this post was submitted on 20 Jan 2024
169 points (89.7% liked)

Ask Lemmy

26903 readers
1579 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Please don't post about US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

It's wild.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] SpicyAnt@mander.xyz 10 points 10 months ago (7 children)

I think that the distrust of governments and generally those in power is a world-wide phenomenon. But I personally don't think that it is unwarranted. Corruption, abuses of power, and conspiracies are widespread.

[–] anarchy79@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago (6 children)

Now explain why the conspiracy theorists always side with fascist rulership.

[–] SpicyAnt@mander.xyz 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

What do you mean? Can you describe what you mean with 'fascist rulership'? Then maybe I can try.

For example... people in Mexico many people suspect that politicians have associations with drug dealers, and many believe believe that particular bureaucratic systems (such as handing out public infrastructure projects) are exploited to distribute funds in ways that benefit those in power and their friends, these people I would classify as "conspiracy theorists", and in many cases they have been correct. You think that these people will always side with fascist rulership?

[–] anarchy79@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Fascist as in the US actively supporting and financing terrorism in countries it wants control over, historically. Like the Contras, that type of fascism.

And I think that being suspicious has been co-opted by the right wing, yes.

[–] SpicyAnt@mander.xyz 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Fascist as in the US actively supporting and financing terrorism in countries it wants control over, historically.

Isn't this a conspiracy theory? I think that the official position of the US is that they are not financing terrorists, and many of their military actions have been performed to defend citizens from their ruler's human rights violations. Isn't the Cuban embargo officially there to protect the Cubans against human rights violations? I think that arguing otherwise makes one a conspiracy theorist.

I am not saying this to argue, I am trying to explain what I understand with conspiracy theory - someone who is skeptical about the official narrative, and believes that those in power will not always be transparent and honest to the public.

And I think that being suspicious has been co-opted by the right wing, yes.

I am aware of the "drain the swamp" rhetoric, that there was a QAnon, anti-vax, and other more fringe theories. But I think that this is a sub-set of conspiracy theorizing that is amplified by the media. Many conspiracy theorists are investigative journalists and critics of governments. And many conspiracy theories have ended up being true. I don't think that critical thought and skepticism is an exercise that only right-wingers should participate in.

[–] anarchy79@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)
  1. Literally Sandinistas and Contras. Literally one of the world's most egregious and "oh shit we got caught" moments in US history. Iran-Contras affair doesn't ring a bell, does it? Why don't you start there for both our sakes.

  2. Home grown conspiracy theorists are basically all fascist, yes. That whole segment of knowledge, if you can call it that, was astropaved by the right wing decades ago. Let's put it this way, Alex Jones isn't voting left. There is always a big bad wolf that you can't see, and the only cure is voting right.

[–] SpicyAnt@mander.xyz 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)
  1. It rings a bell but I am not familiar with the details, I will look into it but I can't address it right away. I am well aware that the US is an imperialist nation that has committed and continues to commit horrible acts all over the world. But the point is that this is not the official narrative of the US government. They may give some concessions about what occurred in the past, but the official narrative about what is happening now is always that they and their friends are the good guys.

  2. I am not from the US and the question is about conspiracy theories in other countries. If the question means whether Americans are more prone to believe US-conspiracy theories, then yes, simply because they are much more likely to be aware of them. Many people in other countries don't consume as much media in English and might have no idea who Jeffrey Epstein was. So they probably have no opinion on whether there was foul play on his dead. But I think that if you talk to someone in Mexico and tell them the story of Epstein, most will agree that there was foul play involved. I am telling you this from my personal experience, at least within my circle but I think it expands more generally. We have a general distrust of the government and law enforcement, and so a story in which foul play is involved to silence someone else resonates. It happens all the time! Journalists are being killed all the time around here to silence them, and very often they are being critical of people in power.... Is it really that unwarranted to be suspicious?

[–] anarchy79@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

Those are fair points- I'm not native US either, just to make clear, and I understand what you're saying. It's kind of like, better safe than sorry? There is an evolutionary advantage in beings suspicious, in fact some say that the act of lying and lie detection in humans had a significant impact in forming our ability to communicate through language, so it's a big deal, sure. We don't want to get hustled, know what I mean?

The issues arise later, when all our needs are met and we're fed and cozy, and still our minds try to evolve and suspect everything around us because- better safe than sorry, right?

load more comments (4 replies)
load more comments (4 replies)