling as if one has “suddenly awakened to the truth” is clearly a highly charged emotional response. And BTW, those dots you just connected were drawn by somebody else. You just think you’re a “free-thinker”, and you just think you know something most of the other people in the world don’t, and you believe that everyone who disagrees with your views is either ignorant, or working for “them”.
So…now that some of us have had the “waking up” experience and have now “woken up again”, how are you going to explain what we think away? We believed exactly as you do, and now we don’t. Oh yeah…shill, disinfo agent…blah blah blah…right. Really? That is so lame. And BTW, you’d be surprised at just how alike you CT’s sound. You’ll never know though, not unless you suspend everything you believe in and consider the possibility you might, just might, be wrong. I have no idea why that’s such a difficult thing to do, but I had the same problem. Maybe that's something more people should think about. Why don’t you read more debunk sites if you’re so sure of your beliefs? If you know the truth, then nothing you could ever read will convince you you’re wrong, right? So what are you afraid of? I know the answer to my question, but if you still believe in the chemtrail CT, you don’t. Does that challenge you at all or make you want to defend your position? Good. Prove me wrong and explore some decent debunking sites (I recommend contrail science), spend at least 1/10th of 1% of the time you've spent reinforcing your belief in chemtrails, and let’s talk.
I don't claim to predict the future, but I predict deafening silence from many of my Facebook friends.
In Part II I’ll discuss some other contributing factors that caused me to believe in “chemtrails”.
Janet D
