I was just replied to in another post by our resident conspiracy theorist, with whom the mods have been playing whack-a-mole for a long time now. No, I am not a fan of any paranoid wingnut with simplistic, and unproven, theories of everything....whether it is the Pope or Glen Beck or Alex Jones.
If anybody has a rabid following that believes their hero has "all the answers," they should be suspect because of that alone.
I believe that such people gain their following through the same principle as religious cults. They appeal to those that need answers and meaning, and they provide it.
In Mr. Jones' case, he provides a great deal of truth -- of the kind that is "controversial" to those who grew up exposed only to mainstream propaganda. His "exposes" of well-documented facts (for example, the US has a long history of suppressing democracy in other nations where it conflicts with their perceived interests, the military-industrial complex has more influence in government than voters, the rich and powerful meet together to discuss strategies to advance their agendas, cops often abuse their positions, the official 9/11 report is less than perfect).
His readers/listeners then go "Wow! that makes a lot of sense. Maybe the mainstream media doesn't tell us everything that is important! Let's hear more!". What happens then, is they believe that all these contradictions must make sense -- there must be a meaning behind this. After all, things couldn't happen just because people are greedy, incompetent and/or stupid, or liars? There must be a force with an evil plan that ties all of this together, mustn't there?
So, all the cult leader has to do is provide an enemy, and an answer. It used to be The Devil -- a force behind all the evil and injustice that people experience. To followers of Mr. Jones, it is a shadowy cabal that fixes all international events in pursuit of their ultimate goal -- just like cheap sci-fi movie villains, it is the enslavement of the entire human race. They planned the financial collapse, they plan all wars, etc.
Just like with other cults, there are two types of people -- those in the know (who agree with everything he says), and there are "Sheeple" (those who just can't see the truth). There are no grey areas. Those of us who live in the "grey area" -- who see the complexity of human events, and do not believe in the answers of conspiracy theorists, religions of any type, or simplistic politics, do not belong anywere, I guess.
But I am sure I could be convinced by another link to the third tower collapsing on 9/11, or another quote where some prominent politician makes reference to "a new world order."
If anybody has a rabid following that believes their hero has "all the answers," they should be suspect because of that alone.
I believe that such people gain their following through the same principle as religious cults. They appeal to those that need answers and meaning, and they provide it.
In Mr. Jones' case, he provides a great deal of truth -- of the kind that is "controversial" to those who grew up exposed only to mainstream propaganda. His "exposes" of well-documented facts (for example, the US has a long history of suppressing democracy in other nations where it conflicts with their perceived interests, the military-industrial complex has more influence in government than voters, the rich and powerful meet together to discuss strategies to advance their agendas, cops often abuse their positions, the official 9/11 report is less than perfect).
His readers/listeners then go "Wow! that makes a lot of sense. Maybe the mainstream media doesn't tell us everything that is important! Let's hear more!". What happens then, is they believe that all these contradictions must make sense -- there must be a meaning behind this. After all, things couldn't happen just because people are greedy, incompetent and/or stupid, or liars? There must be a force with an evil plan that ties all of this together, mustn't there?
So, all the cult leader has to do is provide an enemy, and an answer. It used to be The Devil -- a force behind all the evil and injustice that people experience. To followers of Mr. Jones, it is a shadowy cabal that fixes all international events in pursuit of their ultimate goal -- just like cheap sci-fi movie villains, it is the enslavement of the entire human race. They planned the financial collapse, they plan all wars, etc.
Just like with other cults, there are two types of people -- those in the know (who agree with everything he says), and there are "Sheeple" (those who just can't see the truth). There are no grey areas. Those of us who live in the "grey area" -- who see the complexity of human events, and do not believe in the answers of conspiracy theorists, religions of any type, or simplistic politics, do not belong anywere, I guess.
But I am sure I could be convinced by another link to the third tower collapsing on 9/11, or another quote where some prominent politician makes reference to "a new world order."
