how do you deal with people who believe in batshit insane conspiracy theories?

Mossad planned 9/11

edit: FACT.

jumping up and down on rented truck, mass numbers of agents getting ejected from country after 9/11

more like subcontractors than planners, but what do we know

  On 12/6/2009 at 12:37 AM, delet... said:

  On 12/6/2009 at 12:29 AM, chax said:

  On 12/6/2009 at 12:27 AM, ZeroHour said:

the fact is media can still be manipulated

 

i agree with you but it doesn't mean you should discount EVERYTHING

 

true dat .. don't discount individual bits of verifiable fact, broad sweeping assertion on the other hand, needs a little dissection. It's a fun game called politics. Most people hate it cause the way society really works seems so unfair. There's this unrelenting series of nasty things going on that we seem to be able to have little to no effect over. So it's easier just to go with the flow, leave the dissection for the policy nerds ;-]

okay great but wtf does my age have to do with anything? why bummer? i probably shouldnt have posted it

Chax: if you want to see how media can be manipulated, read the book Manufacturing Consent. If you're too lazy to read the book, watch the documentary of the same name.

Now this is not to say that all conspiracy theorists are correct, but sometimes it's good to question credible sources, even sources like the New York Times.

  On 12/6/2009 at 12:42 AM, chax said:

  On 12/6/2009 at 12:37 AM, delet... said:

  On 12/6/2009 at 12:29 AM, chax said:

  On 12/6/2009 at 12:27 AM, ZeroHour said:

the fact is media can still be manipulated

 

i agree with you but it doesn't mean you should discount EVERYTHING

 

true dat .. don't discount individual bits of verifiable fact, broad sweeping assertion on the other hand, needs a little dissection. It's a fun game called politics. Most people hate it cause the way society really works seems so unfair. There's this unrelenting series of nasty things going on that we seem to be able to have little to no effect over. So it's easier just to go with the flow, leave the dissection for the policy nerds ;-]

 

okay great but wtf does my age have to do with anything? why bummer? i probably shouldnt have posted it

hah, i was just being a cunt, saying bummer cause you're 25 and still such a naive son'ova'bitch .. haha .. funny how i had to explain that, kinda explains your first post in a way yeah,

Plus if you don't wanna deal with a subject some mate brings up, act annoyed but not so much that they'll then feel the urge to convince you, i mean you're out to have fun and if fun for you doesn't involve long drunken debates on topics you (and they probably) haven't spent much time actually researching ... you're perfectly entitled to change the subject or leave.. It's your night, look after you mates but don't babysit them.

  On 12/6/2009 at 12:46 AM, chenGOD said:

but sometimes it's good to question credible sources, even sources like the New York Times.

Especially the new york times. God i hate thomas friedman.

this thread has been a total disaster

mods please delete

  On 12/6/2009 at 12:34 AM, chax said:

...the thread has turned into somehow debating what reality is, so whatever, i don't know

when did that happen...? you brought up "reality" in post 1. From what i can glean from your barely coherent post, you seem to be equating "reality" with "TV news" , "newspapers" and "online articles" ... whatever that means.

don't delete the thread, i put minutes of my sad life into it

plus i gave him the advice he sought in the end anyway at the close of page 2

since you listed a bunch of unrelated popular conspiracy theories of the moment. I will isolate one

Chax give me a synopsis of what you think happened on 9/11

  Quote

can not change his mind that george bush was responsible for 9/11

what's the problem with this? Have you not heard of the hundreds of warnings handed to the president about an upcoming attack on the world trade center and pentagon? Do you think Bush and the whitehouse tried to stop the attacks? If so what steps did they take i would like you describe them for me. I think pointing the finger at Bush directly is an over simplification, but the fact remains is that the attack could have been stopped if the proper normal steps and measures were taken.

you complain about lack of critical thinking skills but at the same time i can't help but wonder if you also may have a lack of critical thinking skills coming from the other end of the spectrum.

