so now i've gathered that one friend of mine actually believes one of the "new world order" conspiracy theories, another believes that the republican party may have deliberately destroyed all those homes in southern california by setting fires, and i just spent thanksgiving dinner with someone who wants to literally "colonize iraq" because it's best for america and suspects that a relative's fiancee couldn't possibly be in love with said relative because she is likely a "spy" planted by the palestinians.
i wish i were exaggerating or making this stuff up.
there's a bunch of funny-tasting koolaid on the internet these days, and it's easy to wander over and just drink it. even hyper-educated folks are susceptible. all people mentioned above have advanced degrees.
i'm too lazy to do it right now, but i should start an ironic group on facebook called "everything on the internet is true!" (or more broadly, "hearsay is evidence, and everything is reliable!")
gah. my faith in humanity continues to dwindle by the day.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
the internet: spreading garbage far and wide.
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3 comments:
i think it's indicative of an increasing generalized level of paranoia. in my not so expert opinion, this means that people are feeling very insecure and anxious. the values and institutions they've trusted are falling apart at the seams and nothing seems to make any sense any more. so they hold beliefs for which there is no good, solid evidence.
yeah, i think people are just searching for something to believe in. but it's just shitty that folks are always looking for a bogeyman. in the examples i gave...
1) the "new world order" (a mysterious secret society, comprised of either british bankers or zionists, which wants to create a fascist world government and subjugate the entire world population) is supreme evil
2) the republicans are supreme evil and burned california on purpose
3) muslims are supreme evil
like, give me a break.
why can't people just accept the inherent uncertainty of life and stop blaming other people/groups for their anxiety/insecurities?
le sigh.
I did have a discussion at Thanksgiving where I and another agreed that we should abolish popular voting for presidential electors and repeal of the Seventeenth Amendment. Because we don't think people are very smart.
But there was no conspiracism.
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