Jan 4, 2013

Wiwille can't have fun.

I used to take delight in reading about conspiracy theories. The sadly now defunct Billy Ocean: Student Council Treasurer, a blog I used to contribute to, made a habit of laughing at those who created, promoted, and embraced such lunacy. It was fun times as I couldn't really fathom the idea of believing in the silly nonsense, but as time went on my enjoyment of ridiculing people for thinking the UN has some secret agenda that's puppeteered by the Illuminati and it involves vaccines which secretly poison children and make you conform to your local and world government wained. I now find them sad as most people who subscribe to conspiracies aren't just daft, they seem to be mentally ill.
 
Persecution complexes are very real, even amongst the most intelligent and seemingly well adjusted folks amongst us. For whatever reason some like to cling to the belief that they're fighting some unseen force of evil that's hell bent on enslaving or destroying humanity through all sorts of manners, usually by consolidating their wealth and using people in power as their puppets to enforce their malicious agendas.
 
And of course, if there's a dollar to be made off the unfortunate, there will be exploiters. Enter Alex Jones, who's the current patron saint of all conspiracy theories, up to and including the US government was behind 9/11 and a bizarre alien race who look like lizards are controlling the powerful people, if not masquerading as them. He's not alone in bilking poor people out of their hard earned dollars based on their unfounded fears. Mike Adams of NaturalNews.com fame does the same thing only his website is more limited to thinking vaccines are the equivalent of making your children drink arsenic and GMOs cause cancer. (Not shockingly Mike Adams sometimes guest hosts Alex Jones radio program). Fanning the paranoia of people who should know better, Alex and his ilk are truly despicable in their campaign of misinformation, which can cause real harm to the fans' lives.
 
As I know people who believe in this nonsense, I often try to combat it with reason and logic, and fail every single time. I don't know why I bother, because if someone comes to a conclusion not based on reason they certainly won't be swayed because of it. Yet I press, in the often delusional thinking that I may make a difference. I often go to Alex and Mike's websites to easily dissect why their crap is bunk, point out why it is to the sender of the stupid email with the claim, and find myself being the subject of name calling such as "shill for (insert corporation here)" or "close minded".
 
Why do I keep doing it? Well I find it interesting to a certain degree, and making people with a superiority complex feel stupid is fun, and it feeds my superiority complex which....oh dear.
 
Anyways, most of the advertisements I find on the websites are disgusting, as, especially in Mike Adam's case, they sell products that could do them harm. Unfounded medical treatments are sold to the uneducated, books containing more misinformation are hawked, free energy machines that don't work are peddled, and various other products designed to scare you into becoming a doomsday prepper are making these folks rich. Still I came across one today that I found baffling:
 
 
Most of the ads usually are up front in telling you what it is they're selling. In this ad, I have no idea what the Global Elite TM are obviously failing to hide from me. Are they trying to stop men from wearing ugly sweaters? Will men no longer be able to stick a microphone in front of a hapless woman who happened to hire a crew of six to help her into her jeans? What are they trying to hide? What?
 
I haven't the courage to click on the ad, as who knows what kind of spyware will install itself on my computer.
 
Here's another gem from Alex Jone's site:
Pictured is Hulda Regehr Clark, who this ad said could cure nearly any pain or disease. Well a simple search of this naturopath shows her treatments were administered in the form of electric shock, and believed that she could cure not nearly, but any disease, even cancer and HIV. Well she died of cancer in 2009, so yeah.
 
And this is why I no longer find conspiracy theories funny anymore. The exploiters do real damage as seen with the recent bouts of diseases thanks to anti-vaxxers doing, or actually not doing, what anti-vaxxers do. Trying to even engage with conspiracy theorists always seems to be a losing battle, because if you don't agree with them, you're somehow in on the conspiracy; therefore enabling them to feel more resolute in their so called wisdom.
 
"9-11 was a self inflicted wound." - Alex Jones
 



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