I think that this post nicely illustrates how the use of a term like “conspiracy theorist” can be used to not only keep people separated but to completely control a narrative. To keep people from even listening to each other and to hide information in plain sight.
For instance I find that though you seem to see the truth movement as some kind of insane machination of paranoid illiterates, you actually seem to agree with or be aware of on some level most of the tenets of the the real truth movement ie, the left right paradigm, authoritarianism, the lack of what should be basic human rights despite the words on paper, the misdirection by people that in the truth community are often referred to as “gatekeepers”. People with loud voices and often Extremist/militant views that self identify as “conspiracy theorists” who, whether knowingly or unknowingly, deflect any rational minded people who may venture near from looking any more closely into any kind of journalism that doesn’t tow the (2) party line. (Alex Jones, Rush Limbaugh) They often use the same tricks that the corporate owned media does such as using emotion to misdirect and enthrall (mostly fear).
If you’re interested in hearing some of these alternative viewpoints from someone who rarely if ever talks about guns or gun laws (probably doesn’t own one in fact), who sites his sources extensively and elaborates his points clearly and intelligently (although often a bit cynically), I would recommend James Corbet @corbettreport or corbettreport.com.
As any rational human he doesn’t claim to have all the answers, but he does do extensive research and though what he says may shock or anger you, I invite you to keep an open mind. The ability to see an issue from multiple perspectives without being overwhelmed by cognitive dissonance is a very important skill for the rational pursuit of truth. (Also he is a westerner who has settled in Japan so you may find you have similar experiences)
Anyway I’m glad you made this post. It was enlightening for me and I think has really made a bit of progress in bridging the gap between us “nutcases” and you “normies” ;)
As a side note, the view of america being violently divided by this left right dichotomy is something I come across a lot having spent the majority of the last five years traveling europe and asia. While there is a grain of truth here, (the media influences people in every country) This is mostly just another way that the media sensationalizes and separates.
Like most people everywhere, most americans are simply selfish and materialistic. Their opinions mostly come from a screen and they mostly don't care enough about anything that doesn't directly affect them, their families or their pockets to say or do anything about it. These people don't make the news and they don't make a fuss. In other words they're just regular people.
Agree with the hype of media. Twitter for example, there's about 40 million active users in the US. That's a little over 10% of the US. Only some of them are politically involved. Even if its as much as half, that leaves 95% uninvolved in all this sensationalism that spreads around the globe.
Quite a perspective, eh? Most people just want to get back to work
I've debunked corbett's stuff before, most recently his attempt at claiming Bill Gates is evil and trying to spread mosquitoes with mind-controlling vaccines around the world. He doesn't directly say that because like you say he's a little more careful, but the viewers easily extrapolate to such a conclusion and spread this far and wide.
Though I respect him for trying hard and providing all sources in sometimes huge lists, I still find he is misdirected. Sifting truth from 'truth' is a lifelong journey and I genuinely believe this should be some kind of formal curriculum in school, a fight against indoctrination from an early age.
For me, I started digging in when I was about 20 when things started to sound vague and biased and I've been refining those skills ever since, and it's really tricky. Sometimes I have to learn a bunch of scientific lingo just to properly understand a research paper that turns out to be nothing related to what I was talking about. Sometimes I set out to prove a point and write about it, only to find I was wrong, and thus, don't write about it.
(Survivorship bias in this scenario is another topic entirely)
And, if you take the wrong direction in years of refining skills, it's pretty hard or impossible to turn back. Corbett and I presumably forked off in our own directions many years ago but possibly went down the same general path of truth or 'truth' finding.
And hey, I use nutcase/nutjob in a rather light-hearted tone, but calling me a normie is outright offensive and now I'm going to find your twitter and get you fired for something a decade ago.
It’s easy to throw the baby out with the bathwater. I don’t believe Corbett has ever implied that mosquitoes will be used to vaccinate us though I could be wrong. sometimes it can be beneficial to point out connections that may turn out to be unrelated. It can encourage more people to take up the thread and do the research, thus either expanding on or debunking that idea. Dyor is not just a sound investment advice and the truth community is open source and decentralized.
If you take any researcher, scientist etc who is doing groundbreaking work and put everything they say to the microscope test you are bound to find inconsistencies and mistakes. It takes a brave human to do that work while constantly under the microscope and still follow any lead that seems promising. I believe if someone were to judge everything you have ever said or written on “that one thing they debunked once” you would find that a bit ridiculous.
I tried twitter once. Like most social media I found there to be too many twits ;)