I have a problem with anyone who simply believes something because they choose to without backing it up with any evidence or facts. but this can come in many forms, it can come in t he form of conspiracy theorists who think everytime they see a cloud in the sky its a 'chem trail' or it could come from the normal average everyday person who is afraid of Al Qaeda lurking in their own neighborhood.

i get all my news from this site

Play along with their conversation and at one point you will be able to see if there's something to their proposed theory. Ask him questions regarding it and see how he answers. I often find it fun playing along with these conversations because either they waver of and change the subject if you ask too much, or they actually have some interesting points. They're crazy notions cannot be proved, but they can't be cast aside as nonsense either, as they have not been proved wrong either.

By the way I do believe in aliens, so I'm always up for that discussion lol

  On 12/6/2009 at 1:17 AM, AJW said:

 

By the way I do believe in aliens,

tin foil hat bro!

  On 12/6/2009 at 12:49 AM, delet... said:

  On 12/6/2009 at 12:46 AM, chenGOD said:

but sometimes it's good to question credible sources, even sources like the New York Times.

Especially the new york times. God i hate thomas friedman.

the new york times is funny to me, all the republicans say its a 'liberal paper' but they write war hawkish editorials daily about why its necessary to bomb foreign nations for an open ended amount of time.

Wow. Watmm has a qualified majority of conspiracy-theory bias. A new low.

Kick em in the cunt and then ask them why you did it. Explain the theory behind it. Turn it into Science for them. When you don't like the answer kick em in the cunt again. Keep doing it untill they can explain the theory behind your cunt kicking.

as a geologist i have a paticular disdain for creationists. creationism, and the entire science of geology, are mutual exclusives. creationists are fucking cunts without exception, including the ones that you are friends with and you think are fit.

i find it strangely divisive to throw around the term 'conspiracy theorist' as a disparaging remark. It's become almost a new way to refer to someone as crazy.

if you want to debate someone based on facts do it, but stop using the blanket ad hominem of 'you're just a conspiracy theorist' at least have a genuine debate about whatever subject is at hand.

It's not a new way at all, and you are crazy. It's very sad that people focus on these masturbatory fantasies when there are so many genuine problems facing the world.

*Remembers to wank*

  On 12/6/2009 at 1:49 AM, CondenseWindow said:

I It's very sad that people focus on these masturbatory fantasies when there are so many genuine problems facing the world.

you seem incapable of having a polite debate, choose to throw out childish insults instead of having a conversation, but please tell me what are the genuine problems you think we need to be focusing on? and i promise i wont call you a racist over the course of your next 2 posts.

just agree with them and try to change the subject. it's really not worth arguing over until they're trying to get you to join some militia or something.

  Quote

They say 3 percent of the people use 5 to 6 percent of their brain

97 percent use 3 percent and the rest goes down the drain

I'll never know which one I am but I'll bet you my last dime

99 percent think we're 3 percent 100 percent of the time

 

64 percent of all the world's statistics are made up right there on the spot

82.4 percent of people believe 'em whether they're accurate statistics or not

I don't know what you believe but I do know there's no doubt

I need another double shot of something 90 proof

I got too much to think about

  On 12/6/2009 at 1:44 AM, Awepittance said:

i find it strangely divisive to throw around the term 'conspiracy theorist' as a disparaging remark. It's become almost a new way to refer to someone as crazy.

if you want to debate someone based on facts do it, but stop using the blanket ad hominem of 'you're just a conspiracy theorist' at least have a genuine debate about whatever subject is at hand.

but they really are fucking cunts. well, i guess it depends on the particular theory at hand. but from my experience (which without meaning to sound like a cunt is more than most, since i've actively hunted these folks out in the past), someone who believes in one is going to believe in most of them.

the Apollo moon landing hoaxers are no better than creationists in my mind too, since i'm using Apollo data in my fucking master's project and their beliefs are nothing more than denial. it would make as much sense to claim that the whole concept of chemical reactions is a conspiracy.

  On 12/6/2009 at 1:56 AM, Awepittance said:

  On 12/6/2009 at 1:49 AM, CondenseWindow said:

I It's very sad that people focus on these masturbatory fantasies when there are so many genuine problems facing the world.

 

you seem incapable of having a polite debate, choose to throw out childish insults instead of having a conversation, but please tell me what are the genuine problems you think we need to be focusing on?

Racism.